The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, November 4th and it feels safe to say that we all expect the Dallas Cowboys to do something. An argument can be made that the Cowboys would be best served to be sellers at the deadline. Within this idea lies the uncomfortable notion of trading away someone like George […] The NFL trade deadline is Tuesday, November 4th and it feels safe to say that we all expect the Dallas Cowboys to do something. An argument can be made that the Cowboys would be best served to be sellers at the deadline. Within this idea lies the uncomfortable notion of trading away someone like George Pickens. Pickens is a wonderful player and trading him would significantly hurt this season’s team, but this season’s team has sort of sealed their own fate. With Pickens in a contract year and the Cowboys have a, um, history with situations like that, this is how people reach that uncomfortable idea as a discussion point. So we are clear these are just things being thrown out for ideas. ESPN’s Bill Barnwell did something similar in suggesting players that teams who should be sellers should consider moving on from. Barnwell had the Cowboys as a team who should sell if this isn’t obvious, and while he didn’t include Pickens in his write-up, he did note a few interesting names including Brandon Aubrey. Notable trade candidates: WR Jonathan Mingo, RB Javonte Williams, DT Mazi Smith, DT Kenny Clark, Edge Sam Williams, Edge James Houston, K Brandon Aubrey Well, you’ve watched the Cowboys’ defense. At 3-4-1 and with a stretch of games against the Eagles, Chiefs and Lions later this season, it’s tough to envision the Cowboys making it to the postseason, let alone doing anything once there. Jerry Jones has proudly bragged about the draft picks the Cowboys got for Micah Parsons and how they might help Dallas land a handful of valuable players, but barring something unexpected, those picks aren’t going to make a difference in 2025. I would be stunned if the Cowboys traded Aubrey, but I’m throwing him out here more as a thought experiment than anything else. A going-nowhere Cowboys team doesn’t have much use for Aubrey, and although kickers can play into their 40s, the former soccer player is already 30 years old. He’s obviously a valuable player, but Aubrey is eligible for an extension next offseason, and the Cowboys need to save money around Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb to address their defense. Most teams aren’t going to trade a premium pick for a kicker, but Aubrey is so good that I wonder whether all-in teams might be willing to make an exception. Would someone like the Rams be willing to offer the Cowboys a second-round pick for Aubrey? My guess is no, but it’s fun to think about. Williams, having a career season on a one-year deal at running back for a team that clearly sees running backs as replaceable in the post-Ezekiel Elliott era, would also have an interesting market. Brandon Aubrey is perhaps the best kicker in the NFL. Moving on from him, at least the idea of doing so, sounds preposterous. You have to consider that Barnwell is exploring all potential options and discussing the merit of them. Trading away Aubrey would be a clear punt on the season, no pun intended given that Aubrey plays special teams, which is pretty uncharacteristic of the Cowboys. Of all of the names suggested here, Aubrey might command the most in a would-be trade, although that says more about the rest of the list than it does Aubrey (it is definitely interesting to think what Aubrey could fetch on a hypothetical trade market). You will note that Kenny Clark is also listed as an option from Barnwell. Clark was included in a previous trade that the Cowboys made, the one in which they sent away Micah Parsons right before the season began. It should be noted that there was some strange reporting (also from ESPN) in the aftermath of the Parsons trade regarding Clark. It was specifically shared how the Cowboys valued Clark’s contract and specifically that it was one that had escapability in 2026. Keep in mind that the Cowboys told ESPN this while telling the public that Clark was a must-have in the trade for both the present and the future. Clark, a staple of the Packers defense since entering the league in 2016, was hardly a throw-in. His contract was attractive — Green Bay had already paid him the bulk of his 2025 deal, so the Cowboys would pay him just $2 million this season, and $20 million unguaranteed next season. A two-year, $22 million deal for a high-level player was viewed as a win for a Dallas team that sees the 29-year-old Clark as a multiyear solution, and there would also be no dead money if the Cowboys chose to release him after the season. “From our perspective, it had to include Kenny Clark,” a source close to Jones said. “The only way it worked for us, we need something that helps us now and helps us in the future.” Back to Aubrey. He has something in common with the George Pickens who we mentioned up top. Aubrey is in the final year of his current contract which means the Cowboys are going to have to figure something out if they want to keep him around long-term. As noted with Pickens, that isn’t necessarily their specialty in terms of accomplishing it in an efficient manner. This also serves as an “argument” for trading him, if you want to have those kinds of discussions. See More: Dallas Cowboys Rumors

