FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Dak Prescott knows the seasons are slipping away and understands it's a little bit worse when one of his best — and healthiest — years is wasted by a defense as bad as any in the history of the Dallas Cowboys.
The star quarterback who just finished his 10th season won't blame his teammates on the other side of the ball. Never has, never will. He's also not so naive as to ignore the obvious.
“It’s still hard to answer that,” Prescott
said when asked what the team needed after a 34-17 loss to the New York Giants clinched consecutive losing seasons in Dallas for the first time in 23 years. “You’ve got one of the best offenses in the league.
"Unfortunately, not-so-good defense in the league, however you say it.”
That would be the only defense in the league to allow more than 30 points per game (30.1), the third-worst overall defense and the worst against the pass. The Cowboys (7-9-1) allowed 500 points (511) for the first time in franchise history.
Job security has been a question for weeks for defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who's in his first season in that role after a seven-year stint as a Dallas assistant a decade ago led to him running the defense in Indianapolis and then getting the head coaching job in Chicago.
If Eberflus gets fired, it'll be the second time in two years. The Bears let him go in the middle of a third straight losing season in 2024.
“We’re going to look at everything,” first-year coach Brian Schottenheimer said Sunday when asked if he wanted Eberflus back. “At the end of the day, we didn’t win enough games. That starts with me. I’m responsible for that. That’s where we’ll start.”
Prescott's predecessor, Tony Romo, had the job for 10 years with very similar results: plenty of high-powered offenses and mediocre or worse defenses, with only two playoff victories to show for everything.
This is the first time the Cowboys have finished with a losing record when Prescott started most or all of the games. And yet, their seven wins were the most for a team allowing at least 30 points per game since the 1950 New York Yanks went 5-7.
Despite the four-time Pro Bowler finishing third in yards passing (4,552) and fourth in touchdowns (30), Dallas has now played 30 consecutive seasons without a trip to the NFC championship game, the longest active stretch in the conference.
In the previous 26 seasons, the Cowboys went that far 14 times, winning the franchise's five Super Bowl titles. Prescott was 2 the last time Dallas won more than one game playoff game in a season.
“The leader I am, I’m frustrated, always trying to figure out what could I have done better, whether it was conversations here, talking to this guy there, whatever it may be,” Prescott said. “Yeah, I’m tired of it, sick of it. It won’t change the way I approach this offseason, the way I lead, me just giving this game everything I’ve got to try to change it.”
The biggest offseason priority is bringing back George Pickens after the receiver's breakout season following the trade that brought him from Pittsburgh. Dallas also would like to keep running back Javonte Williams.
Pickens, a prime candidate for the franchise tag with his rookie contract expiring, and 2023 All-Pro CeeDee Lamb gave Prescott the most potent pair of pass-catchers he has had in Dallas. If the Cowboys want to improve in the second year of Schottenheimer's offense, Pickens is the key.
Prescott said he anticipates plenty of offseason conversations with owner and general manager Jerry Jones. Prescott is going into the second year of the $240 million, four-year extension he agreed to hours before the 2024 opener. It's the first NFL contract with an average annual value of $60 million.
“Jerry knows how I feel, how the organization feels, anything about George,” Prescott said. “I think Jerry knows the importance of keeping a guy like that, talking about leading the league in passing or having a chance to do that, talking about how good this offense was this year. That guy was a huge part of that.”
The Cowboys need linebackers and defensive backs, as in plural on both. There were liabilities everywhere behind a defensive front that is probably just one impactful edge rusher away from being elite.
As for that front, Dallas has to decide whether to re-up with Jadeveon Clowney after the soon-to-be 33-year-old recorded a career-high three sacks against the Giants, not to mention a forced fumble and fumble recovery.
Quinnen Williams, a midseason trade addition from the New York Jets, could be an anchor for years in the middle of the defensive line.
Fellow defensive tackle Kenny Clark, the player Dallas got along with two first-round draft picks in the trade that sent Micah Parsons to Green Bay a week before the season started, made a huge impression on his teammates and the front office. But he's set to count $21.5 million against the salary cap, a number Dallas probably wants to lower to keep him.
Prescott will be 33 when he takes his first snap next season. Jones is set to turn 84 in October. The clock is ticking for both and April's NFL draft might be the most important on defense for Jones in the 37 years since he bought the Cowboys.
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