There is a lot of excitement heading into the new season for the Dallas Cowboys. Despite two straight losing seasons, some view them as contenders, that is, assuming their plan falls nicely into place.
But what if things don’t? What if all the hope and optimism are replaced with despair and agony? Just how bad could things get for this football team?
While this is not a road anyone wants to meander down, it’s good to at least think about what could go wrong and evaluate if the Cowboys have a contingency
plan. So, today, we’ll get a little dark and run through the hypotheticals that could lead to a complete collapse of the 2026 season.
The unsettling Prescott pattern
If the Cowboys lose their franchise quarterback for an extended amount of time, that’s bad news, and we’re all well aware of that. That means every year we hold our breath that Dak Prescott doesn’t get hurt. At 33 years old, he’s no longer a spring chicken, meaning his body doesn’t respond the same way, and certain ailments can linger.
Over the last seven seasons, his availability has alternated between a healthy season and missing at least five games, including being lost twice with season-ending injuries. Should this pattern continue, it doesn’t bode well for the upcoming season, as he was fully healthy last season. No Dak in Dallas is the easiest way to take the air out of the season.
Protecting Dak
Keeping him healthy is of the utmost importance, but keeping him upright also matters. The Cowboys offense is in great shape with weapons galore, with one minor exception. Offensive tackles. There are huge concerns at both starting tackle positions.
Left tackle Tyler Guyton has looked good in training camp, but he has dealt with injuries in each of his first two seasons. Right tackle Terence Steele has proven to be a liability at times, and it’s even been suggested that his job is up for grabs after the recent trade for Broderick Jones.
And speaking of Jones, the former first-round tackle out of Georgia was sliding down the depth chart in Pittsburgh before the Cowboys swooped in and traded for him. While there are legit reasons to be excited about his upside, the current version of him leaves a lot to be desired, and the Cowboys could be in trouble if they had to rely on his services sooner rather than later. Whether it happens or not is a big unknown, but the team’s tackle position has the potential to be a giant disaster.
Defensive learning curve
For a defense that was as dreadful as it was last year, it’s a little strange to see so much optimism for this current group. The overhaul is real. Between the coaching staff and players, this is a completely different group, so drawing comparisons to the 2025 unit makes little sense.
While the optimism is warranted, we must also understand that new defensive schemes don’t manifest into greatness overnight. There is an expected learning curve when a new coach shows up. A new philosophy with an influx of new components opens the door for communication breakdowns and blown assignments. The whole point of bringing Christian Parker in was to alleviate this, but there is no guarantee that it will work, and there’s a reasonable chance they’ll experience the typical growing pains early in the season.
Not enough pass rush
On paper, the Cowboys have done a lot to improve the team’s pass-rushing group. They’ve acquired two veterans, one via trade in Rashan Gary, and one in free agency in Von Miller. They have two young draft picks in Donovan Ezeiruaku and Malachi Lawrence. And they have one reclamation project in James Houston. These are fresh faces to the organization, as none of them had logged a single snap in a Cowboys uniform this time last year. It should be a fierce unit.
But what if it’s not? What if Gary lives up to the billing that all those Green Bay Packers fans tried to warn us about? What if Miller plays like a regular 37-year-old pass rusher rather than one who defies Father Time? And what if the recent draft investments do not pan out?
Potential stays potential until it develops into something else. The Cowboys appear to have their bases covered, not relying on a single individual thing to come through, but rather a collection of things, we have to consider the possibility that things don’t fall into place. Nothing will test raw defense quicker than repeated failures to put pressure on the quarterback.
The rebound gang
Every year, there’s new hope that a player lost to injury turns around and has a great season. Last year, it was a couple of Day 2 picks like Trevon Diggs and Sam Williams, who returned from injury, but added little to nothing to the team. Both are gone from the team.
This year, the hope falls on two more Day 2 picks in Shavon Revel Jr. and DeMarvion Overshown. While their skills are very intriguing, we are waiting for them to erupt after proving to everyone that they are fully healthy. But that offers no promises.
The possibility that more hiccups show up exists, and it could turn a positive into a negative. Additionally, we’re all expecting DaRon Bland’s left foot to be fully healed this time around, but if he runs into any setbacks, it could be much more strain on the Cowboys cornerback room, especially if the aforementioned Revel Jr. becomes more grabby than deflect-y.
The Schottenheimer ruse
That scene in the movie Step Brothers when they wear tuxedos to their job interview almost worked out when Seth Rogen was about to hire them. The dynamic of the interview changed abruptly (no spoilers), and the irony of the tuxedos suddenly turned into insanity.
While everyone is enamored by the culture Brian Schottenheimer has created, nothing will change that faster than if the Cowboys stink it up on the football field. All his clichés, the backward visor, Sir Mix-a-lot press conference covers, or Greek dancing just won’t have the same feel to it if it doesn’t translate to winning. He’s a dad-joke coach, and while dads are loved, if fans don’t get what they want, they will run off screaming “I hate you!” and slam the door.
These are all bad scenarios. If the Cowboys season breaks down, there’s a good chance a couple of these things happen. We’re all crossing our fingers that they avoid this type of mêlée, but we must at least look over the hill and be aware that such evil exists.
Did we leave anything out? What is something that could go wrong and derail the Cowboys’ season?
