Brian Schottenheimer isn’t hiding what he wants from George Pickens.
With the Cowboys sitting at 2-4 heading into Week 7 against the Philadelphia Eagles, Dallas is still alive in a historically weak NFC East. The path to the postseason is there. But if the Cowboys are going to push for it, Schottenheimer wants more from Pickens than just the splash plays that have made him one of the league’s toughest covers.
On Thursday, the Cowboys head coach laid out the specific area he wants Pickens to sharpen: blocking in the run game.
Pickens has never been in question as a receiver. Since his time with the Pittsburgh Steelers, he has built a reputation as one of the NFL’s best contested-catch threats. But Schottenheimer pointed out that when Dallas runs the ball, defenses are getting an easier shot at Javonte Williams than they should.
“He needs to understand that he impacts us in the running game as well,” Schottenheimer said of Pickens, per ESPN's Ed Werder. “You know, he's got to do the same thing in the run game - picking up safeties and blocking corners - just like Javonte does, picking up blitzes so he can catch balls.
That's part of the team-first mindset, and GP does understand that. And you know when he's going, they're going to play soft inside.
When he's not going, the safety gets pretty good runs at our backs, and that's going to improve.”
Schottenheimer also said Pickens hasn’t shown any signs of letting targets, or the lack of them, affect his demeanor. That matters, because the numbers have been tilted toward CeeDee Lamb so far. Pickens has been targeted 52 times, compared with 69 for Lamb.
“GP is one of those guys where I don't ever see him really affected in terms of you know the emotion. Does he get the ball?
Does he not get the ball? If these guys play a lot of snaps, I think part of it is us rotating those guys through.
Through the first part of the season, Pickens has 33 catches for 428 yards and one touchdown.
He’ll get his next chance to answer Schottenheimer’s challenge when the Cowboys take on the Eagles on Monday Night Football.
In Other News...
Jerry Jones Just Turned Up The Heat On Brian Schottenheimer
With the Cowboys sitting at 2-4 and staring at a Monday night matchup with the Eagles, Jerry Jones said he has been in recent conversations with Brian Schottenheimer about where the team is headed. The owner and general manager framed those talks as practical and football-specific, centered on how Dallas wants to operate and what needs sharpening as the season tries to steady itself.
Jones said the discussion has focused on structure, schemes and play-calling rather than questions of effort or roster depth, which makes the temperature around the team feel a little different heading into a divisional spotlight game. For a coaching staff still trying to define its footing, that kind of feedback from the top is its own signal, and it leaves Dallas with plenty to prove against Philadelphia. [Read more 🡒]
Jerry Jones Faces A Cowboys Decision Fans Can't Ignore
The Cowboys are still sitting at 2-4, but the bigger picture in Dallas has not really changed: this team remains in the NFC East race and still has a path to the division if it can stabilize its offense. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer has already signaled that the club could act as a trade deadline buyer, which says plenty about how the front office views the gap between where the Cowboys are and where they expect to be by seasons end.
What makes the decision so tricky is that the offense has struggled even with healthy talent in place, leaving Dak Prescott and the passing game to shoulder far too much of the load. Dallas has leaned heavily on the air attack while the run game has not provided the kind of balance the staff wants, and that leaves Jerry Jones weighing whether a move is needed to help fix a problem that has been there since the early part of the season. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Fans Suddenly Have A Lot Riding On This Weekend
Two straight losses have left the Cowboys staring at a 2-4 start, and the timing could hardly be worse with Philadelphia next on the schedule. In a division race that can tighten quickly, Dallas is already feeling the pressure not just to win, but to keep pace in an NFC East where every result seems to carry extra weight.
The bigger wrinkle is that the Cowboys postseason path is no longer just about what they do against the Eagles. Upcoming games around the conference and beyond could swing the picture in a hurry, with tiebreakers looming as the kind of detail that ends up mattering more than anyone wants in October. For a team trying to climb back into the race, this weekend could end up shaping far more than one game in the standings. [Read more 🡒]