Hope springs eternal every fall in Dallas. Fans across the land tell each other, “This is the year.” They may whisper it to themselves as they fall asleep with their Cowboys nightlight glowing from the outlet next to the bedroom closet. They may be telling each other this after fortifying their courage with a few bottles of Lone Star beer. Sadly, they are going to need a lot more of those Lone Stars to get through the 2025 regular season.
Visions of Dallas Winning Double-Digits May be Mirages
Right now, PFSN has the Cowboys winning six games in 2025. But, before we dig into the granular reasons why, the most obvious reason is a brutal 12-day, three-game stretch: hosting the Philadelphia Eagles on November 23, hosting the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving, and visiting the Detroit Lions on December 4.
Brutal.
Their injury history is more concerning, especially at quarterback. When healthy, Dak Prescott is objectively a top-10, maybe even a top-five quarterback. However, keeping him on the field year-over-year has been next to impossible, and playing just two full seasons in the last five has disrupted any chance of offensive consistency.
The Cowboys have diligently addressed the offensive line. They grabbed left tackle Tyler Guyton in the first round in 2024 and guard Tyler Booker in the first round in 2025. Left guard Tyler Smith, center Cooper Beebe, and right tackle Terence Steele round out a group that Conor Riley will coach.
It’s a mixed bag of developing young players and reliable veterans, who the Cowboys want to squeeze out the last few ounces of football they have left in them. Beyond that, they don’t have much depth.
The new head coach, Brian Schottenheimer, embraces a “player over scheme” mindset that uses more cut-splits, shifts, and motion to “distort” fronts and keep defenses guessing pre-snap. The Cowboys don’t have a true bell-cow back, which could blunt their play-action.
George Pickens fits this vision perfectly on paper. How it works out in real life is still TBD. Dallas has taken a significant risk on Pickens and is counting on him to unlock their offense thanks to his ability to win one-on-one matchups at the catch point and his ungodly talent.
The defense has an elite game-wrecker in Micah Parsons, and new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus can clean up the tendency to give up the big play by using more zone and varying up schemes to disguise their pressures.
Does Dallas have the firepower to get past the Eagles and Washington Commanders? The Eagles are the bully of the division, and the Commanders have Jayden Daniels. Beating these two will take more than trading for a number two wide receiver and drafting an offensive guard.
Dallas haters are just like trump haters. No common sense to the good just haters