After losing to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night, the Dallas Cowboys fell to 6-7-1. The Cowboys sit in a rare position right now. 

Just three games ago, Dallas sat at 4-5-1 and five games behind the divisional leaders and defending Super Bowl champions, the Philadelphia Eagles. They beat them and the Chiefs to improve to 6-5-1, but now have lost two in a row. Despite this turbulent season for the Cowboys, it has been an overall improvement from last season. This is due to key coaching hirings, player trades, and reliable rookies from the draft, and can even result in a playoff berth.

The Preseason

This all started with the firing of longtime head coach Mike McCarthy. He coached for the Cowboys for five seasons beginning insince 2020 and held a 49-35 tenure. Despite him being the Cowboys’ second-most-winning coach in history, his inability to push deep into the playoffs has frustrated many who are already angered by their twenty-nine-year conference championship and Super Bowl drought. An embarrassingly historic loss to the seventh seed Green Bay Packers as the second seed in the 2023-24 post-season and an abysmal seven-win season the next year, owner Jerry Jones promptly fired McCarthy and placed then offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer as head coach; And to replace Schottenheimer for the offensive coordinator job was Klayton Adams, primarily an offensive-line and tight end coach. Schottenheimer, despite already being a part of the team in a different role, was presented with an undesirable situation. That’s the Jerry Jones and Micah Parsons drama.

Parsons was a linebacker for the Cowboys. He was drafted in the first round of the 2021 NFL draft by Dallas and quickly became a star player for the team. This all changed when he was injured just before this season. His contract neared its end, and Parsons hoped to extend it. This was until Jones, both the owner and general manager of the team, said that “just because we sign him doesn’t mean we’re going to have him”; in addition, he noted that Parsons missed six games when in fact he missed only four the previous season. Parsons felt very disrespected by Jones’ words and also being “held to close-door negotiations without his agent present.” The star linebacker promptly requested a trade on Aug 1, 2025. He held out in the preseason before being traded to the Green Bay Packers for defensive tackle Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. Parsons agreed to a four-year, $188 million contract, making him the highest-paid non-quarterback in NFL history. This left a huge hole in the Dallas defense and soured the already hopeless situation of a new coach after a losing season.

The Rough Start

Coming into the regular season, ESPN and other sports outlets predicted the Cowboys to win just seven games and ranked them 19th. At first, it looked like they would be right. Through nine games, the Cowboys’ record was 3-5-1. Their defense ranked third-to-last overall, second-to-last in passing defense, twentieth in rushing defense, and second-to-last in scoring. This catastrophe of a defense formed due to a clash of newly hired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus’ coaching philosophy with the available star talent and a lack of defensive discipline following the departure of Micah Parsons. Despite their woeful defense, however, the Cowboys’ offense has shone, thanks to a new addition to the team.

Before the season, the Cowboys traded for star Steelers wide receiver George Pickens. Pickens was meant to stay in Pittsburgh, but his behavioral and maturity issues prompted the front office to trade him to Dallas in exchange for a few mid-draft picks. This not only bolstered the Cowboys’ offense but also helped star wide receiver Ceedee Lamb by sharing the load. In addition, Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott now has more options, pushing the limits of the playbook. Before Week 10, the Cowboys ranked number one overall offensively, with Prescott in the top five for quarterback statistics and Pickens and Lamb ranked second and seventh, respectively. This explosive offense has kept games close and saved Dallas from sinking to the bottom of the league. Though the road ahead would be difficult.

Their next opponents after Week 10 would be the Eagles (reigning Super Bowl champions), Chiefs (Super Bowl runner-ups), Lions (NFC North contender), Vikings, Chargers (AFC West divisional contender), Commanders, and Giants. Dallas needed a miracle to keep their playoff hopes alive. 

The Spark of Hope

The Cowboys made a key trade that could, hopefully, save their season. To bolster the defense, Jones traded a seventh-round pick in exchange for linebacker Logan Wilson; he filled in the hole that Parsons left. But Jones was not done yet. As part of their “fire sale”, or imploding the team in order to rebuild, the New York Jets traded their young defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to Dallas in exchange for defensive tackle Mazi Smith and a few draft picks. These two moves not only added much-needed starpower to the defense, but also improved fan morale due to Jones’ past inaction to make key moves. And it paid off, 

Dallas was down 21-0 to Philadelphia. The Eagles’ offense trampled over the Cowboys’ defense with two rushing touchdowns by their quarterback, Jalen Hurts, and a passing touchdown from him, too. All hope seemed to be lost. But Prescott didn’t think so. He rallied his offense with two touchdown passes and a rushing touchdown to tie the game, with Pickens receiving 146 yards. And with the swing of a kick from the greatest kicker in the NFL, Brandon Aubrey boots a forty-two-yard field goal to seal the win for Dallas. This was an impressive win, yes, but as the saying goes, “once is an accident, twice is a coincidence, three times is a pattern.” And that “twice” came on Thanksgiving. 

The Chiefs were in a similar spot to the Cowboys. With one elite side of the ball and another more woeful side. Kansas City has an elite defense and an inconsistent offense, and Dallas has the opposite. It was a close game, but it came down to a well-oiled offensive machine of a trio of Prescott, Lamb, and Pickens, and a defense that could just hang on to set up for the game-winning field goal by Aubrey. The Cowboys were now 6-5-1 and just two games away from the Eagles.

Even though they lost to the Lions the following week and now the Vikings, the Cowboys should still be proud. They’ve sharpened their offense, revitalized their struggling defense, hired a new coach bringing in a new culture, and so much more. While this season may have had its ups and downs, the Cowboys have the pieces to finally turn things around.