The Dallas Cowboys came out of Week 1 looking nothing like the defense they expected to be this season. Pass defense, run defense, tackling, communication - it all went sideways in a way that left Christian Parker’s unit with a long list of fixes.
Jerry Jones didn’t hide from that reality when he spoke Tuesday morning on 105.3 The Fan. He said he was disappointed by what he saw, but he also thinks there’s a straightforward reason for the rough debut: this group is still trying to come together after a lot of change.
“The last time that I was involved in as much change as we have made this year was the first year that I bought the Dallas Cowboys and we won one game," Jones recalled. "I think that’s an explanation, a valid one.
There’s a lot of change to that side of the ball. We’re very optimistic that we can play better right now than what we played there Sunday night.”
Jones doubled down on that idea later, stressing that the roster turnover on defense is real, even if the players involved aren’t all young.
"The facts are we got a lot of new people, not necessarily young players, but we've got a lot of new people on defense doing different things that they've been doing," Jones later added. "So that's got to come together. If we keep our head down and keep working on it, it will be better than it was Sunday night."
He’s not treating the opener as a reason to blow up the plan, either. Jones pointed out that the two teams that reached the Super Bowl last season, the Seattle Seahawks and New England Patriots, also dropped their first games of 2025. Still, he made clear that he isn’t brushing off the significance of what happened in Week 1.
“The first game unquestionably was important: don’t get me wrong," he said. "I saw nothing on review that tells me we should depart away from the plan we have to get better on defense.”
Dallas will make some changes this week, though Jones wouldn’t spell out what those adjustments will be. He also said the Cowboys are open to adding help to the roster, but he doesn’t view a one-game reaction as the right way to operate.
The biggest issue from the opener, beyond the poor tackling, was communication. That’s been a problem for this team before, which is why it stood out so sharply against the Giants. Jones said that has to improve right away, and he singled out the linebackers in particular.
“Communicate better. The (linebackers) have to fill their assigned areas on the defense," Jones explained.
That could be harder to clean up in the short term because Dallas is already dealing with injuries at the position. DeMarvion Overshown is battling a hamstring injury, and head coach Brian Schottenheimer said Monday that the veteran linebacker will miss a week or two. That likely opens the door for third-round pick Jaishawn Barham to step into a starting role.
The Cowboys are also down a key piece in the secondary. Malik Hooker suffered a fractured elbow and will be out at least a few weeks after surgery.
Jones is still trying to sell the idea that this defense will get better with time. Cowboys fans, though, are waiting for the unit to prove it - and after the mess of Week 1, that’s going to take more than optimism.
In Other News...
Stars Are Giving A Familiar Defenseman One More Chance To Matter
The late-summer PTO market keeps giving veteran players one more doorway into training camp, and Luke Glendening is the latest familiar name to step through it. Tampa Bay brought in the 37-year-old forward on a tryout contract, giving him a chance to earn a roster spot in camp and preseason after his most recent NHL stop with the Philadelphia Flyers. With 934 games behind him, Glendening fits the profile of the experienced depth players teams lean on when they want reliability and a known floor.
For Dallas fans, the bigger picture is how common this kind of move has become across the league, with the Stars among several clubs making PTO signings of their own this time of year. It is the sort of transaction that rarely dominates headlines, but can still matter once the games start and injuries, roster battles, and camp performances begin sorting out who sticks. There is always a layer of intrigue with these deals, especially when a team gives a veteran a familiar kind of opportunity and leaves open the question of whether he can turn it into something more. [Read more 🡒]
Stars Give A Familiar Defenseman Another Shot To Stick
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Gleason has spent most of his career in the AHL, moving through different stops while trying to carve out a longer look at the top level. He most recently signed a one-year, two-way deal with the Minnesota Wild in July, so this latest PTO gives him another chance to show he can still earn a place in a crowded defense mix, even if the final call will depend on how much he can separate himself over the next stretch. [Read more 🡒]
Jim Nill Tries To Calm Two Growing Stars Concerns
The Stars have spent the fall trying to keep the focus on hockey, even as questions around a pair of core pieces have started to build. General manager Jim Nill said there have been no extension discussions with Jason Robertsons camp yet, and the reason is straightforward: league rules keep those talks off-limits until Jan. 1. Robertson already went through a tense contract stretch, filing for salary arbitration before settling on a one-year deal, which only sharpened the sense that his next long-term step will become a major storyline for Dallas.
Thomas Harley has become part of that conversation, too, after Dallas failed pursuit of Zach Werenski briefly put the young defenseman in the spotlight. Nill made it clear Harley remains important to the club, a reminder that the Stars are trying to balance present contention with the need to protect their emerging talent. For a team built to win now, keeping both Robertson and Harley on the same page may end up mattering just as much as anything that happens on the ice. [Read more 🡒]