Jerry Jones: Cowboys ‘underachieved’ in 2025 but bullish on future – Todd Archer, ESPN
The Cowboys owner is always selling.
But Jones does not believe that the Cowboys are far from making an extended postseason run.
“We’ve got a team that I think has got a top future, as far as next year’s concerned,” Jones said. “Starting with the offense, starting with that as we stand here tonight. And I think we’ve got the bones of a heck of a defense out there as well.
“And so, I think that as we do things that are directed toward making us better, period, no matter who we do it with, as we do those things, we’re starting [from a] real good spot. And I like what we’ve done with our cap. We’re able to spend money if we need to. And we’ll be able to draft with the picks we got. So, I can give you all kinds of reasons why we can change up what we’re doing out here tonight.”
The Cowboys have a 4,000-yard passer (Dak Prescott), a 1,000-yard running back (Javonte Williams) and two 1,000-yard receivers (CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens) for just the second time in franchise history. The other time it happened came in 2019, with Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup, and the Cowboys also missed the playoffs.
Jones feels good about the interior of his defensive line, with tackles Quinnen Williams, who did not play against the Chargers because of a neck issue, Kenny Clark and Osa Odighizuwa. Jones sees promise in linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who suffered a concussion in the first half Sunday, and rookie edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku.
Jerry Jones makes Cowboys’ tank official with Matt Eberflus decision- Jerry Trotta, The Landy Hat
Eberflus might be down to his last two games as a Dallas DC, but he isn’t being fired before then.
As painful as it is to watch an Eberflus-led defense, firing him might lead to some improved performances. At this point, losing out is in the Cowboys’ best interest. Harming their draft position by winning meaningless games would not be ideal, even though Brian Schottenheimer is undoubtedly coaching to win to finish out his first year as a head coach.
With the Vikings’ win over the Giants, the Cowboys moved up one spot to the No. 13 overall pick in the 2026 NFL Draft. They will also pick No. 21 overall, courtesy of the Packers. That’s not a bad spot to be, considering they were still alive in the playoff race before Saturday.
Of course, Jones would never openly admit to tanking. The 83-year-old wants to win. But he is indirectly feeding fans’ desire to tank by continuing to employ Eberflus.
Trevon Diggs on return to the field, uncertain of future with Cowboys- Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
Diggs’ time in Dallas may also be numbered.
With his counterpart DaRon Bland out for the season with a foot injury that will likely require surgery, Diggs was activated off IR on Saturday and played 52 snaps in his first game back in over two months.
“It was a blessing, it felt amazing,” Diggs said. “Super excited, super happy to go out there and get to compete with my brothers.”
Cowboys owner/GM Jerry Jones will have to go back and watch the film, but from what he saw live, he was happy with Diggs’ performance.
“Without looking at it, I wouldn’t know when he was in or out of coverage, but I thought he played with a lot of, really, awareness. I thought he played well,” Jones said. “He played against some good competition. That’s a good quarterback out there… I was glad to see him back out there.”
The Diggs saga has been one that’s dated several weeks now, with head coach Brian Schottenheimer saying a few weeks ago that the team needed to see consistency from Diggs in “everything.” This week, Diggs said that Schottenheimer and the team challenged him to on “competing, doing everything right, tackling, everything.”
Cowboys wideout makes team history in loss to Chargers – Angel Torres, Cowboys Wire
On a more positive note.
For the fifth consecutive season, Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb has eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark, tying him with fellow 88-club member and Dallas Hall-of-Famer Michael Irvin as the only pass-catchers to do so in franchise history. Lamb caught a three-yard pass at the end of the first quarter to move him to 26 yards on the game.
He’d finish the contest with six receptions for 51 yards, breaking his three-game streak of over 100 receiving yards.
This is also the first time Dallas has had two 1,000-yard receivers since the 2019 season when Amari Cooper and Michael Gallup both reached the milestone, the fourth time in Cowboys history. Receiver George Pickens entered the game with 1,212 yards. Drew Pearson and Tony Hill became the first to accomplish that feat back in the 1979 season.
Dallas had to wait for 27 years for it to happen again when Terrell Owens and Terry Glenn did it in 2006 before that 2019 season. The list extends to eight times if tight ends are included, all coming with Jason Witten as the non-receiver who gained 1,000 yards.
Depressing stat highlights harsh reality of Cowboys’ defense – Dustin Lewis, Sports Illustrated
You don’t need stats to know the defense has played poorly, but it definitely highlights the point.
Sunday afternoon marked the second consecutive game where the Cowboys failed to record a sack. It’s not like the defense front was facing two of the top offensive lines in the league, either.
Los Angeles came into the contest ranked second-worst in the league in sacks allowed (51). Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert had been sacked 11 times in his last two appearances. The victory over Dallas marked the first game this season that LA didn’t allow at least one sack.
A week earlier, the Cowboys produced a single quarterback hurry while giving away the game in the fourth quarter against Minnesota. The Vikings also sit near the bottom of the league in sacks allowed.
These are the type of lapses that can happen when a team doesn’t field an elite pass-rusher. The Cowboys are relying on a veteran on his last legs, as Jadeveon Clowney is second on the roster with four sacks. Outside of that, James Houston and Dante Fowler Jr. are the only real threats, with Quinnen Williams getting in the mix as well.
Clowney’s production has been up and down over the last few years. Houston recorded eight sacks in 2022 but only totaled one during the past two years. Fowler Jr. posted 10.5 sacks last season; however, he’s finished with five or fewer sacks in eight of his 12 seasons in the league.
Another issue on a long list that the Cowboys will have to set out and fix this offseason.
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