Each week we dive into each team’s rookie class and compare how they stack up against each other. (Grades for each player are the overall offensive or defensive grade handed out by PFF.com) Dallas Cowboys Tyler Booker (OG) First Round Booker walks into an Arizona front that wins with group effort rather than with one wrecking ball. […] Each week we dive into each team’s rookie class and compare how they stack up against each other. (Grades for each player are the overall offensive or defensive grade handed out by PFF.com) Dallas Cowboys Tyler Booker (OG) First Round Booker walks into an Arizona front that wins with group effort rather than with one wrecking ball. Defensive coordinator Nick Rallis loves to bring A-gap heat with twists designed to pry open the B-gap. That’s the real stressor for a right guard, it’s not the first punch, but the second and third. Expecting Josh Sweat and Calais Campbell to creep inside on passing downs and a steady dose of slants meant to turn the shoulders of guards. The Cardinals have been feisty on third down where they allow the seventh-best third-down conversion rate allowed. But Booker can flip that script. Duo and inside zone don’t need to be home runs, but they need four yards or so. In Booker In Booker’s last two starts since returning, Dallas has allowed just three sacks on 65 dropbacks while rushing for 260 yards and four touchdowns, with the interior playing a big part here so the pocket could hold up. Against Washington, the offense punched in 3-of-4 red-zone trips and ran for 152 yards. Last week in Denver it was a grind, but the team did score two rushing touchdowns, with one coming directly behind Booker. That’s the kind of short-yardage blows you need from a guard’s pad level and power. Grade: 67.2 Donovan Ezeiraku (DE) Second Round Ezeiruaku’s rookie tape this season has slowly been a steady climb. He’s moved from backup player to a real rotation piece, and the production finally matched the process with his first NFL sack against Washington. The traits are now showing up every week with his varied get-off, a stubborn long arm, and rush-lane discipline that keeps the quarterback boxed in when he’s on the field. Add a handful of drive-shaping hurries, a forced fumble earlier in the month, and solid screen retraces, and Dallas has got a young edge who is slowly finding his feet. The rough edges are the fixable kind. He’ll occasionally push too deep on the pass rush and let the QB climb like he did in Denver, or hit plays a tick too hot and open the cutback he’s supposed to close. When tackles sit on the long arm, the counter has arrived a little late, and when tight ends chip, his first step can drift high and steal his leverage. All he needs now is to start to bring the counter earlier on long downs, and keep the outside hand free so he can set the edge and still transition into the rush. Against Arizona, the job is all about patience. The Cardinals lean on play-action, boots, and plenty of movement in the pocket to blur the picture, so his best work will come from smart rush plans early in the game. Grade: 73.7 Shavon Revel Jr. (CB) Third Round Currently on Non-Football injury list but is close to returning Jaydon Blue (RB) Fifth Round Blue’s rookie reel has felt more like trailers than a full feature. He’s lived on a light snap count behind Javonte Williams, and the box score shows it with limited touches, modest yardage, and not much rhythm from week to week. The flashes look good when the picture is clean, you see a glider’s stride and easy acceleration to the edge, the kind of speed that makes off-tackle concepts feel threatening even before the ball is snapped. The hesitation you’re seeing isn’t fear, it’s processing. On outside zone he’ll bounce outside before he fully presses the landmark, shrinking the lane he’s trying to find. Inside, he can slow down inviting square contact from linebackers who should be a step late. That’s rookie processing unfortunately. When he does play without thinking, the speed plays it factor. Ball security is the other problem, and it predates Dallas. Blue arrived with scouting notes about loose carries and late swaps in traffic, and the fumble this season was a familiar culprit. We saw him fighting for extra yards with the ball low and away from the ribcage and limited points of contact with the ball. The fix isn’t difficult to figure out. Coaching into him that he needs five points of pressure on the ball when contact is coming, and that travels to every play and stadium, the fumbles can stay locked away. Clean that up and the staff will live with the occasional zero-yarder, because the threat of the big one is baked into his speed. Grade: 50.0 Shemar James (LB) Fifth Round When James is on the field the second level moves a tick quicker. The keys get sorted, gaps get plugged, and checkdowns die