Cowboys lack character necessary to win

By David Mullen

For decades, the “defenses win championships” mantra has permeated through NFL front offices and locker rooms.

Reflecting upon the 2025 Dallas Cowboys season, it is easy to single out that the team’s atrocious defense was the obvious reason behind a 7-9-1 record and another year of missing the playoffs. Make no mistake; the Dallas defense was epically atrocious.

In the 66 seasons that the Cowboys have existed, this was the worst defense, statistically, in team history. The squad yielded an NFL high 511 points or 30 points per game, a franchise record and a low water mark for “America’s Team.” Opposing quarterbacks threw 35 touchdown passes and amassed a collective passer rating of 109.6.

The most passionate Cowboys fans thought that their team was postseason worthy after a mid-November three game winning streak in 11 days over the Las Vegas Raiders and last season’s Super Bowl participants: the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs. Afterall, the Cowboys offense, led by Pro Bowl quarterback Dak Prescott, could score at will. Maybe the Cowboys could win games 31-30.

The autumn streak proved to be an anomaly. The Raiders were awful all season, and a team with a potent offense like the Cowboys could easily outscore a team so defensively challenged. The wins over the Eagles and Chiefs seemed impressive at the time, until Kansas City proved to be a shell of the team which had appeared in five Super Bowls in the last six years. After the loss to the Cowboys, the Chiefs ended the season on a six-game losing streak and missed the playoffs for the first time in more than a decade.

Philadelphia showed their many flaws in a Wild Card Playoff loss at home to an injury-riddled San Francisco 49ers team on January 11. The Eagles have a clubhouse problem fueled by a haphazard offensive scheme. Eagles’ offensive coordinator Kevin Patullo was fired on January 13, but the issues ran much deeper. Head coach Nick Sirianni lost control of the team, evident by an on-field clash with WR

A.J. Brown and a lack of focus by QB Jalen Hurts and RB Sequan Barkley.

A better indication of the Cowboy’s frustrating season is to study two other three-game streaks. In September, Dallas went 1-1-1, giving up 37 points in a home win over the dreadful New York Giants, 31 points in a loss to the Chicago Bears and 40 points in a home tie versus the Green Bay Packers.

In December, Dallas gave up 44 and 34 points to two non-playoff teams (Detroit and Minnesota) and 34 points to the banged-up Los Angeles Chargers, who were trounced by New England in their first-round playoff game. In a recent post-regular season press conference, Dallas owner and GM Jerry Jones admitted to the defensive shortcomings and said trading the team’s best defensive player, Micah Parsons, a week before the season started was a mistake. So, he fired defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus.

But Jones has missed the most glaring team weakness of all. His team lacks character.

In pro football lore, the defensive squads of the 1960’s Packers, the 1970’s Miami Dolphins and Pittsburgh Steelers, the 1985 Bears, the 2000 Baltimore Ravens and the 2013 Seattle Seahawks are credited as the force behind winning the World Championship.

But those teams had more than stout defenses. They had character. Vince Lombardi, Nick Buoniconti, Jack Lambert, Mean Joe Greene, Mike Singletary, Ray Lewis, Richard Sherman and others had the respect of players and personified the will to win. No one on the Cowboys player roster, coaching staff or in the front office seems to have the character required to win in the NFL.

New Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer appears to be a fine guy and is passionate about his work. He dealt with the death of defensive end Marshawn Kneeland with class. He cannot be blamed in total for the Cowboys losing season. Schottenheimer did his best with the hand he was dealt and the dealer was Jones.

Prescott is an excellent quarterback and may be a model citizen, but he continues to make questionable decisions on the field. Prescott does not have a Josh Allen or Patrick Mahomes quality that when the game is on the line, he will find a way to win. Most fans pontificate on how Prescott will find a way to lose.

CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens make an excellent wide receiver tandem but seem more concerned with personal goals and making money than being team players. Only placekicker Brandon Aubrey hints at character, but a 320-pound lineman doesn’t look to a placekicker for inspiration. Players want kickers to true up field goals and extra points and stay out of the way. True that.

Character is evident within the remaining NFL playoff teams. Buffalo has Allen, Houston has a lights-out team defense, Pats QB Drake Maye’s youthful enthusiasm is infectious, the 49ers have guts, the Rams have Matthew Stafford and coach Sean McVay, the Bears have 39-year-old coach Ben McCarthy that speaks directly to the players in their language, Seattle embraces the “12th Man” fan support by playing with reckless abandon and Denver is modeled after coach Sean Payton. Playoff teams have an identity built on character.

On 105.3 The Fan, Cowboys EVP and Jerry’s son Stephen Jones said, “We need an identity on the defensive side of the ball. We have to create an identity.” The Cowboys don’t need an identity on defense. They were building one with Parsons, their best defensive player in years, but traded him to Green Bay. The 2025 Dallas Cowboys defense was a sieve, but the defense needs quality players, not an identity.

The biggest hole in the Cowboys team is the lack of character. Character defines a team and character building starts at the top. Character wins championships.