Dreadful start dooms Cowboys in NFL analysts 2025 season prediction

Another day, another prediction of struggles for the Dallas Cowboys.

Dallas is turning to a new head coach in Brian Schottenheimer, which has led to plenty of questions regarding their viability this season. Schottenheimer is a seasoned assistant coach, but he’s never been in charge of a team and hasn’t been involved in the head coaching cycle in many years.

MORE: Adam Schefter sees disappointing resolution between Cowboys, Micah Parsons

That uncertainty has led to predictions of a losing season for Dallas across many outlets. With the NFL.com, however, two writers expect the Cowboys to struggle, but not necessarily due to Schottenheimer.

Ali Bhanpuri and Adam Rank each gave their full season predictions with Bhanpuri projecting a 7-10 record and Rank going 8-9. Ironically enough, Rank has the Cowboys handling their toughest stretch of the season with some impressive wins, but believes they will start 1-5 thanks to the distraction surrounding Micah Parsons.

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons at training camp at the River Ridge Fields. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

”The Cowboys have done a nice job adding pieces like George Pickens to support Dak Prescott as he returns from an injury-interrupted season, but I'm not sure why they've resisted extending Micah Parsons,” Rank said.

“It's caused a preseason distraction that could have been avoided. In my scenario, the bad vibes spill over into a rough start that reaches its nadir in this loss to the Panthers, which drops the 'Boys to 1-5.”

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Jerry Jones didn’t learn from last year when CeeDee Lamb and the passing game got off to a slow start following his holdout. He’s once again making life tougher on everyone by dragging out the Parsons extension.

While Dallas has never finished under .500 when Prescott plays a full season, it could be tough for him to win games if he’s being forced into a shootout every weekend thanks to the absence of Parsons. Hopefully, that won’t mean they start 1-5, because that would lead to a complete meltdown.

Dallas Cowboys defensive end Micah Parsons talks with Baltimore Ravens linebacker Odafe Oweh. | Jerome Miron-Imagn Images

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