right where he meets them. The strengths are easy to find on tape with an instant trigger and a finish that drops ball carriers backward. He’s already sprinkled in some splash plays with a well-timed pressure for a sack, a punch-out in the flat that flipped a drive, and he doesn’t fade in the fourth quarter. The issues are the teachable and week-to-week he does look to be improving slightly. He’ll overrun zone rushes when he trusts his speed too much, take a flat pursuit angle, or bite on hard play-action throws. Coverage looks better than most rookies. When the ball comes out underneath, he closes with balance and wraps up instead of lunging. Pair that with good timing to trigger the instant the back stays in, and Dallas gets a linebacker who can help the rush without breaking the containment. Grade: 45.2 Ajani Cornelius

The bye week is coming up for the Dallas Cowboys which means they will have the week off. You should think about taking the week for yourself, too. If you are looking for a place or opportunity to kick up your feet, relax, and have a good time then you should consider Bye Week at […] The bye week is coming up for the Dallas Cowboys which means they will have the week off. You should think about taking the week for yourself, too. If you are looking for a place or opportunity to kick up your feet, relax, and have a good time then you should consider Bye Week at the Beach at TradeWinds Resort in St. Pete Beach, Florida. You will find yourself in the company of Merril Hoge, Thomas Everett, and Ernie Mills if you choose to do so! “As a current player, I would have liked it. I wanted to spend time with my Family and I know my younger siblings would have loved the pool, beach, etc.” —Ernie Mills The event in question will take place on November 8th when the Cowboys are on their bye week. You can spend the day roaming around the resort and watching college football. What better combination is there as the Cowboys have the week off? Opportunities like this also make a lot of sense for active players. Their seasons are so hectic and chaotic and having an opportunity to connect with one another in their week away is invaluable. “We spend countless hours with our teammates in the locker room, meetings, on the field and off the field. Young Adults from 21-early 30’s becoming Men with families along the way and we don’t all live in the same town or have the same agenda in life. Having the opportunity to connect with brothers and sharing stories and flashbacks (some better than others!) are the best part of the weekend. Affirming how great of a person we were then and now. Great feeling!!” —Ernie Mills Hopefully you and yours are able to make it out to TradeWinds Resort to mingle with these three and all else in attendance! See More: General

Things are not going well for the Dallas Cowboys. After eight games, the team has only three wins. Their chances of making the playoffs grow slimmer with each week. Besides their inability to win back-to-back games, they have multiple things working against them. For starters, 13 of the 16 NFC teams (81%) also have at […] Things are not going well for the Dallas Cowboys. After eight games, the team has only three wins. Their chances of making the playoffs grow slimmer with each week. Besides their inability to win back-to-back games, they have multiple things working against them. For starters, 13 of the 16 NFC teams (81%) also have at least three wins, so it’s a packed house when it comes to teams vying for a playoff spot. Second, the Cowboys have a brutal stretch of games in late November/early December when they’ll square off against tough opponents: Week 12, November 23rd – Eagles, 6-2 Week 13, November 27th – Chiefs, 5-3 Week 14, December 4th – Lions, 5-2 Week 16, December 21st – Chargers, 5-2 Making matters even more difficult is that all of those teams have good offenses that should have a field day against this Cowboys defense. It’s not hard to see that a losing season could be on the horizon for this team, and that any shot at a real playoff run is slipping away. Last week, the sentiment was slightly different, with some fans holding on to a glimmer of hope. There were many discussions about making a big trade to acquire a difference-making defensive player who might be able to help save the season. For many fans, the “win now” plan would have looked something like this: It’s becoming clearer that there is no great savior out there. The defense’s problems won’t be remedied by one player, and the best thing for them to do is to save that draft capital and look for their solutions next year. Plus, in a week, we learned that the Raiders have no desire to trade Maxx Crosby. We also watched the defense get torched by the Broncos’ offense. Even the great offense we’ve seen all year sputtered, where they quickly found themselves in a hole they could never get out of. Things couldn’t have gone much worse. So, obviously, they need a new plan. This plan should be centered around fixing the defense and maximizing the window where they have good quarterback play. This is tricky because it requires both patience and a willingness