Retour
Another weekend and another round of heartache for Dallas Cowboys fans.
Despite having 10 days to prepare for the Green Bay Packers, they went into Sunday Night Football looking like a team that had less than 24 hours to put together a game plan. They were disjointed on offense and defense, going into the intermission facing a 17-0 deficit.
Their defense did some decent things in the second half to give them a chance, but the offense completely failed the Cowboys. In the end, they lost 23-13 and fell to 2-4 on the season. Here's a look at who stood out as both winners and losers during their latest frustrating loss.
The Cowboys felt they could move the ball on the ground this week, but that didn't happen. Javonte Williams did score a touchdown in the third quarter, but overall, he wasn't much of a factor. Williams finished with just 41 yards on 11 attempts. That average of 3.7 yards per attempt is concerning, but it's right at his average for the year. There are a lot of problems on offense for Dallas, and sadly, Williams (other than at the goal line) has been one of them.
Before Week 6, the Cowboys had not recorded an interception since Quinnen Williams had one in Week 15 of the 2025 season. That horrendous streak finally ended when Dee Winters picked off a pass from Jordan Love intended for Matthew Golden. Initially, he returned it for a touchdown, but on replay, he was ruled down by contact. The Cowboys wasted the turnover when Dak Prescott threw an interception of his own, but Winters still gave them a chance, which is all they need from this defense.
Dak Prescott named this offense GOTI, which is the "Greatest Offense There Is." He also said he loves it when teams blitz because it gives his players one-on-one chances. All of that is fine, but it needs to be backed up.
Over the past two weeks, that hasn't been the case. The Dallas offense has been chaotic. Turnovers have become a major issue, and Prescott struggled mightily with the blitz against Green Bay. One crushing example was early in the fourth quarter when he had CeeDee Lamb wide open but threw it short off his back foot.
Packers bringing the blitz on third down 😤
— NFL (@NFL) October 19, 2026
DALvsGB on NBC/Peacock
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Sure, it was a tough throw, but Prescott is a $60 million quarterback who hasn't been shy about praising his offense. He has to make those types of throws if he wants to back that talk up.
Not only did Jake Ferguson lose his starting spot to Brevyn Spann-Ford, but he also failed to make anything happen once he was on the field. Ferguson had just 13 yards on two receptions. Ferguson is in a terrible slump right now, and it's fair to ask what the plan will be for him going forward.
Dallas wasn't sure if they would have Joey Porter Jr. in this game since he was dealing with an ankle injury. Not only did he suit up and play, but he was one of the best players on the field. Porter played blanket coverage once again and broke up two passes while recording a tackle for loss as well. His only mistake was a questionable pass interference call, but outside of that play, it was nothing but positives for Porter.
So much attention has been centered on the defensive coaching staff, and rightfully so. The Dallas defense has been atrocious, and first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker has to be better. That said, this defense was bad in 2025 and is bad in 2026. The one common denominator is head coach Brian Schottenheimer.
Not only does he deserve blame for these shortcomings, but he continues to make poor decisions. Schottenheimer took the ball first when winning the toss, which meant the Packers got to take the ball first in the third quarter after scoring at the end of the second. He also dialed up a pass despite seeing Dak Prescott take an absolute shot on the previous play, which led to an interception. There was also a fourth-down play where he called a timeout which actually prevented the Packers from being called for a delay of game.
These in-game decisions are questionable, but nothing is as inexcusable as the way the Cowboys came out in this game. After playing on Thursday Night Football in Week 5, Schottenheimer had 10 days to get his team ready. Those 10 days led to a scoreless first half with two turnovers on offense. On defense, they gave up nine third-down conversions, hardly any of which were short-yardage. All of that falls squarely on his shoulders, and it's time to start discussing how hot his seat should be.