Brian Schottenheimer’s frustration with the Cowboys’ 2025 season exposes cracks fans didn’t see coming
Schottenheimer is interested in wins not statistics.
In a parity-filled, unpredictable 2025 season, perhaps no team matches their overall record better the Dallas Cowboys.
At 3-4-1, Dallas has been good enough to win (and in one instance, tie) shootouts. The Cowboys have also been porous enough defensively to get shredded by the likes of Denver, Carolina and the Russell Wilson-led Giants, with the last being the most damning fact of all.
It’s been evident from the first week of the season: The Cowboys are an offensively driven team, powered by a unit capable of scoring enough to keep them in most games thanks in large part to the excellent play of quarterback Dak Prescott.
That’s understandably not satisfactory for first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer.
“None of us have done good enough. Coaches, players, head coach, none of us have done good enough,” Schottenheimer told reporters on Wednesday. “That’s real. Our scorecard is what it is. That’s not just defensively, that’s offensively. We’re a football team that’s 3-4-1. You can take the stats on offense and shove ’em up your a– as far as I’m concerned.”
Clowney, Clark on defensive woes: ‘Hold each other accountable’ – Patrik Walker, DallasCowboys.com
The Cowboys have one of the worst defenses in team history this season, and it needs to change.
FRISCO, Texas — It’s statistically one of the worst defenses in the history of the Dallas Cowboys, so it stands to reason coaches and players alike are oscillating between frustration and anger. Eight games into the 2025 season, sitting at 3-4-1 and approaching the point of no return if they can’t figure out a way to consistently stop opposing offenses, there’s no shortage of pressure for that side of the ball to, at minimum, be serviceable.
The tone of each defensive player, however, remains one of determination, and that includes Jadeveon Clowney, now several games in after joining the team via free agency in September.
He’s been around the NFL block a few times, and seen his fair share of rosters — trying to figure out what’s holding the Cowboys’ defense back heading into the Week 9 matchup against the Arizona Cardinals.
“I tell the guys all the time, man, I’ve played on seven teams — it’s my seventh year,” said Clowney. “There’s a lot of talent on his roster for us to not be winning consistently. We always have to come back and figure out what’s going on. We’ve got a lot of talent here.”
