What is going on with Trevon Diggs and the Dallas Cowboys? – Todd Archer, ESPN.com
Will Trevon Diggs ever suit up again as a member of the Dallas Cowboys?
It’s a simple question: What is going on with Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs?
Late last week, Diggs said he expected to play against the Minnesota Vikings after a two-month absence from a concussion and a stint on injured reserve with a right knee injury. On Saturday, he was told he would be inactive again.
“I was upset,” Diggs said.
He watched the 34-26 loss Sunday from the sideline.
After the game, owner and general manager Jerry Jones said, “Diggs isn’t healthy enough to be out there for us. Period.”
During the week leading up to the game, coach Brian Schottenheimer alluded to things beyond Diggs’ health. He said coaches needed to see consistency in “everything” from Diggs, just as they see it from quarterback Dak Prescott, tight end Jake Ferguson and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
When Schottenheimer was named head coach in January, he said he wanted to “build the best culture there is in professional sports” and he was unafraid to have “difficult conversations” with players, coaches or anybody in the organization.
Schottenheimer said he believes Diggs is buying into the culture he is trying to establish.
“No. 1, Trevon and I sat down and we had a very detailed conversation on Saturday,” Schottenheimer said Monday. “I told him not only the reasons why but also the standards and expectations. So again, I’m always going to have real conversations. I would never not play a player and not explain to them why they weren’t going to play. I know he feels he’s ready, but in our long conversation, I thought I made it very clear. And so I’ll leave it at that.”
Whatever they discussed, Diggs said after the game he still didn’t know why he was not active.
“From the first conversation that we had, it was practice. I guess I wasn’t showing them what they wanted to see in practice,” Diggs said. “This week, I showed them what they wanted to see in practice and it’s still the same result. I don’t know what else I need to do or what to show. At this point I feel like it’s not even, it’s not up to me or what I do. It’s really up to them, and what they want to do. I’m just showing up every day. I’m going to go to work.”
Jerry Jones says remaining schedule is ‘big criteria’ for Matt Eberflus’ future – Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram
It sounds like the final three weeks of the season will be a significant part of Matt Eberflus’ evaluation.
After a loss on Sunday night against the Minnesota Vikings that all but evaporated any chance at the Dallas Cowboys making the playoffs, owner Jerry Jones has begun to finally voice some frustration around the makeup of the defense.
In the loss, the Cowboys allowed Vikings first-year starting quarterback J.J. McCarthy throw for a career-high 250 yards, becoming the fourth quarterback to post a season-high total against the Dallas defense in 2025 (Russell Wilson, Justin Fields, Caleb Williams). Two more have posted the second-highest totals of their respective seasons (Jordan Love, Jalen Hurts).
The criticism has circled around Cowboys first-year defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus all season, but it seems as though the pressure is beginning to close in.
“We let their quarterback have a big day on us,” Jones said on his weekly radio interview on 105.3 The Fan. “That wasn’t the plan. We could have used more pressure, without question, at different times. The result was that we let [McCarthy] make some pretty significant plays out there. Plus, he played pretty well. It seems like we’re always saying that about these quarterbacks. Some of them hadn’t played as well, but when they play us, they play better. I think that’s telling, too.”
Jones has been in Eberflus’ corner for most of the season, crediting the defensive issues to the product of having three coordinators in as many seasons (Dan Quinn in 2023, Mike Zimmer in 2024, Eberflus in 2025). But after the recent struggles, the tune seems to be changing.
“Bottom line, I’d say we’ve been pretty off-balance,” Jones said. “Because of the way our defense has presented and the issues regarding our defense which I didn’t expect.”
Jerry Jones inducted into Sports Broadcasting Hall of Fame – Staff Writers, DallasCowboys.com
Jerry Jones’ imprint on the NFL extends beyond owning the Cowboys.
Jones joins the likes of broadcasting legends like Lee Corso, Greg Gumbel, Pam Oliver and others that are set to be inducted in New York City in December.
“I immediately thought, ‘My goodness, this is quite an honor,’” Jones told DallasCowboys.com when he received the news. “It’s an honor for the Dallas Cowboys, because we have a perception of being substantive relative to broadcasting, relative to journalism. It has everything to do with why I’m as aggressive or as active or a combination of that and appreciative of the people in the profession.”
Aside from his duties as owner of the Cowboys, Jones has been instrumental in the overall impact behind the scenes of the entire NFL that have helped it become the most popular sport in the United States. A large part of that was his contribution to securing televion rights deals.
In 1992, several league owners wanted to organize a give back to networks. Jones saw an opportunity for economic growth instead, and took advantage of an opportunity that then-NFL commissioner Paul Tagliabue offered him to come join in on contract negotiations with the television networks.
During those meetings, Jones helped foster talks that ultimately led to Fox offering $100 million more per season than CBS did at the time, and helped the league’s total television contract reach $1.1 billion.
And grow the game they did, with the latest media rights deals between the NFL and television networks like Amazon, CBS, ESPN, FOX, and NBC reaching $110 billion over 11 years back in 2021. Without Jones’ contributions to the negotiations several decades ago, the NFL’s relationship with their media partners could’ve been vastly different.
Over 34 years, Jones has accrued a combined total of 136 years of service on 15 different NFL ownership committees.
Tape Talk: What stood out on film from Cowboys-Vikings – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com
A great breakdown of what went right and what went wrong for Dallas after every game.
Offensive struggles vs. zero blitzes
Nobody in the NFL blitzes more than Brian Flores and the Vikings, and that was again the case on Sunday night against the Cowboys. Minnesota blitzed on 46.3% of their plays, and it was getting home on Dak Prescott, causing Dallas’ offense to struggle. From not adjusting at the line of scrimmage to not being able to have quick routes available on blitz plays, the Cowboys had little answers for the looks that the Vikings presented, and gave the opposing defense their flowers.
On this play, the Vikings defense is in what Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer called “all up,” which is essentially Cover 0. That means most, if not all of the players lined up at the line of scrimmage (seven in this case) will likely go after the cornerback, leaving the rest of the field in one-on-one man coverage between the receivers and defensive backs.
How do you diagnose who is and isn’t coming at you on a blitz in these looks? Pre-snap motion and the offense’s cadence, essentially trying to get defenders to move ahead of the snap and show where they’re going. There was no motion on this play, and it’s just a quick three step drop for Dak Prescott and a curl route from CeeDee Lamb to get some quick, easy yards. What ruins all of that is Harrison Smith coming unblocked on a blitz, and he gets a hand on the football here to cause the throw to be just off target, and it’s incomplete.
Run game looked better
One bright spot for Dallas on Sunday night was their run game finding some more efficiency, as Javonte Williams finished with 91 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries. His 6.1 yards per carry marked the fourth time this season that he’s rushed for more than six yards per carry in a game this season.
As has been the case all year when the run game is clicking, the interior of the offensive line was doing work for the Cowboys. After spending some time on the sidelines with a shoulder stinger in the first half, Williams returned to the field to begin the second half and started things off with an explosive 15-yard carry on the first play of the half.
On this play, the offensive line slides right, and Williams runs right, two things that have been strongsuits this season. Both guards and tackles are working in tandem to handle their assignments, leaving Cooper Beebe one-on-one in the middle where he won his battle and turned the defender to the outside, giving Javonte Williams a lane behind him. That leaves Tyler Smith as his lead blocker, and he’s worked his way up to the second level to put his hands on the linebacker and there’s nobody else at the second level for Minnesota, leading to a big gain for Dallas.
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