FRISCO, Texas — Getting off to a fast start is something every NFL team and, specifically, their respective offense wants to accomplish on a weekly basis, but the Dallas Cowboys can't quite make that happen for themselves, at least not consistently, over the course of the 2025 season.
To put it plainly, they're being outscored monstrously in the first quarter of games — 49-109 through 13 games. It continually put them in a hole they've not been able to climb out of on a regular basis, particularly pre-bye week, when the defense looked wildly different and were statistically the worst in the league.
Their loss to the Detroit Lions ended an exciting three-game win streak that nudged them forward in the playoff conversation, and again highlighted their tendency toward slow starts.
"I would agree, I didn't think we had our best day overall," said head coach Brian Schottenheimer ahead of the primetime bout against the Minnesota Vikings. "Were we tired — I don't know, maybe. We had to play a lot of games but, at the end of the day, I believe in this group of young men. I believe in the fact that we are an energetic group.
"You can't watch our sidelines and not know that there's juice and energy and guys cheering for the other side of the ball, and things like that. I'm not going to let one game after a tight window of time affect the way I look at it."
There are no excuses to be had for the Cowboys. That said, it is also true they played four games in 17 days, two of them being in a four-day span, and those two games being against the last two Super Bowl winners, so maybe it caught up to them in the Motor City, and maybe not.
The end result doesn't care, but a mulligan granted by the Philadelphia Eagles falling for a third consecutive game breathes new life into the playoff conversation for Dallas. Running in quicksand in the first quarter against the Vikings is a dance the Cowboys plan on avoiding, and it begins with having the right energy and edge at kickoff.
The good news is neither the players nor the coaching staff are naive to the facts of the matter.
"In terms of worrying about these guys and their ability to come out with a lot of energy in this game, in my opinion, is zero percent," Schottenheimer said. "But we do need to start faster. We've kind of looked at some things, and we need to score more points early on and get more stops early on. We've got an idea of how we think we can do that, but now we have to go out and execute it."
That sounds eerily like what running back Javonte Williams also detailed following the first practice in preparation for the visiting Vikings, who hope to plunder AT&T Stadium in the same fashion they did in their 31-0 pillaging of the Washington Commanders one week prior.
"We've gotta correct the mistakes, execute early, come out and play on fire," Williams said. "Whoever goes out there first — make a play and turn the other side up. … We've got to come out ready to go, ready to execute, just start a little bit faster."
Fixing the first quarter of games could go a long way to helping the Cowboys shock the world by potentially stealing away the NFC East crown from the Eagles but, to now, it's been easier said-than-done. They're saying they can get it done, yes, but the time to be done saying it, and to get it done, has unapologetically arrived.
