After a second straight disastrous offensive performance to drop the team to 2-4, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer took to the podium and shouldered a good chunk of the blame. Citing poor execution from his players in a Week 6 loss on Sunday night, Schottenheimer was also quick to add, "That starts with me."
At least one of his former players agrees with him.
The Cowboys' 23-13 loss to Green Bay marked back-to-back outings in which the Dallas offense, in spite of having superstars like quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens, failed to score more than 17 points. While the unit still ranks in the NFL's top 10 (with Week 6's Monday night game still to play) in total points and total yards, the sudden two-week
trend is troubling indeed for an organization that was supposedly just a slight defensive improvement away from competing for a championship this season.
Much of the focus is starting to land on Schottenheimer as the offensive play-caller. Now 9-13-1 since taking the head coaching job in Dallas, many within Cowboys Nation are now openly calling for a change and wondering if Schottenheimer was ever the offensive mastermind he was marketed to be.
Former NFL wide receiver Braylon Edwards pulled back the curtain in a social media post on Monday, leveling a shot directly at his onetime offensive coordinator:
"Watching the @dallascowboys struggle two weeks in a row reminded me of why we as a Jets offense were terrible in back to back afc championship games in '09' and '10'....mid OC by the name of Brian Schottenheimer."
Watching the @dallascowboys struggle two weeks in a row reminded me of why we as a Jets offense were terrible in back to back afc championship games in '09' and '10'....mid OC by the name of Brian Schottenheimer.
— Braylon Edwards (@OfficialBraylon) October 19, 2026
Edwards was the third overall draft pick in 2005. He played eight seasons in the league with four different teams. But he spent 2009 and 2010 with the Jets, where Schottenheimer was the offensive coordinator under head coach Rex Ryan.
In 2009, the Jets finished 9-7, good for second place in the AFC East and the fifth seed in the postseason. They advanced to the conference title game, where they lost to the Colts by a 30-17 score.
The following season, the team went 11-5 and again finished second in the division. As the sixth and final seed in the playoffs, they went to their second straight AFC championship, losing this time to Pittsburgh, 24-19.
Sure, there's a sizable contingent of Cowboys fans who would give anything for appearances in consecutive conference championships. And there have been moments under Schottenheimer when the Dallas offense has certainly seemed explosive enough to do it.
But, as Edwards suggests, it sure wasn't the Jets' offense that took them to within one game of Super Bowls XLIV and XLV.
The 2009 Jets offense ranked 17th in points scored and just 20th in total yards. In yards per play, they finished 22nd. On the ground, the 2009 Jets were tops in the NFL behind running back Thomas Jones, but the air attack led by quarterback Mark Sanchez and featuring Edwards and Jerricho Cotchery ended the season 31st out of 32 teams.
In 2010, it was only marginally better: the Jets were 13th in total points, 11th in yards, and 19th in yards per play. They placed fourth in rushing with LaDanian Tomlinson and Shonn Greene, but the passing game (Sanchez, Edwards, Santonio Holmes) ranked 22nd.
Edwards himself recorded 35 catches and four touchdowns on 541 receiving yards in 12 games upon arriving in New York midway through the 2009 season. In a full 2010, he had 53 receptions and seven scores on a team-leading 904 yards.
The difference for the Jets squads those seasons? Both had a top-10 defense... under coordinator Mike Pettine. The Cowboys now have Pettine on their own staff, and they hope he can help turn around a group that's been hovering near the bottom of the league rankings ever since Dan Quinn left in 2023.
But the Dallas offense, very recently viewed as the most explosive in football, has suddenly flatlined, too. And Braylon Edwards, a Pro Bowler and a second-team All-Pro in 2007, thinks he's identified the reason why.
Schottenheimer has previously seen a barely-middle-of-the-pack unit be carried deep into the postseason by an elite crew on the other side of the ball. It was believed that if Dallas's top-flight offense got just a little bit of help, the defense could be just decent enough- much like Schottenheimer's Jets offenses- for the entire team make a deep run.
Instead, Edwards's post on X raises the ever-growing possibility that instead, Schottenheimer is dragging the Cowboys offense down to the mediocrity that so many of his units have displayed in the past.
Todd is on X at @ToddBrock24f7. Also, follow Cowboys Wire on Facebook to join in on the conversation with fellow fans!
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Pro Bowl WR blames 'mid OC' Schottenheimer for Cowboys' struggles
