Every week, we gather to discuss the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have Jorge Guajardo, Dyllan Rivers, Tom Ryle and Sean Martin.
We’re now three games into the season. It’s time to get your opinion on Christian Parker so far? Mike – Three games in, my opinion on Christian Parker is still incomplete, but it’s not blind confidence. You can see he wants the defense to be aggressive and built around disguise. The problem is that the execution has been too inconsistent to fully trust it yet. I like the structure more than last year, and I think the defense has looked better coached in stretches, but Parker still has to prove he can adjust quicker and keep this unit from giving up the back-breaking play at the worst possible time. Right now, I’d call it promising, but still under review.
Tom – Clearly, there was a learning curve, but the way the defense performed shows major strides forward. I was convinced going into the game that Derrick Henry was going to run wild, but they stonewalled him repeatedly. The pass defense is not as far along as the run defense, but given how badly depleted the secondary was by the end of the Ravens game, that is harder to judge. Still, I feel much better about losing a game where the Cowboys just made one or two mistakes too many. Jorge – I’m not as optimistic as Tom. I’m not sure the defense has improved in any facet, third-down percentage in Week 3 aside, to make a difference, and in some instances it looks like they have gotten worse, e.g., the pass rush. The Ravens still ran for 192 yards, and when the defense needed stops the most, they were completely unable to stop Baltimore, including that disaster final play, which should never, ever happen.
I feel like that was on Parker more than anything. Maybe he needs to be in the booth, but I just feel like he hasn’t brought the juice; this team’s defense just isn’t much better than last year’s horrible iteration, and that is very concerning, even if it is early. Sean – Really, all we know so far is last year the Cowboys had defensive lapses and breakdowns at a rate incompatible with winning games, and it lasted all year under one-and-done coordinator Matt Eberflus.
Through three games in 2026, a lot of these lapses and breakdowns are still happening, but there’s a runway ahead to change it. Injuries are never a good enough excuse on their own, but there is significant talent on defense on the bench right now too.
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We’ve all wanted to see Parker find a way to make more of an immediate impact, but let’s be fair and ask ourselves when was the last time a Dallas defense was above average to great against mobile quarterbacks? I can’t even remember one, and so far they’ve been exposed the most by Jaxson Dart, Jayden Daniels, and Lamar Jackson. Let’s give it time. Dyllan – The defense has improved every week. In fact, I think the defense was actually the best unit on the field on Sunday when you consider the full context of the situations they were put in and the results. They still weren’t good enough, but I don’t think it’s unfair to be excited about their growth. The most worrisome part at this point in the season is the injuries.
The Cowboys secondary is completely devastated. It’s tough to grow as a unit when players are being shuffled in and out of the lineup. We’ll see how that impacts them moving forward, but all things considered my optimism remains moderately-high for where the unit will be in the coming weeks.
The Cowboys have only two sacks on the season. How concerned are you about the pass rush at this stage of the season? Mike – Best way to put it is concerned, but not completely panicking just yet.
If Quinnen Williams, Kenny Clark, Rashan Gary and the edge rotation are at least forcing hurried throws, moving quarterbacks off their spot, and helping the coverage, then the sack numbers should eventually correct, or at least that’s my hope. For now, it is a warning and not a full-blown emergency, but I really want this Cowboys pass rush to show up soon. Tom – We have to be concerned, but I think that the focus for the Rio game was on shoring up the run defense.
If they can continue to keep that going, then hopefully they can work more on getting to the QB. This is where Parker faces a big challenge. He has some good tools to work with, like Jaishawn Barham, but he definitely needs to figure out how to get more from the defensive line. We have to anticipate some more growing pains. But while Dallas has dug itself a little hole already, it is not too late to salvage the season, especially in a division where two starting quarterbacks are already lost for the year. It is still important to find a way to win this Sunday. Jorge – The pass rush is not only nonexistent, but the rush plans are unimaginative; when the rush does appear, it is undisciplined and wild.
Lamar Jackson shifted and manipulated the pocket with ease and took what he wanted when the rush forced him out. The Cowboys also don’t have anybody who moves the needle in that phase of the game. There’s time, but a solid foundation clearly isn’t here at this point. Sean – This part of the defense is very concerning.
There’s a reason top edge rushers keep flying up the board on how much of a team’s salary cap they can eat up, they can cover up for so many other holes and change a game in a flash. The Cowboys just don’t have that guy right now, in fact all they have is months of lip service about wanting such a pass rusher, but not getting one. There also has to be something more than just bad luck going on when it comes to how often the Cowboys have been near the quarterback this season but couldn’t bring him down, so that’s another concern. Jaishawn Barham is the awesome middle linebacker they need right now, but we’ve forgotten about how he’s supposed to also be a hybrid between this role and a pass rusher. There just aren’t many answers in this department right now. Dyllan – This is the major issue staring the Cowboys in the face.
