The Dallas Cowboys 44-22 win against the Washington Commanders provided a lot of reasons for optimism moving forward for the home team, now sitting at 3-3-1 and second place in the NFC East. Many of these reasons all flow together as, above all else, the Cowboys played complementary football to support another big offensive performance.
Now seven games into the season, the expectation that the Cowboys offense is going to remain a juggernaut is firmly in place. Dallas has scored at least 40 points in each of their home games, the run, pass, and play-action game all work, the offensive line is getting healthy again, and both CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are consistent playmakers. Jake Ferguson already has a career high in touchdowns at tight end.
This expectation also exists on offense not just from the seven game sample size so far, but because of much deeper roots. Dak Prescott is playing at a MVP level as the engine for this entire offense, just like he did the last time he was fully healthy in 2023. The Cowboys have fielded top-scoring offenses in recent seasons similarly under Kellen Moore and Mike McCarthy.
The Cowboys having this potent of an offense shouldn’t come as a surprise, and certainly isn’t unprecedented. Where they have fallen short is supporting these offenses in the playoffs to make them count for more than just eventually empty stats. These 2025 Cowboys face a unique challenge in this way, because just making the playoffs remains an uphill battle thanks to the early hole their defense is mostly responsible for in letdown losses at the Bears and Panthers.
By surpassing the Commanders with not only a big game on offense but a completely revitalized performance on defense, week seven was a significant step towards having the playoff discussion going forward. If or when the Cowboys get there, these same reasons for the dominant win versus Washington may also be the exact reason they get there as one of the more viable Cowboys playoff teams in decades.
That reason is first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer. Not only is the way Schottenheimer has modernized the Cowboys offense to be more matchup oriented and multiple, a great sign for sustainability on this side of the ball, but he may have more positive influence on the defense than any Cowboys head coach in recent memory has – also evidenced against the Commanders. Jerry Jones told the media after the win that Schottenheimer worked with DC Matt Eberflus on the game plan against former Cowboys DC Dan Quinn’s team, while of course maintaining his play-calling and game-planning duties on offense.
All the Cowboys offense did was set a franchise record for consecutive games without a turnover at four under Schottenheimer’s guidance against the Commanders, while also seeing Prescott throw at least three touchdowns for the fourth game in a row, with Schotty apparently adding defensive responsibilities to his week of preparation off a spirit-breaking loss.
Schottenheimer having some apparent deference to Eberflus is also a massive deal for the overall dynamic of a coaching staff that elsewhere has earned a lot of praise. While Schottenheimer, Klayton Adams, and Conor Riley, among others, have been solid in their specific coaching duties, the most experienced coach of the bunch and only former head coach in Eberflus was the sole face of blame through the defensive struggles. Schottenheimer not addressing this and allowing the Cowboys miscalled defense to continue sinking an otherwise promising season on offense thanks to their ineffective zone would have been more in line with the actions of his predecessor McCarthy, who also had a former head coach and strong presence in Quinn as his DC for the majority of his tenure.
It’s worth noting both Jerry and Stephen Jones have also very publicly defended Eberflus multiple times, really putting even more of an onus on Schottenheimer to work with the hand he’s dealt here in year one. Where McCarthy’s debut season was similarly lost because of Mike Nolan’s one-and-done defense, Schottenheimer’s 2025 campaign doesn’t have to be if the Cowboys use this Commanders win to build momentum.
The Cowboys getting a much improved and more sustainable offense with the hire of Schottenheimer may be good enough to simply make the playoffs, something this team has done in similar fashion enough times to hardly move the fanbase at this point. The Cowboys getting a head coach that can scheme this type of offense while also taking charge of his entire staff and addressing a major problem on defense head on may be good enough for the ultimate goal of making a deeper run in the playoffs.
The Cowboys offense has succeeded, in the simplest terms, because they put their best playmakers in the best position to make plays. The scheme and philosophy is no longer rigid. Up until this last win against the Commanders, the Cowboys defense was rigid and not putting their defenders in the types of man coverages they are best at. That all changed against Washington. The Cowboys played much more man and scored ten points off a forced fumble and turnover on downs, and scored on defense for the first time this season with DaRon Bland’s pick-six.
Getting too far ahead after any win, loss, or clunky tie for the 2025 Cowboys has mostly been a mistake this season, as they’ll still head to Denver this Sunday looking for their first winning streak under Schottenheimer – needing to do something Dallas hasn’t done in their last three trips there and win at the Broncos to get it. That said, there are certain undisputable truths that have become evident over a decent sample size at this point. The summation of these things are starting to point towards the Cowboys being a team with plans to stay in the playoff hunt.
They can score with anyone, they’re well coached, starting to find their way on defense, and above all else have a head coach making all of these things work with a complete culture and attitude change that’s been pulled off in the blink of an eye. They don’t beat themselves so long as the defense is putting up even average resistance. When describing the Cowboys in all of these ways, they fit a similar profile in a lot of ways to teams like the Colts, Patriots, or Buccaneers, all teams in the hypothetical playoff field at the moment.
If week seven proved nothing else besides the fact Brian Schottenheimer is the real deal, which may prove true when considering just how depleted the Commanders were with injuries, the fact is the Dallas Cowboys can be the real deal with him at the helm as early as right now. Going 2-1-1 over this recent hot streak from Prescott is far from the best possible outcome, but there is no reason to think Schotty won’t keep the offense going in this direction while also continuing to help the defense turn a corner. The Cowboys can aim to win, at minimum, two of their next three games at the Broncos, home against the Cardinals, and at the Raiders off a bye before welcoming the Eagles to AT&T Stadium with five or even six wins on their record. Coach Schottenheimer is getting the type of meaningful games this franchise has begged to play in right away in his tenure, and Sunday was one such game the Cowboys passed with flying colors across the board.
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