Acme Packing Company
Obviously, losing a player of the caliber of Micah Parsons was always going to mean that the Dallas Cowboys were going to regress this season. With that being said, the falloff so far has been even worse than you would have thought.
The Cowboys’ lone win this season has not come in regulation, but in an overtime game in which they allowed the New York Giants to score 37 points. Currently, Dallas’ opponents are averaging 30.7 points this year, more than double the Green Bay Packers’ 14.7 points allowed.
A big reason for this is their pass defense. According to Pro Football Focus, 2025 second-round pick Donovan Ezeiruaku, 2024 second-round pick Marshawn Kneeland and James Houston, three edge rushers who are tasked with replacing Parsons, combined for all of zero pressures against the Chicago Bears in Week 3.
In the secondary, things aren’t much better. Per Next Gen Stats, cornerbacks Kaiir Elam and Trevon Diggs, along with safety Malik Hooker, rank among the top five players in the league in terms of expected points allowed while in coverage. Together, they have allowed 25 completions on 31 targets (81 percent) for 537 yards (17.3 yards per target) and six touchdowns with no interceptions. When targeted, Elam has allowed a passer rating of 136.3. Both Hooker and Diggs have posted a perfect (or unperfect) 158.3 number.
This is specifically a Cowboys issue, too, and not just because they’ve seen a tough slate of opponents. Per ESPN’s Bill Barnwell, Dallas has allowed a QBR of 79.4 and 9.8 yards per attempt through three games. Their opponents, when not facing the Cowboys, average a 40.8 QBR and 5.8 yards per attempt. Essentially, teams have been about twice as efficient when playing Dallas in 2025.
After the Giants’ Russell Wilson went 30 of 41 (73 percent) for 450 yards (11 yards per pass) against the Cowboys in Week 2, he posted a miserable 17 of 37 (46 percent) for 168 (4.5) against the Washington Commanders in Week 3. His passer rating dropped from 123 to 59.3. In Week 1, Wilson’s passer rating was 43.8. He’s now benched, as New York has decided to move on to rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart for the remainder of the season.
The biggest kick in the groin, though, is that the Cowboys aren’t even getting torched in man coverage. They’re just playing very poorly in zone. According to Fantasy Points’ data, Dallas has only played three percent of their snaps in zone coverage this year, by far the lowest rate in the NFL. For perspective, the Packers’ three prior opponents this year — the Detroit Lions, Commanders and Cleveland Browns — have played 39 percent, 35 percent and 42 percent of their defensive snaps in some form of man coverage in 2025, respectively.
The five times that Matt LaFleur has called plays for the Packers against Matt Eberflus’ defenses, LaFleur’s quarterbacks have posted 106 completions on 153 attempts (69 percent) for 1,288 yards (8.4 yards per pass), 11 touchdowns and...
