(Editor's note: The content provided is based on opinions and/or perspective of the DallasCowboys.com editorial staff and not the Cowboys football staff or organization.)
FRISCO, Texas — Life comes at you fast, maybe. That perception depends on preparation and real-time adaptation, though. In the case of the Dallas Cowboys, it's arriving at the speed of a DeLorean moving approximately 88 mph, which might seem slow by cosmic and universal standards — that is until you realize there might be time travel involved at that speed, in that vehicle.
That's the crux of the current problem in Dallas: they may have accidentally gone back in time, only not far enough, in my opinion.
Allow me to explain.
When the Cowboys and Mike McCarthy parted ways this past offseason, the goal was to export certain unsavory aspects of the onfield product with him, but the problem entering the looming primetime matchup against the Green Bay Packers is that several of the issues persist to begin the inaugural season in the era of Brian Schottenheimer.
And if they're not somehow ironed out this weekend, the train could start tilting on its rails.
Wrong Turn
Despite the loss to the defending champion Philadelphia Eagles in the regular season opener, the Cowboys were competitive (check), effectively shut down the passing attack and its three big-name targets (check) and, for the most part, put the clamps on Saquon Barkley and the rushing attack throughout the majority of the contest (check and check).
It was the best of times, but just two games later, it's the worst of times.
One of the most damning concerns during the McCarthy era was lack of self-discipline that would lead to drive-killing penalties on offense and/or drive-extending penalties on defense, and both issues are back in front of the curtain heading into Week 4. Another was clock management, and having shown an elite ability to control the clock situationally against the Eagles, the Cowboys have taken a step back in that regard over the last two games.
Some of that lands in the lap of the head coach and offensive playcaller, while some of it has to be owned by players — e.g., delay of game in one instance, a false start in another, a 12-yard out route that remained inbounds with no timeouts to end the first half in yet another instance.
These things were thought to be left in the past by the Cowboys, and yet here they are showing themselves in the present and threatening the future of the 2025 season.
Defensive Driving
It's not all attributable to the offense though, and not by a long shot.
The defense has now followed up its mostly great start to the season by allowing the most explosive plays of any team in the entire league, including to a now-benched Russell Wilson and being the only team in the career of Caleb Williams to not land a sack against him, while also allowing more chunk plays in the process.
It's a terrifyingly poor showing that conjures vivid and traumatic memories of when Mike Nolan took over as defensive coordinator in 2020 — signing on at the same time as did McCarthy — en route to a historically bad defensive season.
Statistically speaking, it was the worst output since Rob Ryan was at the defensive helm in Dallas; and if you know, you know.
There's a severe issue with communication and execution in the secondary, and those holes are being exposed by lack of a consistent pass rush, having generated just three sacks through three games and with one of them belonging to a defensive tackle (Kenny Clark) who arrived six days ahead of the season.
If you can't rush the passer, and your secondary is struggling to figure out who should be doing what, it's a recipe for the very disaster the Cowboys are witnessing over the past two weeks.
And if it's somehow not magically fixed before Jordan Love and the Packers' offense arrives, pissed at having been stifled and choked out by Myles Garrett and an elite Cleveland Browns defense in Week 3, then the scene of the previous crime orchestrated by Love in the infamous playoff rout of the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium could very well repeat itself this weekend.
Is all hope lost for the Cowboys at the moment?
Well, no, not at the moment it isn't, because the fact remains it's still the first quarter of the season and it's a week-to-week league, and that means anyone can beat anybody at any given time.
Maybe, Maybe Not
That said, does it look good for Dallas, given all I've mentioned above, and the fact they'll be without not only starting center Cooper Beebe for weeks, but also starting right guard and rookie first-round pick Tyler Booker for quite some time as well, along with Lamb not taking the field against the Packers (at minimum)?
That was a rhetorical question, by the way.
No, it does not look good — especially if the offense can't save the defense, and the defense is so far from being able to save the offense.
Playoff Odds Based Upon Record (since 1990):
- 1-2 record: 32% chance
- 1-3 record: 15% chance
or...
- 2-2 record: 43% chance
I mean, let's be honest here, which is kinda my jam, and admit it currently looks like the odds are infinitely against the Cowboys potentially turning things around in time to save a season whose schedule contains a second half gauntlet, much like the odds were stacked against Marty McFly when Biff finally got his hands on the Sports Almanac; and especially if they suffer a loss against the Packers.
For the sake of argument though, let's play a rousing game of "Maybe", shall we?
Maybe Jadeveon Clowney can quickly become a hero in both the pass rush and in sealing the edge against mobile quarterbacks. Maybe the return of DaRon Bland, an All-Pro corner, can help stop the hemorrhaging in the secondary. Maybe the changes Schottenheimer referenced making include unleashing Marist Liufau to help in both coverage and quarterback spying.
Maybe we're about to witness the evolution of George Pickens into a definitive WR1 with Lamb sidelined. Maybe one of the best rushing attacks in the NFL, led by Javonte Williams, will somehow not take a step backward with two starting interior offensive linemen on the reserve list.
But the problem is there's no such thing as a win-loss-maybe column in the NFL. You win or you lose, and maybe it's time the Cowboys figure out how to start doing the former before it's too late to change the future — finally escaping the poverty-stricken pockets of seasons past and instead channeling and mirroring the memories of wealth and prosperity, when Dallas was Jimmying the lock every year.
Because if they can't shock the world against the Packers and use that as rocket fuel to course correct, maybe they'll find themselves planning for the 2026 NFL Draft sooner than they'd like.
It's only Week 4, but if it feels like the season is already on the line when the Packers come to town, that's because … maybe … it is.
