Cowboys' Most Overlooked Concern Entering 2025 Isn’t the Defense

Defense was a major concern for the Cowboys in 2025, but there's another area that needs plenty of attention as well.

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Kavontae Turpin returns a kickoff as New York Giants punter Jamie Gillan pursues. | Vincent Carchietta-Imagn Images

There's no denying that the Dallas Cowboys were terrible on defense in 2025. That unit was the primary reason they went 7-9-1 and there was plenty of focus on improving that side of the ball this offseason.

Dallas not only fired Matt Eberflus after one season and brought in Christian Parker to take over as the defensive coordinator, but they also added multiple new starters. While that should help them as they aim to get back into the playoff picture in 2026, there's still one area of concern that needs attention.

The Cowboys had one of the worst special teams units in the entire NFL this past season. That was something that 105.3 The Fan's Kevin Hageland and Cory Mageors recently discussed, saying their low ranking is especially concerning when you factor in how good their kickers are.

"You have a tremendous kicker, place kicker. You have, I think, a very good punter as well. And so the Cowboys still in Sports Illustrated's rankings last year were 27th. In special teams," Hageland said.

"Because of a lot of it had to do with the coverage and then to a certain extent, the kick return, which that is kind of a fascinating discussion in and of itself. But with a really good place kicker and a good punter, you are still really low on the overall special teams unit, which I think tells you everything that you need to know about everything else involved in special teams, including your coverage units."

The return game was a problem for the Cowboys last year

Los Angeles Chargers safety Tony Jefferson tackles Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Kavontae Turpin. | Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

The coverage units were an issue in 2025, but even more concerning was their return game. While KaVontae Turpin was named a Second-Team All-Pro, he wasn't the same player this team has become accustomed to seeing.

Turpin saw his punt return average drop from 10.4 to 5.5 yards per return. On kick returns, he had the most returns in the NFL at 69 and the most return yardage at 1,814. That was a product of the defense allowing so many scoring drives, however, as Turpin's yards per return dropped from 33.5 in 2024 to 26.3 this past season. He also had multiple penalties for illegal fair catches during a frustrating overall campaign.

Special Teams Coordinator should be on notice in 2026

Dallas Cowboys special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen at training camp at the River Ridge Fields. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Eberflus received a lot of grief, and rightfully so, for his work as the defensive coordinator, but Nick Sorensen seemed to escape criticism. Like Eberflus, Sorensen was hired last season after Brian Schottenheimer was named the head coach.

Before being hired by Schottenheimer, Sorensen was with the San Francisco 49ers, spending the 2024 campaign as their defensive coordinator. He was fired from that role after one season, following an overall regression on defense.

Now entering his second season with the Cowboys, Sorensen's unit should be under the spotlight.