Brian Schottenheimer’s day against the Cardinals ended the same way too many of his recent games have: with the Cowboys looking like they left points, rhythm, and control on the table.
Dallas still scored 30 in a 33-30 loss, but the offense never felt fully in command. The issues were familiar and hard to miss - conservative decisions, shaky fourth-down calls, failed challenges, and a stubborn commitment to the run even when it wasn’t working. The Cowboys kept making life harder on themselves.
The ground game was a big part of that problem. Dallas spent the first half trying to force it, only to keep ending up behind the chains.
That meant too many long-yardage situations and too many possessions that never really got going. After the strong rushing performance against the Eagles in Week 7, the Cowboys tried to recreate that success here, but the numbers told a different story: 39 carries for 93 yards, just 2.4 yards per carry.
Once the run game stalled, the offense leaned on Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, and Ryan Flournoy. But even then, the passing game didn’t look fresh.
The concepts stayed basic, with very little motion, few bunch sets, and static route designs that made separation difficult. It looked a lot like the early-season version of this offense.
That combination - ineffective rushing and predictable passing - helped set up the collapse. Dallas built a two-possession lead, then watched it disappear with four minutes left.
Schottenheimer’s biggest issue, though, wasn’t just that the offense bogged down. It was the way he managed the game when it mattered most.
He continued to coach as if the defense and special teams were the safer bets, even though the offense is the unit loaded with the expensive talent. For a team with a $60-million dollar quarterback, two highly paid wide receivers, and an offensive line full of big contracts and first-round picks, that approach stood out.
The first-half sequence before the missed Brandon Aubrey field goal summed that up. With 11 seconds left and a timeout available, Schottenheimer chose to run the ball for a small gain and send Aubrey out for a 61-yard attempt.
Aubrey, who has struggled on longer kicks this season, missed it, and Dallas went into halftime up 14-3. The safer-looking choice ended up costing the Cowboys a chance to be more aggressive with the clock still in hand.
Then came the sequence late in the fourth quarter that really defined the night. With Dallas at the Cardinals’ 20-yard line and up three, the Cowboys ran Javonte Williams up the middle to force Arizona to use its last timeout.
That part made sense. What came next did not.
With the two-minute warning approaching, Schottenheimer called a slow-developing play-action pass with CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens on the sideline, even though everyone knew Dallas needed to attack through the air. The result was an L.J.
Collier sack that lost six yards.
On 3rd-and-16, Williams was sent straight into traffic for a minimal gain, and Aubrey had to come on for a field goal that pushed the lead to six with a minute left and no Cardinals timeouts. In most situations, that should be enough. It wasn’t, because the defense had other plans, as they often have in 2026.
Schottenheimer defended the personnel choice by pointing to a similar package earlier in the game on the Ryan Flournoy touchdown pass in the second quarter. But there’s a huge difference between a 3rd-and-1 in the first quarter of a 7-0 game and a late-game situation where the defense is desperate to force a mistake.
There was one call that worked in his favor: going for it on fourth down on the opening drive. The problem was the play call and formation, which got stuffed.
Team Preparation
F
It was ugly again.
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