Cowboys Defense Makes Undesirable Franchise History in Humbling Loss to Giants

Karl Rasmussen | 15 Hours Ago

Cowboys defensive end Jadeveon Clowney recorded a sack on Giants QB Jaxson Dart. / Kevin R. Wexler-NorthJersey.com / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

The 2025 season didn’t go to plan for the Cowboys, particularly on defense. Dallas’s defense was one of the worst in the NFL throughout the entire campaign, and never truly felt as if it made any meaningful improvements over the course of the 18-week season.

They ended the season on a low note, too. The Cowboys surrendered 34 points in their season finale against the rival Giants, giving New York its fourth win of the season. As such, the team has surrendered a total of 511 points this season. That is the worst mark in franchise history, as no Cowboys defense has ever surrendered more than 500 points in a season.

Last season, Dallas ranked 31st in scoring defense in the NFL. It surrendered 468 points in 17 games. Things got worse this year under new defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, as the unit surrendered 511 points and had the worst scoring defense in the league.

It’s not clear if Eberflus will be back in his role next season, but he certainly didn’t get off to a great start in year one. The Cowboys’ struggled to affect opposing quarterbacks, having lost a key element of their pass rush in the Micah Parsons trade. Eberflus acknowledged that moving on from Parsons just a week before the regular season played a role in the defense’s struggles.

Jerry Jones and head coach Brian Schottenheimer have both suggested that the organization will be taking a long look at its defensive coaching staff. That review, of course, starts with Eberflus.

Dallas’s three worst defensive seasons in franchise history have all come since 2020. They’ve endured back-to-back seasons of subpar defensive play, which in turn puts more pressure on the offense to make big plays. That’s certainly not a recipe for success, and it’s something they’ll be evaluating critically as they look to make offseason moves and re-tool in order to return to the playoffs for the first time in a few years.

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