Why Dallas can put up points on anybody
The offense isn't the problem. It's one of the best in football when healthy.
Start with the quarterback. Dak Prescott had another strong 2025 — completing over 67% of his passes with the second-most attempts in the league, posting excellent efficiency on enormous volume. Behind him sits the foundation of a dominant unit: Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker form arguably the best guard duo in the NFL, and the skill talent around Prescott keeps the scoreboard moving.
When the offensive line is upright, Dallas is a matchup nightmare. Brandon Aubrey remains the most automatic weapon in football at kicker, and the offense rarely needs much — another running back to keep Javonte Williams fresh was the only real shopping-list item. This side of the ball is built to compete with anyone.
Dak Prescott on huge volume
Prescott paired top-12 efficiency with the second-most pass attempts in the league in 2025 — elite production that powers one of the NFL's best offenses.
The best guard duo in football
Tyler Smith and Tyler Booker anchor an interior offensive line that opens the run game and protects Prescott when healthy.
Brandon Aubrey ends drives
The league's most reliable kicker turns stalled possessions into points and flips field position in close games.
What could quietly sink the season
Every Cowboys nightmare in 2026 lives on the other side of the ball.
Here's the uncomfortable part: Dallas finished 26th in yards per carry allowed and 31st in explosive run rate in 2025. A defense that can't stop the run gets bled on early downs and bullied in the fourth quarter, and the Cowboys spent the offseason — a Rashan Gary trade, a big nose tackle, a new coordinator in Christian Parker — trying to fix exactly that. Whether it actually holds up is the whole season's question.
Cornerback is the other fault line. It's arguably the weakest position on the roster, and Dallas is leaning hard on DaRon Bland bouncing back from foot issues that wrecked his last two years. Rookie safety Caleb Downs was drafted to paper over the secondary, but asking a rookie and a banged-up corner to anchor a unit that already couldn't stop the run is a lot of faith.
A run defense that got gashed
Dallas ranked 26th in yards per carry and 31st in explosive run rate allowed in 2025 — the kind of weakness that loses games in the fourth quarter.
The thinnest cornerback room in the division
Cornerback is arguably the weakest spot on the roster, and the team is banking on DaRon Bland returning healthy after two injury-hit seasons.
A new defensive scheme to learn
New coordinator Christian Parker is overhauling the defense, and scheme transitions take time — time a win-now roster may not have.
The one thing that decides it all
The offense will score. Dallas's January hopes rest on the defense, and the defense rests on a rookie. Caleb Downs — the No. 11 overall pick, billed as a field-general safety who can play nickel, box, and deep — is being asked to be the connective tissue that finally steadies a unit that couldn't stop the run or cover. If he's as advertised and Christian Parker's scheme clicks, Dallas is a real NFC contender. If the rookie needs time and the run defense stays leaky, all of Prescott's production gets wasted in shootouts the Cowboys can't always win.