to be assertive. But there’s a path where they can make great strides in accomplishing such, and it could go a little something like this: Re-sign George Pickens Yes, this was also part of the “win-now” plan, but there really shouldn’t be any scenario where he is not a part of their future. They used a third-round pick to get him, and he’s been nothing short of fantastic since stepping on the field. The alternative is to use draft capital for one of the top collegiate receivers, but that’s a risky thing to do for two reasons: (A) you never know what you’re going to get, and (B) they need those premium draft resources for defense. Take the sure thing that is Pickens. He possesses a skillset that is not readily found, and when you have something great, it’s okay to shell out the funds to keep it. Attack defense in the draft This is expected. We all know this is where they need the most help, and several areas need addressing. Plus, the offense is stacked with talent that there are no pressing areas. The offensive line is set with four of its five starters, all young players who have been selected in recent drafts. This allows the team to focus most of its attention on defense. It’s also worth mentioning that the team does have a lot of young defensive players who are still finding their place on the team. This list includes: DeMarvion Overshown Donovan Ezeiruaku Shavon Revel Jr. Marshawn Kneeland Marist Liufau Shemar James Some of these guys are going to work out, some won’t. After the conclusion of the season, they’ll have a stronger idea of which players offer promise and which areas need a major upgrade. If the Cowboys can find a way to add a few key pieces to this young group, the defense stands a good chance of being much improved in future seasons. It’s easy to just say draft the best players available with their two first-round picks, but that’s a lot of draft capital. They might be better served to spread the love and acquire more picks. Since we expect them to go defense-heavy, they don’t want to reach for a defensive player, but instead move to where the cluster of defensive players live. This means they could use one of their first-round picks on an impact defensive player, but not both. Instead, use the second one to trade back and acquire more picks. Moving around in this manner could look something like this: 1st rounder #1 – draft an impact defensive player 1st rounder #2 – trade out of first round, get an extra 2nd and 3rd 2nd rounder #1 – draft an impact defensive player 2nd rounder #2 – draft a top collegiate RB 3rd rounder – draft an impact defensive player Going with something like this allows them to have four top 100 picks instead of just three. They can still look to grab three strong defensive players and still have one premium pick left over for an offensive player. The team has been reluctant to spend top draft capital on a running back, but with the resurgence of their offensive line/blocking scheme, they should strongly consider keeping this a strength by acquiring one of college’s top runners. Look for Dak’s replacement When you look at all the talent on this team, it’s easy to feel optimistic about the future, as there are a lot of young pieces,

We have a bit of a weird question for you today. The Dallas Cowboys play their next game on Monday night against the Arizona Cardinals and we all have some trepidation about it given Arizona’s recent success against the Cowboys. They have won seven of the last eight meetings between the team. Oh, and Cardinals […] We have a bit of a weird question for you today. The Dallas Cowboys play their next game on Monday night against the Arizona Cardinals and we all have some trepidation about it given Arizona’s recent success against the Cowboys. They have won seven of the last eight meetings between the team. Oh, and Cardinals quarterback Kyler Murray is 9-0 dating back to high school inside of AT&T Stadium where the game will be played. The question is weird. We understand. But we want to see how you all are thinking. What is the best way that Dallas could lose on Monday night? You can take this how you want. Maybe you want the Cowboys to get embarrassed in the sense of it maybe leading to change. Perhaps you want the defense to show some teeth and play well, but the offense lets them down and ultimate hope can be drawn from it all for that kind of reason. Let us know what you think in the comments below. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

