The Dallas Cowboys disappointed during the 2025 NFL season. Dallas finished the regular season 7-9-1 after the defense was a constant embarrassment after trading away Micah Parsons. The team owner is no longer shy about talking about last season's dreadful defensive performances.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones spoke with the media on Monday from the Grand Prix of Arlington. He did not hold back when talking about how poorly Dallas' defense played during the 2025 season.
“What we’ve done on defense, plus what we have set up for the draft, plus what we have coming back from our veteran defensive players that really didn’t play that much last year, injury issues, things like that, gives us a lot of promise,” Jones said. “When you have the challenges we had last year, there’s no place to go but up on the defensive side of the ball. Had we played a lick of defense last year, we would’ve had ourselves, I think, a real playoff run.”
There's no question that Dallas had one of the league's worst defenses last season.
They ranked 30th in total yards allowed per game (377) and dead last in passing yards allowed per game (251.5). It is fair to wonder how far they could have gone with adequate defensive play.
Upgrading the defense has already been a big priority for the Cowboys this offseason. Dallas acquired edge rusher Rashan Gary in a trade with Green Bay. They also added former Ram cornerback Cobie Durant to their secondary.
The Cowboys hold the 12th and 20th overall picks in the 2026 NFL Draft. Jones' comments suggests that Dallas could load up on even more defensive talent in the first round.
It will be exciting to see what the Cowboys' defense looks like when the dust settles following the draft.
