Dallas Cowboys running back Javonte Williams (33) celebrates his touchdown run with Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer during the fourth quarter of an NFL football game against the Houston Texans at Reliant Stadium in Houston, Sunday, Oct. 4, 2026.
Juan Figueroa/The Dallas Morning News
Tied with the Philadelphia Eagles at the one-quarter pole. That is the best you can say about the 2026 Cowboys four games into the season. Not that they are division leaders. Certainly not that they are improved.
Same boat as Philly. Hang your hat on that for a while because the rest is not pretty.
There’s something else that should be said at this time (and, yes, we realize the Cowboys actually don’t reach the one-fourth mark of the season until after the first quarter Thursday night against Tampa Bay). Call it the curse of the 17-game season, but there’s no fuzzy math remaining in this column.
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What should be said is there is nothing to look at in the first four games that would cause a disinterested observer to say, “Wow, this club with Brian Schottenheimer and Christian Parker in charge is really well coached.’’
Parker was called out for the defense that allowed Lamar Jackson to advance the Ravens down the field in seven seconds for a win in Rio. Called out by Mike Tomlin, no less, who if he hasn’t tinkered with a Super Bowl lately at least knows something about coordinating a defense. This only happened because Brandon Aubrey, praised by Schottenheimer for how diligently he had worked at not kicking the ball into the end zone just before the team left for Brazil, did exactly that — the cardinal sin when the clock is a factor — to give Baltimore the chance it needed.
Sunday in Houston could have been the same. Schottenheimer allowed the Texans to take a 10-point halftime lead by having Aubrey try one of the 60-plus bombs that used to seem automatic but now are much more iffy for the wannabe $10 million man. Gave the Texans the field position and time to raise their seven-point lead to 10.
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It would have been a third defeat in four games if Dak and CeeDee hadn’t done their thing against one of the better secondaries in the game. And that gets us back to last season. The Cowboys’ offense still has to find its way to 30 to have a chance on most Sundays or Mondays or Thursdays. The idea that the arrival of Parker and a few second-level veteran additions plus two first-round picks would transform Dallas into a viable defense?
I feel silly for ever following the crowd and writing it.
Through four weeks, the Cowboys are 30th in total defense, ahead of the Colts and Lions. They are 29th in scoring defense, ahead of the Cards, Commanders and Lions. Sounds awfully familiar to what paying customers were forced to witness in the 7-9-1 season of 2025.
Does anyone remember what Houston’s C.J. Stroud looked like in the playoffs last year? In the 28-16 second-round loss to New England, Stroud completed 42.6% of his throws for 4.5 yards per attempt and was intercepted four times. The dismal numbers speak for themselves.
Against the Cowboys, Stroud completed 67.7% of his passes for a whopping 11.2 yards per attempt, two touchdowns and — needless to say because Dallas is the only team without any this season — no interceptions. The 11.2 average per throw was a career best in 50 NFL starts for Stroud. His 126.7 passer rating was top five for his career. And speaking of passer rating, after finishing ahead of only the Jets in opponents’ ratings last season, the Cowboys have shot out ahead of the field with a 122.7 opponents’ passer rating through four games.
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Baker Mayfield would be licking his chops for Thursday night if he weren’t out with a thumb injury. So maybe undrafted rookie Jalon Daniels of Kansas is exactly the sight for the Cowboys’ sore eyes, but that remains to be seen.
What’s most concerning about all the bad defensive numbers is that Dallas has played the Giants and Commanders and Ravens and Texans. This is not a Mount Rushmore of offensive power. The powerful NFC West — Rams and 49ers and Seahawks — come later. Shoot, even the Cardinals are known to have their way with this team. And the first-place Giants remain a very interesting puzzle at least with Jameis Winston throwing the ball all over the field (open wide receivers or cornerbacks, pick one) and a recharged defense giving Big Blue a 3-1 record. Never would have guessed the Jan. 3 rematch with New York at AT&T Stadium to be the game of the year for Dallas.
Last year, even finishing at a disappointing 7-9-1 that represented only tepid improvement from the record that got Mike McCarthy fired, Schottenheimer didn’t do much during games to prompt second-guessing. Feels like he’s all over the map this season, starting with the first possession in New York when Dallas needed less than a yard and he punted. Too much belief in his own talents and his own team. The same happened just before halftime in Houston, but a man named Lamb rescued the coach from being highlighted on the owner’s radio show a second week.
The Cowboys have what appears to be their most winnable game on the schedule Thursday night against the 0-4 Bucs. Maybe a smooth ride to prepare for trips to Green Bay and Philly will calm the waters here. I wouldn’t necessarily wager on either.
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