Cowboys’ Brian Schottenheimer on 3-4-1 start: Can take stats on offense and shove ’em – Nick Shook, NFL.com Schottenheimer is interested in wins not statistics. In a parity-filled, unpredictable 2025 season, perhaps no team matches their overall record better the Dallas Cowboys. At 3-4-1, Dallas has been good enough to win (and in one instance, […] Cowboys’ Brian Schottenheimer on 3-4-1 start: Can take stats on offense and shove ‘em – Nick Shook, NFL.com Schottenheimer is interested in wins not statistics. In a parity-filled, unpredictable 2025 season, perhaps no team matches their overall record better the Dallas Cowboys. At 3-4-1, Dallas has been good enough to win (and in one instance, tie) shootouts. The Cowboys have also been porous enough defensively to get shredded by the likes of Denver, Carolina and the Russell Wilson-led Giants, with the last being the most damning fact of all. It’s been evident from the first week of the season: The Cowboys are an offensively driven team, powered by a unit capable of scoring enough to keep them in most games thanks in large part to the excellent play of quarterback Dak Prescott. That’s understandably not satisfactory for first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer. “None of us have done good enough. Coaches, players, head coach, none of us have done good enough,” Schottenheimer told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s real. Our scorecard is what it is. That’s not just defensively, that’s offensively. We’re a football team that’s 3-4-1. You can take the stats on offense and shove ‘em up your a– as far as I’m concerned.” Clowney, Clark on defensive woes: ‘Hold each other accountable’ – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com The Cowboys have one of the worst defenses in team history this season, and it needs to change. FRISCO, Texas — It’s statistically one of the worst defenses in the history of the Dallas Cowboys, so it stands to reason coaches and players alike are oscillating between frustration and anger. Eight games into the 2025 season, sitting at 3-4-1 and approaching the point of no return if they can’t figure out a way to consistently stop opposing offenses, there’s no shortage of pressure for that side of the ball to, at minimum, be serviceable. The tone of each defensive player, however, remains one of determination, and that includes Jadeveon Clowney, now several games in after joining the team via free agency in September. He’s been around the NFL block a few times, and seen his fair share of rosters — trying to figure out what’s holding the Cowboys’ defense back heading into the Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals. “I tell the guys all the time, man, I’ve played on seven teams — it’s my seventh year,” said Clowney. “There’s a lot of talent on his roster for us to not be winning consistently. We always have to come back and figure out what’s going on. We’ve got a lot of talent here.” Cowboys DL Perrion Winfrey designated to return from IR – Connor Livesay, Blogging The Boys The former fourth-round pick is working his way back to the field. The defensive tackle play from the Dallas Cowboys in 2025 has been less than ideal. With veterans Osa Odighizuwa and Kenny Clark really struggling the last few weeks, the Cowboys have tried mixing up snaps from Mazi Smith, Jay Toia, and Solomon Thomas to look for a jolt in production. With little success, the Cowboys may turn to an offseason hero in Perrion Winfrey, who the Dallas Cowboys designated to return off of IR. Winfrey, 25, has yet to play this season for the Cowboys due to a back injury he suffered leading up to the Cowboys week one game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Winfrey was placed on IR before week one and has been flying under the radar since. After slow first half, Cowboys second-round DE Donovan Ezeiruaku is improving week by week – Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News Its been a methodical process, but Donovan Ezeiruaku is figuring things out. FRISCO — In his senior season at Boston College, Donovan Ezeiruaku led the nation with 16 1/2 sacks with a 1.38 per game sack rate. He had 15 quarterback hits, 20 1/2 tackles for loss and 80 tackles. In the pros, Ezeiruaku, the Cowboys’ second-round pick edge rusher, has just one sack and nine quarterback hits through eight games of his rookie season. He said he’s improving each week, and that’s been evident recently as he hits the halfway mark of his first year as an NFL player. In the last three weeks, Ezeiruaku has six tackles, three tackles for loss, four quarterback hits and one sack. “I think I’ve been getting better every week,” he said. “I think it’s going pretty well in terms of my individual personal development. But it’s obviously tough when you know as a team we’re not doing what we’re supposed to do. Sometimes it feels that I’m not really progressing as a player individually but things are going well. I’m healthy and I’m going to continue to push and get wins.” Dallas continues to have ties to Bengals’ star pass rusher Trey Hendrickson. Dallas has been linked to Cincinnati Bengals superstar Trey Hendrickson, who led the league in sacks in 2024, but there have been conflicting reports on whether the team would actually part ways with him. After Sunday’s heartbreaking loss to the New York Jets, Hendrickson could be back on the trade block. In fact, Hendrickson is listed as day-to-day with a reported hip issue. Players popping up on the injury report and being inactive before a potential trade is not an uncommon practice. According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, the Cowboys remain interested in landing the 31-year-old pass rusher. “Up to this point, the Bengals have rebuffed trade inquiries, and sources have maintained that Cincinnati has no plans to trade Hendrickson right now,” Fowler wrote. ”The Cowboys and 49ers are among the interested teams, though San Francisco made a move for a pass rusher Tuesday night.” See More:

