Brian Schottenheimer’s first real rough night of the season arrived in Week 5, and it came against a Todd Bowles defense that had the Cowboys offense spinning. On Thursday night, Dallas ran into the exact kind of pressure package Bowles is known for - exotic blitz looks, simulated pressure, the whole toolbox - and Schottenheimer never found the right counters.
The biggest problem started early. Dallas had stretches of offensive success in the first half, but it kept digging itself into third-and-long, which gave Bowles exactly what he wanted. The Buccaneers were able to disguise pressure and force Dak Prescott into a night full of difficult throws, with too many long-developing routes and not enough easy answers.
Against that kind of look, offenses usually want receivers breaking at or beyond the sticks, plus checkdown options to help turn a pressure look into a manageable gain. Dallas mostly didn’t have that. Javonte Williams was fantastic in pass protection, but the rest of the passing structure left Prescott holding the ball too long, throwing into tight windows, or missing on a few errant attempts.
The result showed up on the scoreboard and in the numbers that matter. Dallas produced a season-high three punts, converted only four of 10 third downs and fell 24-16.
Even then, the Cowboys still had chances to keep the game alive. Instead, two dropped passes turned into interceptions, and a KaVontae Turpin fumble on Dallas’ second possession of the second half wiped out whatever momentum was left.
There’s no way around the bigger point: when the offense is asked to be close to perfect, the margin for error disappears fast. With the defense having struggled over the last year-and-a-half, the offense has been under that kind of pressure, and Schottenheimer didn’t meet it on Thursday. For a coach who has been calling plays in this league for 20 years, that standard comes with expectations, and he came up short against Bowles.
If Dallas wants to adjust, there are a few obvious places to start. Cutting into Jake Ferguson’s reps is one possibility.
So is leaning into more route concepts and play calls that work the middle of the field. Another idea would be getting Tyler Goodson involved more in the underneath passing game, especially since he did not get a carry or target in Week 5 and could help provide quick completions with more pop after the catch.
Even with changes possibly coming on defense, Schottenheimer shouldn’t be excused from criticism. The offense has been very good in four of the Cowboys’ five games so far in 2026, but Week 5 was a clear step backward.
Play-Calling: F
Fourth-Down Decisions: N/A
The Cowboys went for it only once on fourth down, and that came up empty when Prescott’s rushed throw fell incomplete. The other fourth-down situations were all six yards or more, and with how the offense was playing, taking those chances would have been too risky.
Timeout Usage: N/A
Team Preparation: F
It was all pretty ugly.
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