Brandon Aubrey has become one of the Cowboys’ most reliable pieces, and by 2026 he’ll already be entering year four in Dallas. That’s a strange sentence to write about a kicker, but it fits. He’s been around long enough to have real staying power with the team, including the last time the Cowboys made the playoffs, and he’s now on a second contract with the club.
Aubrey also has the kind of steady approach that shows up beyond game day. He recently partnered with Invisalign and its “SHIFT Happens” mindset, something he says applies on and off the field. This week, that partnership gave me a chance to talk with him about kicking, preparation, and the demands that come with the job in today’s NFL.
A big part of the conversation centered on the new kickoff and how he’s handled it while trying to place opponents in specific spots. We also dug into the way he prepares for his role, which is no small thing for a kicker whose range has made him such a valuable weapon for Dallas.
One question I wanted to ask him was whether his success changes how the Cowboys handle things on offense. The idea is simple enough: if a kicker can hit from deep, does that make a coordinator more willing to settle for a field goal instead of pushing for more? Aubrey’s response was measured and thoughtful.
“I don’t think when you’re looking at, I don’t I can’t speak for play callers or coaching staff’s mindsets, but for me if I were in that position I think I would have a couple of different ideas based on where I am on the field. And field goal range wherever that is for your kicker is one mindset, one play style especially if it’s like a one score game.”
“I’ll say we’ve been in a lot of high scoring games so you can’t necessarily think that way I guess. You’d always wanna score a touchdown if you can.
But yeah, I think when you’re in field goal range, you tend to not want to turn the ball over just because at that point you’re very obviously giving up points. So yeah I can see possibly being a little more conservative when you’re in field goal range.
I don’t know what our play calling mindset is. I’m not involved in any of those decisions.
I just try to be ready to kick it when when my name’s called.”
That was a fair answer from Aubrey. He made it clear he wasn’t speaking for the coaching staff, only for how he’d think about it himself, and he pointed out the obvious truth that teams want to protect scoring chances when they get them.
Still, the broader picture is hard to miss. The Cowboys entered Week 9 with the lowest number of attempted fourth down conversions on 4th and 5 or shorter while already inside field goal range.
That stat can be read a couple of ways: either Dallas is simply taking the points when they’re there, or it suggests the team may be leaning a little too heavily on the security blanket Aubrey provides. That’s exactly why the question mattered in the first place.
In Other News...
Cowboys Defense Keeps Making The Micah Parsons Debate Even Worse
The Micah Parsons trade has only grown harder to defend as the Cowboys head into Week 9 against the Indianapolis Colts. Dallas sent Parsons to Green Bay in 2025 for Kenny Clark, and the move was supposed to help reshape the defense, but the unit has not looked the part since losing one of the leagues most disruptive players.
Brian Baldinger recently pointed to the Cowboys defensive struggles as a major reason the team has slid to a 3-5 record and faces an uphill climb in the playoff race. With the season already hanging in the balance, every rough stretch on that side of the ball seems to reopen the same uncomfortable question about what Dallas gave up and what it has gotten back. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Jones Is Defending A Cowboys Issue Fans Know Too Well
Jerry Jones pushed back this week on the familiar criticism that the Cowboys are reluctant to spend big when it comes to coaching, saying paying top dollar for successful coaches has never been the issue in Dallas. It was the kind of message Jones has delivered before, but it landed at a time when the Cowboys are trying to steady themselves for a game against the Indianapolis Colts and keep the focus on football rather than the usual questions about how the organization operates.
The timing matters because Dallas is already juggling roster concerns, with injuries thinning out the depth chart and the defense still looking for more disruption up front. With the NFL trade deadline approaching, the Cowboys are at least exploring the possibility of adding a pressure player to help that side of the ball, a move that would fit the urgency of the moment even if the bigger debate around how Dallas builds and supports its coaches is far from settled. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Rookie Surge Comes With One Growing Concern On Defense
Eight games into the season, the Cowboys rookie defensive class has given the front office plenty to like, even if the picture is not perfectly clean yet. Caleb Downs has settled in with steady, reliable work and a knack for showing up around the ball, while Jaishawn Barham flashed early enough to suggest real upside before his recent play cooled off. There is enough there to believe Dallas found some long-term pieces, especially with the way the group has already contributed in meaningful spots.
The concern is that the rookies are no longer all trending in the same direction, which matters on a defense that needs young players to keep growing as the season wears on. Malachi Lawrence had also been part of that encouraging start before an ankle issue knocked him out of the mix, and now the Cowboys are left balancing what they have already seen against what still needs to develop. For a team trying to build depth and consistency on that side of the ball, the early returns are promising, but the next stretch will say a lot about how sustainable this rookie surge really is. [Read more 🡒]