The Dallas Cowboys have been linked in NFL trade rumors to Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson again. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler was the one to provide the link on Wednesday morning. Up to this point, the Bengals have rebuffed trade inquiries, and sources have maintained that Cincinnati has no plans to trade Hendrickson right now. […] The Dallas Cowboys have been linked in NFL trade rumors to Cincinnati Bengals pass rusher Trey Hendrickson again. ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler was the one to provide the link on Wednesday morning. Up to this point, the Bengals have rebuffed trade inquiries, and sources have maintained that Cincinnati has no plans to trade Hendrickson right now. The Cowboys and 49ers are among the interested teams, though San Francisco made a move for a pass rusher Tuesday night. It was Fowler who connected Dallas to Hendrickson a week ago when rumors were flying a bit more heavily around the Cowboys. He noted then that Dallas held interest in Hendrickson just one day after it was reported that the Cowboys had eyes for Las Vegas Raiders pass rusher Maxx Crosby. These two hypothetical trades involve a different type of commitment from the Cowboys. Crosby is under team control through the 2029 season for all intents and purposes. Hendrickson is in the final year of his current deal. It was one that the Bengals re-worked in the 11th hour before the season began; he initially held out while seeking a proper payday after leading the league in sacks last season. Last week’s Cowboys loss to the Denver Broncos puts the team in a bind as to whether they are buyers are sellers. We offered an opinion after the game here at BTB that making an impact move for this season specifically would be unwise. Hendrickson would be that type of move given his contract situation. Given his situation, Hendrickson would obviously cost less and in that sense may seem more enticing. Crosby is the better player, is under team control, and therefore would require a significantly larger investment from Dallas in a hypothetical trade. While the help in 2025 may ultimately be in vain from an overall team perspective, his general situation is one that could line up nicely with this team’s future window. In other words a Crosby trade would help the present and the future in a way that Hendrickson probably wouldn’t. Last year the Cowboys made a move for Jonathan Mingo right at the deadline, and with all due respect to the player, it felt like the biggest of possible panic moves that the front office could make. He has yet to seriously help the team although they did acquire a team with multiple years of team control to their credit. Trading for Hendrickson would suggest that the Cowboys are going all-in (sorry, but the wording makes sense here) on the 2025 season which could be unwise. The trade deadline is next Tuesday, November 4th. See More: Dallas Cowboys Rumors

We are eight games into the Brian Schottenheimer era, nearly halfway through the season, and so far there is a lot to like about the 10th head coach of America’s Team. Even after a miserable performance against the Broncos, the offense – for which Schottenheimer calls plays – has been stellar. They’re second in both […] We are eight games into the Brian Schottenheimer era, nearly halfway through the season, and so far there is a lot to like about the 10th head coach of America’s Team. Even after a miserable performance against the Broncos, the offense – for which Schottenheimer calls plays – has been stellar. They’re second in both yards and points and rank fifth in EPA/play and eighth in offensive DVOA. Dak Prescott is having arguably the best year of his illustrious career, and Javonte Williams is enjoying a career resurgence. The defense hasn’t been as good, to say the least, but they’ve seen improvements. Over the last four weeks, they’re actually up to 20th in EPA/play and 15th in EPA/dropback, both of which are legitimate jumps in efficiency. Matt Eberflus has drastically shifted his scheme the last two weeks, increasing press coverage by over 20%, blitz rate by 24%, and tripling his rates of both Cover 1 and Cover 0. Schottenheimer undoubtedly played a part, small or large, in making those schematic adjustments to better fit the players Eberflus is working with. He’s also remained steady in the precise, methodical way he calls this offense, routinely setting his players up for success despite not having CeeDee Lamb for a chunk of those games. Yet, there is still one glaring area where Schottenheimer is failing the Cowboys: aggression. That might seem odd to say, given the way Schottenheimer’s offense frequently attacks down the field, but I’m talking about his approach to fourth downs. Schottenheimer’s predecessor, Mike McCarthy, was one of the more aggressive head coaches in the league when it came to fourth-down