Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys have played close to a third of their games, and the roster seems to be on the cusp of rounding into form. After stumbling their way to a 1-2 record following an embarrassing loss to the Chicago Bears, the Cowboys have put together a two-game stretch during which they’ve displayed grit and physicality to bounce back with a 2-2-1 record.
Dallas has certainly had its bumps along the way, dealing with injuries and trying to replace the loss of Micah Parsons on the fly, but overall, the team feels like it’s catching momentum at the right time. The Cowboys displayed utter domination across all three phases of the team in beating the New York Jets, even getting a confidence boost on defense that registered five sacks after having five over the first four games of the season.
Nothing is ever a sure thing in the NFL, but here are five things you can hang your hat on after the first part of the season about the Cowboys that should carry over the rest of the 2025 campaign.
When Brian Schottenheimer was hired as the Cowboys’ head coach and play-caller, many in the media wondered if Jerry Jones was just looking to be a puppetier instead of pursuing a young hotshot candidate that might push back on his day-to-day antics.
Instead, Schottenheimer’s offense has been Dallas’s strength. According to NFL Pro, it is currently ranked fourth in EPA per play. The last time the Cowboys’ offense was ranked in the top five in EPA per play was in 2023, when they finished fifth in the same category. Coincidentally, Dak Prescott finished the year as a finalist for MVP and helped lead the team to an impressive final stretch of the season, but more on that later.
The strength of the Cowboys’ offense looked like it would fall on their passing attack with Prescott at the helm and CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Jake Ferguson as playmakers. Schottenheimer was famous for letting Russell Wilson “cook” in Seattle with the Seahawks, but he quickly reminded people that the Hawks had one of the better rushing attacks in the league. He’s remained a man of his word. Dallas’ rushing attack is among the top ten in EPA per rush. It has been visually the most effective since the Cowboys had Tony Pollard and Ezekiel Elliott as a dynamic duo in 2022.
Prescott and Schottenheimer have a mindmeld rarely seen with a first-year head coach, but both men have been around each other since 2022, when Schotty first arrived in Dallas. That bond has fostered chants and a serious conversation to be had about the Cowboys quarterback.
When Dak Prescott left the field at Mercedes-Benz Stadium against the Atlanta Falcons last year, it was yet another season for Prescott that would be lost to a season-ending injury. Even before the injury, the offense under Mike...
