(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 — OK, so yeah, it goes without saying that this season has absolutely not gone as planned for the Dallas Cowboys — again. There are reasons to be excited for the future, indeed, but for a variety of reasons (some avoidable, some unavoidable) they sit with only a one percent chance of making the NFL playoffs heading into Week 16.
That is thanks, in part, to a three-game win streak being halted by two consecutive losses to push them to a 6-7-1 record with just three games left, out of the wild card picture and needing both to win out and for the Philadelphia Eagles to lose to the Buffalo Bills (possible) and twice to a Washington Commanders team that just shut Jayden Daniels down for the remainder of the season (unlikely).
As the reality of the situation settles in for fans, eyes outside of the building begin turning toward the offseason — free agency and the 2026 NFL Draft — thoughts of the latter driving some fans to hope for (demand?) the Cowboys tank to increase their draft position in April.
But here's the problem with that ask: NFL players don't tank.
No Tank You
Take Malik Davis, for example. What does it benefit him to simply mail it in these final three regular season games? His journey is one of an undrafted free agent who went on to be waived a total of five times before gaining any actual traction in this league and for the Cowboys and, by the way, he's not under contract for 2026 (restricted free agent).
So if Dallas doesn't tender him, he's not here to enjoy the potential fruits of tanking, anyway.
Sure, ask that guy to gear down for the sake of next season, and with not one, or two, but three talented young running backs standing behind him clawing at a chance to take his reps; and that's not to mention the players currently on other teams being scouted (UFL included), routinely, by the Cowboys who might catch their eye as a potential replacement.
Davis, like so many others, is playing for his livelihood in a league that is unforgiving of bad film.
"It's a blessing. Every day, I thank God that I'm in this situation." - Malik Davis
It would, instead, behoove Davis to continue trying to play with his hair on fire because he, like every other fringe player, is auditioning for all 32 teams, and not simply the Cowboys — the player's thought process having no choice but to understand this is a (N)ot (F)or (L)ong profession.
There's also no explaining to your wife and children that you don't have a job next season because you took one for the team and, as a result, put out bad film, on purpose, to help the organization move up a few spots in the NFL Draft.
NFL players don't tank.
"You're still playing. You still got a resume. So when you go out there every week, you want to put great stuff on film, you know? A lot of guys have a family to feed, including myself. So every week when we go out there, you know, we're gonna give it all." - Malik Davis
Tanking Is a Culture-Killer
The good news is the Cowboys aren't going to ask anyone in the locker room to pack it in with three games to go. Brian Schottenheimer has already made it clear he "wants to win" regardless of what the playoff math says, and to ask for anything more would cut his culture argument off at its knees.
The message that would send would be devastating to the brand and tone he's desperately trying to establish as a first-time NFL head coach. What's actually going to happen is what's already occurring, and that's the fact Schottenheimer is demanding everyone play to the standard and, as Dak Prescott bluntly stated, with "pride in who you are as a man" to end the season.
"I'm playing this game for my teammates, and not just my teammates, but my family, too. So it's bigger than just the playoffs. The playoffs is a big thing, but just looking at it from a different perspective, for more motivation — we got guys with kids, with wives. It's a lot to play for." - Malik Davis
There are currently 15 players on the active 53-man roster who are not under contract in 2026 — a hefty 28 percent of the roster — and another 11 players who are entering contract years next season, bringing the grand total to a whopping 49 percent of the roster that has little or no job security in Dallas, or in the NFL whatsoever.
What they do have, however, is at least three more games right now to try and show what they can do, and that they don't give up simply because there might not be anything to play for. That's because there's literally always something for them to play for — always. NFL players don't tank, and you should stop asking them to.
