Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images The focus throughout the rest of this season has to be on 2025 and beyond. Change has been a constant for the 2024 Dallas Cowboys. Poor player performance and numerous injuries on both sides of the ball have caused Dallas to mix things up on a consistent basis this season. As the Cowboys play out their final seven games of the regular season, more changes are to be expected as Dallas shifts their focus from winning this year to the future. With that in mind, we take a look at two players the Cowboys should use more moving forward. Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images 1) WR Kavontae Turpin It’s been tough sledding for the Cowboys offense this season. Things have gotten even worse since Dak Prescott’s injury, and recently Dallas has looked like one of the worst offensive units in all of football. Dallas moved the ball a bit better in Monday’s loss to the Texans, but they still struggled to find a good offensive balance and take care of the football. There weren’t many positives on offense, but one good thing to come out of the game was KaVontae Turpin making Dallas’ best offensive play in weeks. With Dallas down 14-0 at the start of the second quarter, Turpin scored Dallas’ second-longest offensive touchdown of the season, taking a quick slant pass 64 yards for a touchdown. TURPIN SPEEDS FOR 64. TD, COWBOYS! : #HOUvsDAL on ESPN/ABC : Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/58pkIaiCvb — NFL (@NFL) November 19, 2024 During his touchdown reception, Turpin reached a top speed of 22.36 mph, the fastest speed by any ball carrier in the NFL this season. Fastest ball carrier this season: KaVontae Turpin (22.36 mph) (via @NextGenStats) pic.twitter.com/MzTkeEHrpO — NFL (@NFL) November 19, 2024 In the coming weeks, the Cowboys need to give Turpin more opportunities on offense to see if he can make an impact as a wide receiver. The 28-year-old is a restricted free agent at season’s end and with all the holes elsewhere on Dallas’ roster, it may be hard to pay the price it would cost to retain him if you only believe he’s capable of being a kick/punt returner and a fifth or sixth option at receiver. Turpin showed that he was capable of using his game-changing speed on offense. Now it’s up to the Cowboys to find creative ways to use his best asset more consistently. Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images 2) CB/S Israel Mukuamu With starting slot cornerback Jourdan Lewis out on Monday night, the Cowboys turned to 24-year-old Israel Mukuamu to take his place. During his time in Dallas, Mukuamu has been a bit of a Swiss army knife player on defense, but Monday was a big opportunity for him to show he’s capable of contributing in a bigger way. While Mukuamu did get beat badly by Texans’ wideout Nico Collins once, he showed some positive signs throughout the game. One of Mukuamu’s best traits is his ability to use his 6’4 frame to get physical with receivers at the line of scrimmage, and he showed that on Monday. Got beat badly by Nico Collins once, but I thought Israel Mukuamu performed admirably in the slot for most of the game. Loved his physicality at the LOS to disrupt WRs’ route off the snap. He had a snafu or two in run defense but also filled pretty well throughout the game. I… pic.twitter.com/kt665gb2Jq — John Owning (@JohnOwning) November 19, 2024 On the night Mukuamu allowed three receptions for 52 yards with 33 of those coming on the long reception by Collins. Mukuamu’s 38 defensive snaps were the most he has played this season and it may be a sign of things to come moving forward. While Jourdan Lewis has been outstanding this season, it’s hard to envision him being back with the Cowboys after this season. Dallas has so many holes on their roster and with the way Lewis has played this year, it’s almost a guarantee some team will offer him more years and money than the Cowboys are willing and able to. If that is the case, Dallas will need to sign or elevate someone from their current roster to become their starting slot cornerback. While Mukuamu is also a free agent to be, he is significantly younger and Dallas could likely retain him for half of what it would cost to bring Lewis back. In the Cowboys’ final seven games of the season, they’ll need to see if Israel Mukuamu is a legitimate option as their starting slot corner next year.

