The Dallas Cowboys have been punched, staggered, and knocked down in back-to-back losses to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Green Bay Packers. Their coaching decisions, effort, and urgency are all being questioned as they have fallen to 2-4 on the season. That type of start would typically put Dallas well behind in the playoff race, but luckily for them the rest of the NFC East has been decimated by injuries. The New York Giants are missing several key pieces now for the year and the Washington Commanders have dealt with issues themselves. The injury bug has run over their opponent, the Philadelphia Eagles, on Monday night.
While Philadelphia is without starting quarterback Jalen Hurts due to blood clots, the Eagles have some players working their
way back from injury. The team has lost its last four games after playing poorly in the two games it won. After Dallas lost to an undrafted free-agent rookie quarterback, Jalon Daniels, anything is possible, but the Cowboys need to get themselves straightened out and start answering some questions about themselves, or this team could fall into a rut with its first three-game losing streak with Dak Prescott at QB since 2019.
How can Dallas change their offensive identity?
OC Klayton Adams said the Dallas offense doesn’t have an identity, but the truth is they do, and it isn’t the one they want. They built their team to be a power rushing attack with a play-action passing game. Their offensive line is built through the interior; they have an inside power running back and a receiving core that can be unstoppable off play action. Unfortunately, theoffensive identity currently is putting quarterback Prescott in shotgun and asking him to save them.
Dallas was 11th in under-center rate, but fell to 28th in 2026. They fell from ninth to 20th in play-action rate, and their shotgun rate went from 22nd in 2025 to fifth this year. The Cowboys have an identity; it’s just not a positive one.
Is the lack of a rush attempts about the scoreboard as Schottenheimer claims?
Asked about rushing the ball better, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said it starts with running the ball more and staying in close games to do so. But how much truth is there in that statement when the playcalling is broken down?
In their last two losses, the team had 7 drives while down by one score or tied, and the numbers don’t lie. The Cowboys had the ball in a 7-7 game with the Buccaneers and ran the ball twice in five plays. After a Tampa Bay three-and-out, Dallas had another five plays and ran it once. The next two Cowboys drives featured no runs, with Dallas going up 10-7. The Buccaneers went up 14-10, and Dallas ran it twice in six plays. Tampa Bay went up 21-10 after that, but over five drives in a one-score game, Dallas ran the ball five times.
The Packers were up 7-0, and Dallas went three-and-out with passes on all three plays, including two more passes called back by penalties were passes. After Dee Winters' interception, the Cowboys ran it twice in six plays. That’s seven drives, 33 plays, only seven rush attempts in one-score games. Only 21% of their plays were runs, so Dallas needs to run the ball more, without the excuses.
How much help will Overshown and Durant provide?
The Cowboys have one of the worst defenses, if not the worst, in the league. The team had a rookie play-caller and many new pieces, so a poor start was to be expected. As the team showed some improvement in third-down stops and run defense, injuries were mounting, which may have kept them from climbing out of the NFL's basement defenses. DeMarvion Overshown was injured again and hasn’t played a full game in 2026. Starting corner Cobie Durant was lost, along with fellow defensive backs Jalen Thompson and P.J. Locke. The front seven has handled the run decently, and the pressures have been there, but maybe a lack of coverage hasn’t allowed the sacks to come, and better cover options returning from injury could help
In their first game with Joey Porter Jr. getting more than 25 snaps, the Dallas defense got 20 pressures and multiple sacks. The front seven needs the backend to play better so they can get to the QB. Ameer Speed had played 27 snaps over his first three seasons in the NFL, but the Cowboys played him over 100 snaps in his first six games of 2026. Reddy Steward has played 87 snaps, mostly from the slot, and Markquese Bell has 194 snaps at safety. Not a group that will shut down many passing attacks. Could adding Overshown for coverage at linebacker, Durant at corner, and an ability to play Downs with more versatility at safety, along with Porter Jr., allow the pass rush another second to get home on their pressures? If so, maybe that is what helps improve the defense overall, with the added depth of Thompson and Locke returning soon.
You can find Mike Crum on Twitter @cdpiglet or on YouTube at Across the Cowboys podcast
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: 3 keys to Cowboys ending losing streak include stop abandoning the run