decision-making. Thus far, Schottenheimer has not followed suit. So far this season, the Cowboys have gone for it on fourth down just nine times. Only nine teams have fewer fourth-down attempts, but it isn’t just a lack of attempts. Schottenheimer hasn’t been going for it when he should go for it. According to rbsdm.com, which uses a fourth-down model similar to what many NFL teams use, Dallas has gone for it on roughly 25% of the fourth downs they should be going for it. Specifically, this model accounts for plays where a successful conversion would yield at least a 1% win probability increase; for context, the average first down carries about a 0.4% win probability increase. Schottenheimer’s ~25% optimal go rate is one of the lowest in the league, with only the Steelers and Titans having a lower rate. The Lions and Eagles, both of whom are doing pretty well so far this season, lead the league with an 86% optimal go rate. Almost two thirds of the league is over 50%, too, hammering home just how far behind the rest of the NFL Schottenheimer has been. McCarthy had always been a risk-taker as a coach, but he made it a point in Dallas especially, building out the team’s analytics department over time. Now led by John Park, the Cowboys have one of the largest analytics departments in the league, and they were tied for eighth in optimal go rate over McCarthy’s five years with the team. The Cowboys also had a 51.6% conversion rate during that stretch. Despite McCarthy’s success on fourth downs, Schottenheimer has shied away from that aggressiveness, and it’s cost the Cowboys. In Week 1 against the Eagles, Schottenheimer opted for a field goal in the second quarter. Brandon Aubrey drilled it, but the Cowboys lost 4.2% win probability. Against the Bears, a similar decision for a field goal cost them 2.6% win probability. In the Panthers game, there were two different fourth quarter decisions – a field goal and a punt – that cost Dallas a net 17.7% win probability. The latest loss to the Broncos offered yet another moment. In the third quarter, Dallas was trailing 30-17. Their offense had scored a touchdown on the opening drive of the quarter, and the defense held the Broncos to a field goal. A touchdown on the ensuing drive would have cut the deficit to just six and completely altered the trajectory of the game. A pass on third down with six yards to go at the Dallas 44 was unsuccessful. There were three and a half minutes left in the third quarter, and time was ticking away. Most teams would go for it there, and the models suggested as much. Dallas stood to gain nearly seven full percentage points of win probability with a successful conversion. Schottenheimer punted, and was almost immediately roasted for it on social media. Obviously, there are a lot of if’s going into that scenario, but the entire mindset behind being aggressive on fourth downs is to give your team a competitive advantage. Teams that are more likely to go for it on fourth down – like the Lions and Eagles – can get more creative with their play-calling knowing they have an extra down to play with if things don’t work out. For a team with as much working against them as the Cowboys have right now, giving yourself that kind of competitive advantage can be the difference between a win and a loss. And as we pointed out above, it has been exactly the difference in all of their losses so far this year. Schottenheimer has gotten a lot right in his first year on the job, but as he transitions into the second half of the schedule – and with a bye coming up soon – his approach to fourth downs is one major area for self-reflection and improvement. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

The defensive tackle play from the Dallas Cowboys in 2025 has been less than ideal. With veterans Osa Odighizuwa and Kenny Clark really struggling the last few weeks, the Cowboys have tried mixing up snaps from Mazi Smith, Jay Toia, and Solomon Thomas to look for a jolt in production. With little success, the Cowboys […] The defensive tackle play from the Dallas Cowboys in 2025 has been less than ideal. With veterans Osa Odighizuwa and Kenny Clark really struggling the last few weeks, the Cowboys have tried mixing up snaps from Mazi Smith, Jay Toia, and Solomon Thomas to look for a jolt in production. With little success, the Cowboys may turn to an offseason hero in Perrion Winfrey, who the Dallas Cowboys designated to return off of IR. Winfrey, 25, has yet to play this season for the Cowboys due to a back injury he suffered leading up to the Cowboys week one game against the Philadelphia Eagles. Winfrey was placed on IR before week one and has been flying under the radar since. With struggles all over the defense for the Cowboys, Winfrey could be viewed as one of the reinforcements coming back in the next few weeks for a struggling defensive tackle room in the Matt Eberflus defense. Winfrey flashed all offseason in preseason and training camp action, and should provide quality depth along the interior when he works back into shape, something the Cowboys have lacked through eight weeks. See More: Dallas Cowboys Injuries