FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys, with their 3-4-1 record, are officially at a difficult crossroads in their 2025 season after a noncompetitive 44-24 road defeat at the now 6-2 Denver Broncos.
A score like that looks rough, but the eye test was even more alarming. On Broncos running back RJ Harvey’s 40-yard touchdown, Denver guard Quinn Meinerz was able to advance over 12 yards downfield and block three different Cowboys to clear the way for the untouched Harvey. Harvey finished the game with 51 total yards (46 rushing and 5 receiving) and three touchdowns (two rushing and one receiving) while fellow Broncos running back JK Dobbins also racked up 111 yards rushing on 15 carries for an eye-popping 7.4 yards per carry.
Denver’s running backs averaged a whopping 4.5 yards before contact per rush, the third-highest total by a team’s running backs group in a game this season. That’s on top of Broncos quarterback Bo Nix having all day to scan the field en route to tying his career high with four passing touchdowns to wide-open receivers all afternoon.
The Cowboys are now just the fourth team in NFL history to average 30 or more points per game (30.8, second-best in the NFL) on offense and allow 30 or more points per game (31.3. second-worst in the NFL) on defense in their first eight games of a season, per CBS Sports Research. None of the other three teams to do so — the 2000 Rams, the 2002 Chiefs and the 2020 Seahawks — won a playoff game. No team has ever made the playoffs allowing 30 or more points per game across an entire season in NFL history, but that’s what Dallas is on pace to do this year.
“A lot of things [can be adjusted], quite honestly, a lot of things. You can’t come off a game like yesterday and not expect there to be changes. It was clearly our most incomplete game that we played as a football team, really all three phases. I spoke a little bit about the discipline aspect of it, but when you look at the inability [we had] to run the ball offensively and the run game success that Denver had, that’s not gonna allow you to sustain much success when you’re giving up a ton of yards rushing, you’re not able to match that with your run game and that was a big part of it,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said on Monday.
“Then of course the red zone. We’re better than two for four offensively, and you’re down on the 1-yard line and you got to come away with a sudden change with a touchdown, and we don’t. On defense, certainly giving up four out of five drives entering the red zone, you can’t give up touchdowns, you got to make them kick field goals. That’s a big part of momentum and we were never able to catch the momentum and the Broncos did.”
There’s much more than one reason one can point to for why the Cowboys defense is off to a historically rough first half. Trading away All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons for two first-round picks and Pro Bowl defensive tackle Kenny Clark a week before the 2025 season kicked off certainly didn’t give new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus much time to reconfigure his defense without his best player.
Eberflus’ zone-heavy scheme hasn’t connected well with his cornerbacks like Pro Bowler Trevon Diggs, whose career success was built on playing man coverage. Dallas has been unable to consistently pressure and sack opposing quarterbacks without Parsons. They’ve also struggled to stop the run, as evidenced by what happened in Week 8 despite owner and general manager Jerry Jones claiming the run defense would improve by replacing Parsons with Clark.
Dallas has the NFL’s fourth-worst run defense (146.0 rushing yards per game allowed), and Parsons’ Green Bay Packers have the league’s third-best run defense (78.9 rushing yards per game allowed).
| Cowboys defense this season | Stats | NFL Ranks |
|---|---|---|
| Points per game allowed | 31.3 | 31st |
| Total yards allowed | 404.6 | 31st |
| Yards per play allowed | 6.2 | 31st |
| Pass yards per game allowed | 258.6 | 31st |
| Rush yards per game allowed | 146.3 | 29th |
| Third-down conversion rate allowed | 52.4% | Last |
| QB pressure rate | 38.1% | 13th |
| Sacks | 15 | T-22nd |
| Passer rating allowed | 112.0 | Last |
| Takeaways | 7 | T-20th |
| Zone coverage rate | 80.1% | 7th |
| Man coverage rate | 15.0% | 27th |
| Blitz rate | 25.6% | 19th |
NFL trade deadline rumors: Cowboys made calls for both Maxx Crosby and Trey Hendrickson, but got rejected
John Breech
Cowboys options for next week’s trade deadline
The league’s 2025 trade deadline is seven days away on Nov. 4, so Dallas has to determine in short order whether or not it should be buyers or sellers as the Cowboys hover around .500. Here are five combined trade proposals (moves Dallas could make to bolster its roster) and trade candidates (players they could attempt to sell off for picks).
No, Pro Bowl cornerback Diggs (concussion/knee) will not be listed as a trade candidate given he’s on injured reserve, and teams will likely wait to see if Dallas will cut Diggs and save over $12 million in cap space next offseason.
The win-now moves
Dallas’ veteran linebackers in Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn have struggled mightily this season, which has led to more and more playtime for fifth-round rookie Shemar James in recent weeks. Plus, explosively athletic linebacker DeMarvion Overshown is set to return for his second gruesome knee injury in as many seasons in Week 11.
However, the Cowboys could use a reliable veteran linebacker in place of both Murray and Sanborn, and two-time Pro Bowl linebacker DeMario Davis could likely be acquired for cheap. Davis is 36 years old, and he plays for the 1-7 New Orleans Saints, the team who would have the 2026 NFL Draft’s first overall pick if the season ended today, per Tankathon. Pro Football Focus grades Davis among football’s 10 best inside linebackers this season — his overall PFF defensive grade (78.2) ranks 10th, and his run defense is fourth-best at his position (90.6). His 51 tackles on designed rushing plays are the second-most in the NFL, according to TruMedia.
Pittsburgh Steelers edge rusher Nick Herbig has a 94.0 defensive grade from PFF since Week 4, the best in the NFL, via Fansided’s Marcus Mosher. However, he appears to be on the outs with the Steelers’ coaching staff: Herbig’s 52 defensive snaps across the last two weeks are 14th among his Pittsburgh teammates. Incredibly odd considering he leads the Steelers in sacks with 4.5 this season, half a sack more than T.J. Watt’s 4.0. He is set to enter the final year of his rookie deal in 2026, but it could be worth the Cowboys picking up the phone to see what his price may be.
The better-luck-next-year moves
Tolbert led the Cowboys in receiving touchdowns with seven in 2024 while ranking second on the team in receiving yards (610), but his role in Dallas has evaporated in 2025. Following Dallas trading for George Pickens and prioritizing the development of 2024 sixth-round pick Ryan Flournoy and All-Pro return man KaVontae Turpin at the wide receiver position, the pending 2026 free agent is the odd man out. Dallas could likely fetch a late-round pick for his services.
The undrafted free agent has been a capable, fill-in starter with eight starts in 40 games played since 2023. Bass is also a pending free agent, and he could be an upgrade at right or left guard for a contending team that needs offensive line help. The Cowboys are set at their guard spots with Pro Bowler Tyler Smith at left guard and 2025 12th overall pick Tyler Booker at right guard.
- Trade away DE Sam Williams
Williams is a pending free agent, and he’s got potential given his pedigree — being drafted in the second round (56th overall) of the 2022 NFL Draft. However, Dallas drafted an edge rusher in Donovan Ezeiruaku in the 2025 draft’s second round, and offseason free agency acquisition James Houston leads Dallas with 3.5 sacks. Williams, who is still just 26 years old, could be a nice rotation piece for a contender.
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