Monday brought plenty of second-guessing for the Cowboys, because the season opener didn’t just end in a loss - it left Dallas staring at a 28-20 defeat to the Giants that felt more one-sided than the final score showed.
For a team that spent the offseason saying all the right things, Sunday night was supposed to be the moment when the talk turned into proof. Instead, New York walked out with the win and Dallas walked out with a stack of uncomfortable questions. Three stand out right away.
The first is the one that hangs over everything: what happened to the offense?
Some drop-off on defense was easy to see coming. The Cowboys had mostly new starters learning a new scheme, Christian Parker was making his debut as defensive coordinator, and in-game injuries hit veterans like Malik Hooker and DeMarvion Overshown. But the whole point of heading into 2026 was that the defense only needed to get to average so the offense could stop carrying the burden.
That didn’t happen. Klayton Adams’ side of the ball had a rough night of its own.
Dak Prescott was off, missing throws and making bad choices. His ill-fated attempt to throw the ball away late in the second quarter turned into an interception and a fast Giants touchdown, flipping what could have been a Dallas lead - or at least a tie - into a 14-7 hole.
CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens never really got going, and the drops didn’t help. Even beyond the mistakes, they didn’t seem to separate with much consistency, which raises the bigger question of whether Adams’ designs or Brian Schottenheimer’s calls were helping enough. Prescott spent too much of the night looking for checkdowns because there simply weren’t many open receivers to work with.
Tyler Smith being out likely played into Javonte Williams’ 3.4 yards per carry, but the line wasn’t the main culprit. Tyler Guyton and Terence Steele both had solid games overall, and Prescott wasn’t facing constant heat. The bigger issue was that he often had to hold the ball too long.
Maybe it was just a rusty opener for starters who didn’t see the preseason field. If it wasn’t, then Dallas has a much bigger problem than one bad Sunday.
The second question is whether the Cowboys have to start rethinking DeMarvion Overshown.
There was an audible groan when Overshown came up limping and grabbed at his hamstring on the way to the sideline. He didn’t return, and Brian Schottenheimer said Monday that Overshown is facing a 1-2 week absence.
That isn’t Overshown’s fault, but at some point Dallas can’t keep getting dragged down by a starter who keeps missing time.
This offseason, the Cowboys clearly placed a lot of trust in him. They built around him in the linebacker room, and he was supposed to be the on-field leader, even handling “green dot” duties. The problem is that his availability has continued to undercut the potential everyone sees in him.
Without him, the options get thin fast: an undersized Dee Winters and an inexperienced Jaishawn Barham. If Overshown is going to keep missing games, Dallas may need to use some of that freed-up salary cap space to help stabilize the middle of the defense.
It may also be time to go all in on Barham as the Mike, now and for the future. There will be growing pains for the rookie, but Week 2 is still early enough for him to settle in before the later stretch of the season and, hopefully, the playoffs.
The third concern is Brandon Aubrey.
His miss on a 48-yard extra point, made longer by Javonte Williams’ bonehead taunting penalty, wasn’t enough by itself to set off alarms. But the kicks he did make, even from short range, weren’t especially clean. They didn’t have that usual Aubrey look - the flat, crisp drives that usually split the uprights without drama.
That matters because of what happened last season, when Aubrey looked oddly shaky late in the year. He’s only in his fourth NFL season, but he’s already 31 after spending years in professional soccer. Age catches up to everyone eventually, and for kickers, there’s no hiding from it.
The position doesn’t leave much room for decline. Experience helps in some places, but not here.
Aubrey’s recent success has earned him some patience, but that won’t last forever. Dallas has already seen how fast that can change with Dan Bailey, who faded quickly once the production stopped after a brilliant run.
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