The Dallas Cowboys haven’t made the playoffs in two seasons and last year went 7-9-1. Why was Brian Schottenheimer’s overconfident in Week 1 loss to Giants?
FRISCO - Patience, they say, is a virtue. You know what else is quite helpful? Perspective.
On one hand, Dallas Cowboys fans - hopefully, that is - realize that Week 1’s loss to the New York Giants is a merely blip of the 2026 season’s radar. In a 17-game season, one result amounts to six percent of the final record.
The (in)significance of a season-opener? Last year New England Patriots lost - at home - to the Las Vegas Raiders, 20-13, in Week 1. The Raiders won only two more games the entire season, finishing 3-14. The Pats, meanwhile, lost only two more games and went 14-3 and made the Super Bowl.
And in 2023 the Cowboys debuted by annihilating the Giants, 40-0, in a season that ultimately ended without a playoff win.
But on the other hand, the Cowboys’ reaction to the Giants loss may be even more troubling than the actual loss. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer said his team was “humbled.”
Um, you haven’t made the playoffs in two seasons and last year went 7-9-1. What in the world did you have to be arrogant about in the first place?
And now comes owner Jerry Jones, essentially tipping his cap to a Giants team that most experts predict will struggle to finish .500.
Said Jerry on 105.3 The Fan Friday, “I will tell you, they were better than we thought they were.”
Irrational confidence. Poor preparation. Bad scouting. All amid summer-long Super Bowl talk.
Here we go again?
Our Mike Fisher, in reflecting on the stubborn (or stupid?) play-calling in Week 1 (especially on defense) is pondering whether Schotteheimer and rookie defensive coordinator Christian Parker and their crew were "arrogant or ignorant.''
Maybe the answer is ... "Yes''?
Starting the season 0-1 isn’t the end of the world - just ask both of last season’s Super Bowl teams. And if it takes a wake-up call loss to the mediocre Giants to dissolve the arrogance and make the Cowboys remember that other teams try to win as well, so be it. I guess.
But losing Sunday at home to the Washington Commanders to fall to 0-2? Now that would test any team’s patience.
