Broadcaster rips Cowboys’ conservative approach after settling for field goals

Recently, Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer expressed a desire to be more aggressive in his play-calling, specifically when it comes to fourth-downs. On Thursday night against the Detroit Lions, he didn't back that up with action.

Dallas lost to Detroit 44-30, in a game where they had to settle for five field goals from Brandon Aubrey. That included a late field goal on a fourth-and-three that made it a 37-30 score.

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That was far from egregious, but the decision was enough to frustrate former NFL tight end and current broadcaster, Greg Olsen. After the Cowboys made this kick, their defense surrendered a touchdown, and Olsen tweeted, "I’m surprised Dallas’s defense wasn’t more motivated to get a stop when they cut the lead to one score."

I’m surprised Dallas’s defense wasn’t more motivated to get a stop when they cut the lead to “one score”#fieldgoalsgetyoubeat
— Greg Olsen (@gregolsen88) December 5, 2025

Olsen's sentiment makes sense. When playing a team such as the Lions, you have to put points on the board, and the Cowboys did settle for a field goal twice on fourth-down plays with fewer than five yards.

Outside of that, they were often forced to kick field goals due to a negative play on third down. Three of their field goals were on fourth-and-10, or longer.

Dallas Cowboys still lacked aggressiveness

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott audibles during the first half against the Detroit Lions at Ford Field. | Lon Horwedel-Imagn Images

While the majority of their kicks were understandable, the Cowboys lacked aggressiveness in the pass game.

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Detroit was banged up in the secondary with safety Kerby Joseph and cornerback Terrion Arnold injured. Despite that, they didn't take many deep shots to try and test the secondary.

Instead, their big plays came from CeeDee Lamb breaking tackles after the catch and Ryan Flournoy taking advantage of a miscommunication on his 42-yard touchdown. Perhaps a couple of deep shots could have backed the pressure off some. Either way, Dallas was thrown off by the aggressiveness of the Detroit defensive line and had no answers.

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