If 2025 taught us anything, it’s that the Dallas Cowboys are an offense that values a fresh set of downs. They finished second in the NFL in first downs last season, tallying a whopping 393 of fresh downs. Sustaining drives not only increased their chance of scoring on a given possession, but it also kept their problematic defense off the field.
The Dallas defense, historically poor in 2025, needed all the help it could get. The defense found a way to be simultaneously too vanilla and too complicated to succeed. Blame, which distributes one-part coordinator and one-part players, fell on all corners of the defense, but alas, it was the offense’s cross to bear.
Avoiding quick three-and-outs was important since sustained drives gave the defense much
needed rest in between respective dog walkings. Unfortunately, favoring a conservative gameplan over an aggressive gameplan came at the unavoidable cost of the big play. And that seems to be how things played out for the Cowboys in 2025.
How often NFL offenses went three‑and‑out last season pic.twitter.com/0oc54iygvT
— SFdata9ers🏈📊 (@sfdata9ers) September 4, 2026
The Cowboys were league leaders in avoiding three-and-outs last season. They stacked positive plays on positive plays and kept the chains moving. Their strong interior line and hard running by Javonte Williams gave them an extremely reliable running game.
Williams’ 45.63% success rate on the ground ranked eighth in the NFL amongst rushers with 150 or more attempts (per Sumer Sports). CeeDee Lamb, Jake Ferguson and George Pickens kept the chains moving through the air. Ferguson was a top 10 in catch percentage amongst tight ends with 100 or more routes run, while Lamb and Pickens both finished in the top 10 in yards per route run (YPRR) amongst receivers with 250 or more routes run.
Placing the priority on incremental gains and sustained drives, the Cowboys were inevitably less inclined to try those highlight reel plays downfield. Even though deep shots downfield produce bigger rewards than the alternative, they succeed at a lower rate. For a team that places a premium on possession, that’s often a price too high to pay.
The hope is in 2026 the defense won't require protection to the extent they did in 2025. Christian Parker appears to be making headway in his defensive makeover, yet to what degree it has improved remains to be seen.
Explosive Play Rates 2025 pic.twitter.com/kyT7uQSMrZ
— SFdata9ers🏈📊 (@sfdata9ers) September 3, 2026
Regardless of their level of improvement, it’s likely Brian Schottenheimer will still place a premium on sustained drives. He won’t suddenly go air raid with the Cowboys offense and become big-play-or-bust in 2026, but it would be nice to find a better balance in big plays and three-and-outs. With weapons like Kavontae Turpin, Lamb and Pickens, there’s no excuse to not lead the league in this category in 2026. Even with umbrella coverages designed to limit those plays, the Cowboys should rank higher on the list than they did last season.
Based on the standard that 10+ yards constitute the big play threshold for runs and 20+ for receptions, the Cowboys were severely disappointing from an explosive/big play perspective. With weapons at every level, the Dallas offense is perfectly equipped to stretch defenses to their limits in 2026. As long as the defense allows it.
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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys must reconcile drive-focused offense with big play potential