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images Cowboys fans may not have be getting much from their own team, but there’s plenty to root for from others. Not much went the Cowboys’ way last week. Their own game aside, few of the other results helped improve Dallas’ position for the 2025 NFL Draft. Hopefully, the Week 12 games offer more assistance to our long-sighted goal. There were a few close calls from last week’s rooting guide. The Jets and Bears both lost by only one point to the Colts and Packers, respectively. A win by New York would’ve put them slightly above the Cowboys in winning percentage, which of course means below Dallas in terms of the draft. Here’s a loose look at the current 2025 draft order, based on just overall records: Jacksonville Jaguars (2-9) Cleveland Browns (2-8) Las Vegas Raiders (2-8) New York Giants (2-8) Tennessee Titans (2-8) New York Jets (3-8) New England Patriots (3-8) Carolina Panthers (3-7) Dallas Cowboys (3-7) Cincinnati Bengals (4-7) New Orleans Saints (4-7) Chicago Bears (4-6) Miami Dolphins (4-6) Tampa Bay Buccaneers (4-6) We’re doing it, guys! With another loss and other results last week, Dallas moved into a tie with Carolina for the eighth spot in the draft. Things will likely shift between now and when the Cowboys and Panthers meet in Week 15, but that game is suddenly becoming one of the most important on Dallas’ remaining schedule given potential draft implications. As for Week 12, it’s pretty straightforward in terms of how matchups benefit the Cowboys. Almost every game features winning teams against losing ones; playoff hopefuls versus 2025 draft hopefuls. If you’re rooting for Dallas to get the best draft pick possible in April, then here’s what you want to see happen. Giants over Buccaneers While being the worst team in the NFC East won’t feel good, the pain would be partially mitigated by having a higher pick than New York. But even with the G-Men dumping QB Daniel Jones and seemingly intent on tanking, Tampa has been so shaky this year. Tommy DeVito won three games as a starter last season and the change-up could give the Giants a short-term boost, especially at home. Rams over Eagles Seeing Philly lose is always fun and especially when it also benefits Dallas. Los Angeles is 5-5 and probably not a threat to the Cowboys’ draft pick, but better they keep their momentum and stay out of our hair. Patriots over Dolphins While both are losing teams, New England is more likely to stay that way and is currently ahead of Dallas in the draft order. Miami will probably edge closer to .500 by the end of the year now that Tua Tagovailoa is back, which will make them a non-factor for the Cowboys. Browns over SteelersBears over VikingsPanthers over ChiefsTitans over TexansRaiders over Broncos These are all easy picks; four teams Dallas needs to move ahead of in the draft order and one (Chicago) that isn’t far behind. You won’t see many, if any, of these games go our way. But if just a few do, Dallas could be in the mix for a top-five draft pick by the end of Sunday.

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images What are the most important things you want the Cowboys to be considering as the season continues to go on? The Dallas Cowboys continued their dismal season on Monday when they lost to the Houston Texans, their fifth consecutive defeat. That leaves the team at 3-7 for the year, and all but assures that there won’t be a fourth straight playoff appearance, especially with quarterback Dak Prescott gone until 2025. No matter what aspect you look at when it comes to the Cowboys, they’re a bad football team. They can’t stop the run, they can’t run it on offense, the offensive line is a mess, and they’re extremely undisciplined. However, there’s still seven more games for the Cowboys to play, and as frustrating as it is, the team has to grind it’s way through the rest of season and get to the offseason activities. Until then, let’s look at three things that we have learned about the Cowboys as they prepare for an NFC East battle with the Washington Commanders. Dallas needs to seriously consider putting DaRon Bland on season-ending injured reserve Bland had a season for the ages in 2023 by leading the NFL in interceptions (nine) and setting the record for touchdown returns with five. Unfortunately, he suffered a stress fracture in his foot that sidelined him for the first two months of the year. He was set to return a few weeks ago, but he had a setback in his recovery. With the Cowboys at 3-7 and little to no chance of making the playoffs, the team needs to think about shutting Bland down for the year. There’s no need to risk further injury in what has become a lost season for the Cowboys. The best thing is to let him heal up and come back ready for 2025. Cowboys should think about moving on from Terence Steele Steele was one of the better right tackles in the league in 2022. His ascension took a hit at the end of that season when he suffered a torn ACL and MCL. Despite this, the Cowboys signed him to a five-year extension before the 2023 season. He played all 17 games a year ago, but it was clear that he was still trying to get back to form. In 2024, Steele has struggled mightily. He’s getting beat with speed and power, and if a guy has any kind of a pass rush plan against Steele, they can make him look completely lost. The Cowboys should look at some of their alternatives at tackle, like Asim Richards, and see what they have for 2025 and beyond. Juanyeh Thomas needs to play more Donovan Wilson and Malik Hooker have been solid for the most part over the last few years. However, especially when it comes to Wilson, that play has dwindled this season. Wilson has been a huge liability in coverage, and he has missed 18% of his tackles, which is the second-highest of his career. Thomas has shown that when he gets opportunities, he can be a playmaker. He’s very disciplined in coverage, and he can help against the run. Dallas has little to no hope of making the postseason, and Thomas is a player that they should highly consider bringing back in 2025. They should give him more snaps now to see what they have for the foreseeable future.

