The Dallas Cowboys were humbled by the Chicago Bears on Sunday. As a result of their loss they are now 1-2 to start the season. It was a frustrating game in many ways and a difficult one to glean any positives from. Sometimes that is the way that things go.
While the game was bad, it may not have been as bad as you think in certain ways. Similarly, it may be even worse than you thought in others. In order to properly contextualize where Sunday ranks within all of Dallas Cowboys history we have to utilize
the fantastic tools from Stathead and Pro Football Reference to do so. Some weeks that is more enjoyable than others.
This is not one of those weeks.
Generally speaking a 1-2 start spells doom
As noted the Cowboys are now 1-2 to start the season. That is some pretty not good news.
This is the 18th time in franchise history that Dallas has lost at least two of their first three games (obviously sometimes they lost all three). Only four of those seasons resulted in playoff appearances for the team.
The start has been awful on defense
Through the first three games of this season the Cowboys defense has been worked in just about every way. In those 12 quarters (13 technically, counting overtime against the New York Giants) they have allowed over 1,100 yards and 90 points.
This year’s team is only the second in franchise history to reach these marks through the first three games of a season. Their only company in that regard is the 2020 group that was led by Mike Nolan at defensive coordinator.
A particular twist of the knife here is that these are literally the two defenses which border Micah Parsons’ time with the Cowboys.
The Cowboys are turning the ball over a ton as a result of Sunday
This is worded this way for a reason. Prior to Sunday in Chicago, the Cowboys only had two turnovers on the season. Averaging one a game is certainly more than you want, but it is clearly not terrible.
As a team the Cowboys had four turnovers against the Bears. There was Javonte Williams’ fumble, the tipped ball off of George Pickens’ hands that got picked, and then Dak Prescott and Joe Milton each had an interception (making two total for Dak) when the game was basically out of reach.
This puts the Cowboys at six turnovers on the season. It is the first time since 2020 that they have that many through the first three games of a season.
Does the context of Sunday matter relative to the bigger picture? Maybe a bit. But this is twice now where this season has been likened to the 2020 campaign. That doesn’t feel good.
The passing defense specifically is tough
The Cowboys have said a lot about wanting to improve their run defense. That was admirable given, um, literally all evidence to this point.
While total yards is not a perfect way to look at anything, it should be noted that they are getting burned through the air right now. They have allowed 864 passing yards through the first three games of the year and are only the third team in franchise history to hit the 860 mark through three games.
This team feels nothing like 2016 or 2021, though.
The defense is not generating turnovers
Through the first three games of the season the Cowboys defense has generated just a single turnover. You will recall that it was the Donovan Wilson interception in overtime against the Giants.
That’s it. The team has played almost 13 quarters and has only one turnover to show for it.
I don’t need a screenshot from Stathead/PFR because it would show only one team for this note: The 2025 Dallas Cowboys are the first team in franchise history to generate one or fewer turnovers through the first three games of a season. They are literally the worst defense through the first three games of a season at taking the ball away.
Offensively things were weirdly inefficient
The Cowboys amassed 396 total yards of offense on Sunday, but obviously had some weird things happen and turnovers which made things look awkward in retrospect.
All told the team had 396 total yards with only 14 points to show for it. This marked only the ninth time in franchise history that they hit the 390 line from a yards perspective with no more than 14 points.
Quite weird.
Javonte Williams is off to quite the start
It feels necessary to end on a positive given the current state of things and Javonte Williams is the man to turn to here (despite the fumble).
Through three games Williams has 227 rushing yards. This is the fifth-most that anybody has ever had through their first three games in a Cowboys uniform.
Maybe, I don’t know, use him more!
George Pickens is also off to a strong start. Through the first three games there have been two moments where George Pickens found the endzone for the Cowboys. That may not feel like a lot, but it is.
Pickens is the first Cowboys player to record multiple receiving touchdowns through his first three games with the team since Tavon Austin all the way back in 2018.
Pretty unique list to say the least.
