Cowboys defensive stats raise red flags after Week 2

The Dallas Cowboys are currently one of the worst teams at defending the pass. Can recent roster additions help?

Sep 14, 2025; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus on the field during pregame at AT&T Stadium. | Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

The Dallas Cowboys defense has given itself a whole lot of room for improvement after two weeks. Advanced stats reveal that the defense's biggest red flag is their pass coverage, but that is to be expected after the team allowed 450 passing yards from New York Giants quarterback Russell Wilson in Week 2.

Jalen Hurts threw for just 152 yards in Week 1 against the Cowboys, but Wilson topped the league in passing yards in Week 2, dramatically skewing the defense's average. Though Hurts didn't throw for as many yards, he did complete 82.6% of his passes. Matt Eberflus's unit now ranks 30th in EPA per play, 31st in dropback EPA and 30th in dropback success rate.

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New York Giants wide receiver Malik Nabers (1) makes a catch for a touchdown against Dallas Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs (7). | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The Cowboys are playing a ton of zone coverage and though they're getting decent pressures on opposing quarterbacks so far, they've not been as successful as last season with Micah Parsons. If the defense continues allowing this many yards and points, the Parsons trade will only look more unwise than it already does.

One area the Cowboys are at least middle-of-the-road in is rush EPA. They're allowing 121 rushing yards per game, which ranks 23rd in the league, and the defense is 17th in rush EPA.

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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) is sacked by Carolina Panthers linebacker Jadeveon Clowney (7) in 2024. | Bob Donnan-Imagn Images

There's good news and bad news for Dallas as they head into Week 3. They've begun making additions to improve the defense, like veteran edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney. Clowney should help with that dropback EPA stat.

However, they're likely to be without cornerback DaRon Bland for a second week. Luckily, his timeline to return is just one more week when the Cowboys take on the Green Bay Packers.

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Really informative trio of advanced metric sheets for every aspect of the defense.

Needless to say, the Cowboys defensive players and Eberflus have to right this ship ASAP! pic.twitter.com/QsQuxKd4pr

— Outl✭w (@OutlawCowboyNFL) September 18, 2025

It's only been two weeks but these stats should have Brian Schottenheimer's alarm bells ringing. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus leads the defense into a matchup against his former team in Chicago on Sunday, giving the unit a chance to shine against the Bears offense.

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