CeeDee Lamb’s Pro Bowl Nod Puts a Spotlight on Cowboys’ Wasted Potential in 2025
There’s no sugarcoating it: the Dallas Cowboys had the pieces to make a deep postseason run in 2025. But instead of capitalizing on a loaded roster and a red-hot offense, they’re watching the playoffs from home-and now, CeeDee Lamb’s latest accolade is rubbing a little more salt in the wound.
Lamb was just named to the NFC Pro Bowl roster as an alternate, marking his fifth straight selection. That’s not just a personal milestone-it’s a reminder of what the Cowboys had and failed to fully utilize. At just 26 years old, Lamb is still in his prime, but this past season felt like a missed opportunity to make that prime count.
Let’s be clear: Lamb wasn’t just good in 2025-he was elite. Week in and week out, he brought consistency, explosiveness, and leadership to a Cowboys offense that, for stretches of the season, looked like one of the league’s best.
And he wasn’t alone. Quarterback Dak Prescott arguably played the best football of his career, delivering sharp reads, pinpoint accuracy, and veteran poise.
The offense was humming.
But for all that firepower, Dallas couldn’t get over the hump. And the reasons why are hard to ignore.
The Cowboys' defense simply didn’t hold up its end of the bargain. The issues on that side of the ball were glaring, and the front office didn’t act decisively enough to fix them-at least not in time.
The team’s early offseason move to part ways with defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus was telling. It was a tacit admission that things went wrong, and fast.
In his place, Dallas is turning to Christian Parker, a young, highly regarded coach with ties to Vic Fangio’s defensive system. Parker will get his first shot at calling plays, and while there’s reason for optimism, it’s clear this is a reset, not a continuation.
The frustration here isn’t just about one bad decision-it’s about a pattern. The Cowboys had a championship-caliber offense in 2025.
They had a legitimate MVP-caliber quarterback, a top-tier wide receiver, and enough weapons to go toe-to-toe with anyone in the NFC. But the defense couldn’t keep up, and the front office-led by Jerry Jones-didn’t do enough to close the gap.
There’s also the backdrop of internal tensions, particularly around contract negotiations with star linebacker Micah Parsons. The situation reportedly got personal, and that kind of distraction doesn’t help when a team is trying to stay focused on a Super Bowl window. When the margins are this thin, those kinds of missteps can make all the difference.
Now, instead of building on a successful season, the Cowboys are left reshuffling the deck. There’s no “carryover momentum” when you fall short of expectations like this.
The offense may return most of its core, but there’s no guarantee it will click the same way in 2026. That’s the nature of the NFL-windows don’t stay open forever.
Lamb’s Pro Bowl nod is well-deserved. It’s a testament to his work ethic, his consistency, and his ability to perform at the highest level regardless of what’s going on around him. But it also serves as a stark reminder of what the Cowboys had in 2025-and what they let slip away.
The challenge now? Rebuild the defense, keep the offense sharp, and hope the window hasn’t closed. Because with players like Lamb and Prescott operating at this level, wasting another year isn’t an option.