(Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images)
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer of the Dallas Cowboys looks on during warmups prior to the game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium on October 12, 2025 in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Coming into Week 6 against the Cowboys, the Panthers offense, even after rallying for a win against an awful Dolphins bunch in Week 5, was a mostly underwhelming group that appeared on the brink of pulling the plug on the former No. 1 pick, quarterback Bryce Young. They ranked 26th in the NFL with 935 passing yards, and though they were 10th in rushing yards, nearly 40% of those yards came in their 239-yard Week 5 outburst last week vs. Miami.
Against the Cowboys, the Panthers looked like the Greatest Show on Turf, pulling off a 30-27 win on a late field-goal.
Young was 17-for-25 with 199 yards passing and three touchdowns, just the fourth time in 36 games he has thrown three TDs. And, more than that, there was running back Rico Dowdle, the former Cowboys starter who had delivered some pregame trash-talk to his ex team, warning them to, “Buckle up.”
Dowdle delivered, with 30 carries for 183 yards, and another 56 yards receiving on four catches. The Cowboys came into the game with a pass defense ranked dead last in the NFL, and a rush defense–one of the focuses of the team’s gameplan–that was rated 22nd as it gave up 127.4 yards per game. On Sunday, it gave up 216 yards.
Cowboys’ Brian Schottenheimer ‘Hopes’ Players Believe in Eberflus System
And so the hope and good will that had built up after Dallas pulled off a tie against the Packers and a win over the Jets quickly dissipated because, again, the Cowboys defense was not up to the task. That’s putting more heat on defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, who has already taken slings and arrows from fans and media, and whose zone coverage strategy was openly questioned by Cowboys star Trevon Diggs.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer attempted to defend Eberflus on Sunday after the Panthers loss. His answers did not inspire confidence.
He was asked whether the players have confidence in Eberflus’s defense. It was not a resounding yes. Said Schottenheimer: “That’s the bigger thing. I would hope so. I would think so.”
He praised the effort, but one has to wonder–if the effort is there and the results are miserable, doesn’t that say something about the coach?
“Matt’s a great coach,” Schottenheimer said. “Everywhere he’s ever been he’s had good defenses. It’s not just Matt by himself. Matt’s trying. The players are trying. This is not a lack of effort.”
GettyDefensive coordinator Matt Eberflus of the Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys Defense Struggling All Over
All right, if it is not a lack of effort and the coaching is good, then Schottenheimer must, by default, be blaming the Cowboys personnel folks who put this group together. Indeed, the defense has been poor from top to bottom–the usual defensive line issues remain, even with the trade that brought in Kenny Clark in the Micah Parsons package, and the defensive backs have seemed to universally taken a step back.
That might be in part because of the Parsons trade. The Cowboys just can’t get after the quarterback, and have one of the worst pass-rushes in the NFL. The Cowboys sacked Young only once and allowed him a 114.8 quarterback rating.
Dak Prescott Sees D Improving
Quarterback Dak Prescott has been playing MVP-caliber football from his position, but the difficulty he is facing is that no matter how many points he pushes for the offense, the defense is always a threat to give up more. Dallas is giving up 30.7 points per game to this point.
Prescott was asked the reason he thinks the Cowboys can fix the defense.
“That we go against them every day,” he said. “It’s an iron sharpens iron mentality. I understand the players and pieces they have over there. You see them getting better. They’re getting better.”
Sean Deveney is a veteran sports reporter covering the NBA, NFL and MLB for Heavy.com. He has written for Heavy since 2019 and has more than two decades of experience covering the NBA, including 17 years as the lead NBA reporter for the Sporting News. Deveney is the author of 7 nonfiction books, including “Fun City,” “Before Wrigley became Wrigley,” and “Facing Michael Jordan.” More about Sean Deveney
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