Sacks are just non-existent. Who lines up in the defensive backfield is inconsequential when the quarterback has all day to throw the ball. This defense is in dire need of a serviceable pass rusher that can consistently be around the quarterback and help other pass rushers get home.
Unfortunately, as much as Jerry flirts with the idea of a big trade, the front office is in a tough spot to make that work when you look at anything further than the 2026 season. Parker believed he could scheme up pressures but we just haven’t seen it yet. And that’s why the defense’s potential this year could be capped at mediocre-at-best.
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This week the Cowboys face their state rival, the Houston Texans. What’s the biggest threat to victory for the Cowboys? Mike – The biggest threat is Dallas letting an 0-3 Texans team play desperate football. Houston has struggled badly to run the ball, ranking near the bottom of the league through three weeks, but C.J. Stroud is still capable of turning a game if the Cowboys give him clean pockets and easy throws.
That is where Dallas has to be careful. The Cowboys should have the better roster, but if they bring sloppy discipline and a quiet pass rush into a road game against a desperate state rival, this becomes much harder than it needs to be. Tom – Health, especially in the secondary, and regression. We saw the running game come alive, and that has to continue. The defense has to find a way to not give up too many points while the offense has to cut way down on the mistakes in the red zone. Another continuing worry is the number of penalties on both sides of the ball, including Brandon Aubrey’s kickoffs. Against Baltimore, it is a valid argument that Dallas just shot itself in the foot too often.
There is still a lot to clean up. Jorge – The coaching staff. This staff, led by Brian Schottenheimer, put together a disaster class in Week 3.
It wasn’t just that final drive; it wasn’t just the final play. Schotty started unraveling in the first half with his terrible play calls and clock management. He doubled down and made some of the worst coaching decisions I’ve ever seen in that last sequence, and the veil has been lifted: Schotty is a huge liability. Maybe the other assistants are okay, but with Schottenheimer at the helm, I expect him and this staff to overcorrect and make more mistakes.
The team is already undisciplined, as supported by the number of penalties, another poor reflection on the coaching staff, but now that it has faced its first real test and failed when it had the answers, it’s a huge indictment of their ability to lead this team anywhere. Sean – Not playing with enough of an edge to put a team down to 0-4. Not finishing, again. The Texans won’t flinch at being 0-3, they were in this hole last year and rallied back to make the playoffs. The turnaround started with a huge shutout win at home.
I still believe DeMeco Ryans’ defense is capable of this type of game at any moment, and if the Cowboys defense is struggling again, the home team here might only need a few stops anyway to make a difference in the final score. Dyllan – Who is playing in the Cowboys secondary? This team is down to the very tail end of who is available between the active roster and practice squad. Will they sign anyone? What kind of moves can they realistically perform to at least temporarily improve the backend? Reserves are dangerously low on defense. That’s the biggest threat to the team’s success right now.
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Who scores first for Dallas? Tom – Jake Ferguson
Jorge – George Pickens finally gets on the board
Sean – Jaishawn Barham, defensive score. Dyllan – Brevyn Spann-Ford starts eating into TE1’s 11 personnel snaps and scores
Javonte Williams rushing yards – 74.5 over or under? Tom – Over, if they want to win
Jorge – Under
Sean – Under
Dyllan – Over (see previous comment about Brevyn Spann-Ford)
C.J. Stroud passing yards – 229.5 over or under? Tom – Needs to be under
Jorge – Over
Sean – Under
Dyllan – Over.
Cowboys secondary is hurting. Sacks allowed by Dallas – 2.5 over or under? Tom – Over, because I think Dak Prescott will do everything he can to avoid throwing picks
Jorge – Under
Sean – Under
Dyllan – Under. Tyler Guyton continues to play well. If Dallas holds Houston below 100 rushing yards, the Cowboys win? True or false?
Tom – Sounds true to me
Jorge – Big if, but yes, they will win if they can accomplish that
Sean – True for me. Dyllan – True. Barhamania grows bigger by the week
If Dallas loses to an 0–3 Houston team, the coaching staff should face serious scrutiny?
Tom – It’s Dallas. The staff is always under the microscope
Jorge – The staff should be facing the most intense scrutiny the DFW media and beyond have to offer after Sunday; a loss to a 0-3 team would only amplify that. Sean – It’s already happening, so yes it would continue with another loss. No doubt. Dyllan – Depends on the circumstances of the game. But after what the HC did to his players in Rio, nothing is off the table.
