FRISCO, Texas – Time for the mystery to be solved.
Time for the 2026 Dallas Cowboys to begin answering all those questions most of us have been asking for more than the past four months.
Time to see.
You know, like, will Year 2 Brian Schottenheimer head coach make a difference?
Can this No. 2 ranked NFL offense in 2025 continue to evolve in 2026?
How much can a totally healthy Dak Prescott this entire offseason still improve, a Pro Bowl quarterback in 2025 despite having to spend the majority of his time rehabbing from 2024 season-ending surgery?
CeeDee & GP, two more 1,000-yard seasons?
But maybe most of all, has this Cowboys defense, historically poor last season, performed a one-year about-face? Improved, knowing they now are under the jurisdiction of first-time 34-year-old defensive coordinator Christian Parker, with basically an entirely new bevy of defensive assistants.
Is this defense no longer an albatross after yanking down the team last season, ranked 30th in total yards, having given up more single-season points than any other of the Cowboys' 65 previous defenses, also more passing yards per game than not only any of the other 31 NFL teams, but the most in franchise history?
We want answers.
And though this is a 17-game season, we begin getting "the truth" 7:20 p.m. Sunday at MetLife Stadium, and what better team to put these Cowboys on trial than the New York Football Giants in East Rutherford, N.J., west of the Hudson, where the great expanse has done nothing to drown out the stinging 25-year memory of the 9/11 terrorist attacks killing nearly 3,000 people in 2021 and scarring so many more for life. Why, this will be the 128th meeting between these two NFC East rivals, the second-most games played against one team in franchise history.
And on national television to boot.
For as Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Friday morning, "When we play in New York, I always get a tingle," knowing how special all this is.
So when trying to figure out this team for the entire 2026 season, to me, this comes down to whether all the alterations the Cowboys have made on the defensive side of the ball, be it through free agency signings, trade acquisitions and this most recent draft – and knowing they have invested serious salary cap revenue – have fixed this defense.
Remember saying if this defense can improve from being epically bad in 2025 to at least average in 2026, like maybe ranking 15th instead of 30th, this team will have a great chance of finishing with a winning record, challenging for the division title, advancing to the playoffs and who knows what after that.
But when questioned about that improvement from outsiders' opinions, Parker sort of recoiled at any 15th ranking, saying, "That's none of my business," referring to what's being said before adding, "That's never our goal," meaning settling for mediocrity.
The goal?
"The standard we set since we got here in January," said CP, as if insulted by accomplishing anything less.
And that brings me to this: If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then this made an impression on me as to why there is this belief, and certainly a feeling from what we've seen during training camp and those two scrimmages against the Rams and Saints, that this defense has the possibility of being significantly improved over last season; not being the reason for dragging the record down last year to 7-9-1, neutralizing one of the best offenses in the NFL.
Prior to the start of the third preseason game, during some of the pregame warmups at AT&T Stadium, while standing on the sideline in the Cowboys bench area, just happened to turn around. There, sitting on the bench, knowing they were not going to play in the game, stretched out wearing white, long-sleeve Cowboys shirts and blue shorts, were these three guys, from left to right:
Kenny Clark … Rashan Gary … Quinnen Williams.
That's what I'm talking about. Three veteran players, three rock-solid players, three leaders, two of them defensive captains (Clark and Williams), while all three sure could have been. This shot was not ignored, captured by our candid camera sharp-shooter James Smith, who must have been thinking along my same lines.
Man, what a difference a year makes. Now, sure, Clark started 17 games last year for the Cowboys but arrived like a week before the season opener in the Micah Parsons trade. No offseason with the team. No training camp. Here, buddy, just go play.
Williams started seven games but did not arrive until the trade deadline on Nov. 7. No nothing with the team. Here you go, too, go practice three times and go play.
And now Gary, and let's remember this defensive end/outside linebacker brings seven years of NFL experience in a trade with Green Bay, but at least arrived here March 11. He's 6-5, 275, and man, is he ever ready to go play.
If this defense was in need of a foundation, this is a mighty sturdy concrete slab to build upon. Three guys who can make a difference. Three guys offensive coaches are going to have to game plan however Parker chooses to line them up: Clark and Williams as defensive ends in the 3-4 front or defensive tackles in a nickel 4-2 front, and Gary as a 3-4 outside linebacker or in the nickel a 4-2 defensive end. Run-stoppers all for sure, and that is a great thing.
These guys are the poster boys for the defensive renovation.
Please consider this, too. If going back to this time last year, eight of the 11 defensive starters in the 2025 season opener against the Eagles are no longer on the team. Look, not saying those eight aren't starting. They aren't here. The only holdover starters from that season opener are Clark, DaRon Bland and Malik Hooker, although when it comes to the 10th-year veteran Hooker, while on the 53-man roster, he is listed on the Cowboys' season-opening depth chart as an either/or starter with P.J. Locke, one of the many free agents signed.
Yep, that drastic of a change.
Then add 16th-year veteran edge rusher Von Miller to the mix, along with inside linebacker Dee Winters, a healthy DeMarvion Overshown and the additions of draft choices Caleb Downs, Malachi Lawrence and Jaishawn Barham. Given all that, this has become a significant defensive rebuild, along with Parker as the DC and seven new defensive assistants. In the housing vernacular, this is a tear-down/rebuild.
Certainly, has caught the attention of owner Jerry, who unabashedly vows, "I can assure you we will have a better defense than we had last year." He then doubled down when asked to project the difference-maker come Sunday against the Giants, saying, "I would hope our defense would be the star."
He's not the only one.
Maybe the strongest voice, though, concerning this renovation comes from Prescott, who had to face these apparent defensive personnel upgrades in all those training camp practices and felt firsthand the difference.
"Ultimately this is a new team, a new identity, and I guess once Sunday comes, they can put last year and all the comparisons behind," Dak says. "But you just look at the personality of that defense, from a different play caller – the personnel is different. Just the way they attack and what they've been doing throughout training camp and practice, making it hard on us, I don't think it's necessarily fair to compare them to last year's defense or for them to be battling that stigma.
"They have their own identity, and I'm excited for them to show up this Sunday."
You know what, me too, and not just Sunday night but all season long. And if this defense shows up all season long, coupled with what this offense figures to be, along with one of the strongest, if not the strongest, kicking elements in the league, from placekicker Brandon Aubrey to punter Bryan Anger to Pro Bowl returner KaVontae Turpin, not hesitant to say these 2026 Dallas Cowboys very well could finish 11-6.
Mystery uncovered.