Tim Heitman-Imagn Images Jerry Jones noted DaRon Bland is expected to make his season debut on Sunday. Among the litany of issues the Dallas Cowboys have been dealing with these days, many of them self-inflicted, they have been bitten rather hard by the injury bug. This has been a recurring theme across this season as a number of different players have been affected. One injury that the team has been dealing with for a while now has been that to cornerback DaRon Bland. In late August it was revealed that he had a stress fracture in his foot. Dallas opened the 21-day practice window for Bland ahead of the Detroit Lions game which was a week before the team’s bye. The looming bye made it a curious decision and the time since has as well given that it has been six weeks. Whatever the case, according to Jerry Jones we can expect to see Bland make his debut on Sunday against the Washington Commanders. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones expects CB DaRon Bland to make his season debut against the Washington. “Yes, I do, unless something pops its head up in the next couple of days.” @1053thefan — Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) November 21, 2024 It was this time last year when Bland was making himself a household name by returning interceptions for touchdowns left and right. Bland would famously go on to set the NFL record for most interceptions returned in a season during the team’s Thanksgiving Day game, incidentally a contest also against the Washington Commanders who the team will see on Sunday. Obviously this season is a lost one for the Cowboys, but Bland is eligible for a contract extension for the first time in the offseason. It stands to reason that he would want to capitalize on his performances last year, you know how that thing goes.

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images Historically speaking, we are watching one of the worst Dallas Cowboys teams to ever exist. It is easy to speak in hyperbole nowadays. Everything is the best or worst ever. So and so is the Greatest Of All Time. Anywhere and everywhere you look, like the sentence that you are currently reading, people exaggerate a bit. It is the way things go. Unlike the one you just read, this next sentence is not hyperbole: We are watching one of the worst Dallas Cowboys teams to ever exist. This is factually and objectively true, unfortunately. Amazingly, there are still seven games left of this monstrosity, but through their first ten games played, the current Cowboys are touching the most rarified of toxic and unbreathable air. How do we know this, exactly? Thanks to the tools that Stathead and Pro Football Reference offer we can sort things by way of team and NFL history at large and I am sorry to report that we are seeing some things that nobody should ever have to. 55 passing attempts in a game is rare and not ever a good thing Quarterback Cooper Rush had 55 passing attempts on Monday night against the Houston Texans. It is conventional wisdom that throwing the ball this many times in a single game is a bad idea, and the results are overwhelming proof of that. This was only the eighth time in franchise history that a Cowboys quarterback had at least 55 passing attempts. The team is 0-8 in every single one of those games. Congratulations to Rush though on joining a list that now features Troy Aikman, Tony Romo, Dak Prescott and himself. We saw the 50th instance of a Dallas Cowboys QB throwing for 350+ Among the results of Rush’s many attempts were enough completions to go for north of 350 passing yards (354 to be precise). This marked the 50th time that a Cowboys quarterback has thrown for at least 350 yards in a single game. Obviously Rush has only done it once which is true for the majority of players on this list. Bet you didn’t think you’d read something about Gary Hogeboom today! Only one rushing touchdown at home to this point is rare for the Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys have played five games at home so far this season. You know this. What you may not have totally remembered or realized is that the Cowboys have only a single rushing touchdown through these games specifically. It was a Dak Prescott rushing touchdown so for the record they do not have any from an actual running back. Nevertheless, this is only the third time in franchise history that the team has had one or fewer (so none) rushing touchdowns through their first five home games. We are in 2001 and 1988 territory! This is now tied for the third-longest losing streak at home in team history If we expand our search a bit then we obviously know that the Cowboys have lost six consecutive games at home with the playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers that completely broke, dismantled and disintegrated this franchise into an irrecoverable mess. I digress. Monday night’s loss to the Houston Texans at home put the Cowboys in a tie with the 1960 version of themselves (another team you do not want to be compared to) for the third-longest losing streak at home ever. That season, and the one at the top of this list, were ones that did not take place in the Cowboys’ current home building which means Dallas is currently in the middle of the second-longest losing streak in the history of AT&T Stadium specifically. It is not common to have three consecutive home games with ten or fewer points scored in each A moment ago we expanded outwardly, but if we isolate things a bit by focusing the microscope then we can see a particularly gross infection plaguing this team. Consider the last three home games specifically: Detroit Lions, Philadelphia Eagles and Houston Texans. Dallas scored nine, six and ten points in those games, respectively. They are the first team across the entire NFL to have three straight home games with ten or fewer points scored in five years. Think about the teams on this list. This is poor company. This is the only team in franchise history to have three straight home games with ten or fewer points scored In closing, I was curious once I got down the rabbit hole of this three-game stretch with ten or fewer points scored in it. Assuming you had the same thought that I did, I will offer the answer sobering answer you were afraid of. This is the first team in Dallas Cowboys franchise history to have three straight games at home with ten or fewer points scored in each of them. Any time any franchise record or mark is set is notable when you are talking about a team that has been around forever like this. What’s more is we are talking about a specific phenomenon occurring and over a multiple-game stretch. This isn’t a one-off or single event. These are the dark times, my friends.

