Blogging The Boys
The Dallas Cowboys may have shown who they are, for good this time in regards to this 2025 season, in week six. Making their third straight trip to Carolina to play the Carolina Panthers, with a third defensive coordinator, the Cowboys could not come close to doing what the defense of either Dan Quinn or Mike Zimmer did in these previous meetings. The pass rush did not pick up where they left off against a Jets team that is still winless and allowed nine sacks to the Broncos this time out, the run defense being nonexistent was a problem in a close game, and once again defenders in the secondary were nowhere to be found on big pass plays for Bryce Young and the Panthers.
The Cowboys offense did what it could to hold serve, and didn’t leave the field in Charlotte without their own miscues to regret in a three-point loss, but the Panthers having the ball last was all it took to decide the final outcome. The Panthers kicked a 33-yard field goal as time expired to stay undefeated at home and reach .500 at 3-3 on the season with the 30-27 upset win. They denied the Cowboys reaching a 3-2-1 record on the same week they were gifted a Philadelphia Eagles loss at the New York Giants, putting Dallas at 2-3-1 and back at the bottom of the mountain when it comes to building any momentum under Brian Schottenheimer.
The Cowboys schedule only gets harder from here, their wins against the two New York franchises are hardly anything to write home about, and the defense is all but confirmed to be a season-long Achilles heel that will take more than just the currently injured players coming back to fix. The worst realization is that the Cowboys current defense is proving themselves as bad enough to sink the entire evaluation of the personnel this season. Dallas stuck their neck out in very uncharacteristic ways to improve the roster this offseason, and are evaluating Dak Prescott in yet another scheme under a new play-caller. They are looking to put their recent draft picks in the best position to succeed. Judging how much any of this is working or not feels impossible given how many easy plays, points, and rushing yards this defense concedes on a weekly basis.
Coach Schottenheimer seems destined to follow in the path of his predecessor Mike McCarthy, having a struggling defensive coordinator in the first year of his tenure that leads to a change in year two. For many Cowboys fans at the moment, even waiting until then feels too long, if only for wanting to be able to appreciate the MVP-level Prescott continues to play at even a little bit. This transition from Mike Nolan to Dan Quinn obviously ended up working out well for McCarthy though. Now, Schottenheimer’s next game will be against Quinn and the Washington Commanders, the last divisional team the Cowboys have yet to play this season.
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