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images The latest news surrounding the Dallas Cowboys. Brandin Cooks’ knee ‘feels great’, identifies key item missing from Cowboys – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com Dallas WR2 has been eager to return to the field. Brandin Cooks has been patiently waiting to return to the field for the Dallas Cowboys. The veteran wide receiver has been on injured reserve for the majority of the 2024 season, sidelined since Week 4 due to an infection in his knee, unable to do anything on the field to try and help avoid the current 3-7 record. His practice window was opened on Wednesday, however, giving the Cowboys a total of 21 days to determine if he’ll be moved back to the active roster or if he’ll revert to season-ending injured reserve. The latter seems extremely unlikely, seeing as Cooks is champing at the bit to play and, physically, is on track to do it possibly as early as this weekend against the Washington Commanders. “Feels great,” he said of his knee, stiff-arming any notion he’d have to contend with rust. “My mindset is to go out there as if I ain’t lose a step. I’ve been putting in the work with the training staff, strength coaches, and so that’s my mindset going into it. “Let’s go.” It’s been a rough go for the multi-time 1,000-yard receiver and not simply as he recovered from the infection, but also in seeing the tailspin that occurred on the field. “Yeah, I was definitely frustrated but, you know, it’s life and things happen,” he explained. “But it’s more frustrating when you see your team not winning. I think that that’s the thing. When you go out there and win, it’s one thing, but when we lose, and like how we’ve been [doing], it makes things a little harder and makes you when you get back and fast as you can to help as much as you can.” Cooks is looking to bring an aura back to the offense with seven games remaining. “I hope I can bring a spark and not just on the field, but just some of that energy out there on Sundays,” he said. “That’s my mindset — to just get guys playing at a high level, playing fast, playing free, and having a great time out there. I think that’s what I’m not seeing right now. “I think we can go out there and be more joyful in our process, for sure.” Micah Parsons Fires Shot at Ex-Teammate Dalton Schultz After Cowboys’ Loss to Texans – Karl Rasmussen, Sports Illustrated Parsons wasn’t pleased with how his former teammate celebrated the Texans’ victory. The Dallas Cowboys were totally outmatched on Monday night during a humbling 34–10 defeat against the Houston Texans. After the game, some Texans players took the opportunity to declare themselves the top team in the state, including tight end Dalton Schultz—who posted a coffee-related video about Houston’s stature atop the state’s football hierarchy. Schultz’s video doesn’t appear to have sat too well with Micah Parsons, with whom he was teammates on the Cowboys for two seasons from 2021 to 2022. During his weekly podcast episode, Parsons—somewhat hypocritically—called out Schultz for chirping on Twitter despite not having a huge impact in Monday’s win. “I actually saw Dalton Schultz put some little coffee thing on Twitter… I get if like Joe Mixon did that, you know, he had a decent game with 100 yards, 20 carries,” said Parsons. “But like, no impact and on Twitter? Come on.” In the win, Schultz recorded a team-high five receptions for 33 yards. It wasn’t a world-beating performance by any means, but he played his part. And one could argue he had a bigger contribution than Parsons, who recorded just one assisted tackle in the game. Still, Parsons felt it was appropriate to call out Schultz over his video—all while recording the latest episode of his podcast in the midst of a five-game losing streak. Michael Irvin says Deion Sanders would be willing to coach the Cowboys under one very specific condition – John Breech, CBS Sports The Playmaker wants to see his ex-Cowboys teammate at the helm. With the Dallas Cowboys sitting at 3-7 heading into Week 12, it’s starting to look like Mike McCarthy won’t be returning for a sixth season with the team. That means the Cowboys could be in the market for a new coach come January. If that happens, one name that keeps popping up is Deion Sanders. The Pro Football Hall of Famer spent five seasons in Dallas and won a Super Bowl with the Cowboys in 1995. Although Sanders seems to be happy in his current role as head coach at Colorado, the Cowboys could still lure him to Dallas if they’re willing to do one thing, according to Michael Irvin. During a Tuesday appearance on “The Herd,” Irvin was asked whether Sanders would consider taking the Cowboys coaching job if the team were to draft his son, Shedeur Sanders, and he gave a very interesting answer. “I believe 100% [yes], and I can tell you, good sources have told me that,” Irvin said. “Great sources have told me that. That’s all I can say like that without violating anything else.” Basically, if you believe Irvin, then Sanders would be all about taking the Dallas job if the Cowboys are willing to use their first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft on Shedeur, who is currently a star quarterback at Colorado. Considering the Cowboys already have Dak Prescott, this seems like an unlikely scenario, but crazier things have happened. Also, Irvin has already made it clear that he’s going to spend the next month pleading with Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to hire Deion. After a 3-7 start, here are the positives for the 2024 Dallas Cowboys – Shane Taylor, InsideTheStar.com The season is effectively over, but it’s not been completely void of any bright spots. What positives can we take away from such a down season for this football