Cowboys Update: New QB Signed; Is Dak Prescott 'Regressing' Under Brian Schottenheimer?

Six games into the 2026 season, the Dallas Cowboys are 2-4, Dak Prescott is facing questions about his regression, and Brian Schottenheimer has moved away from several of the offensive tendencies that helped his quarterback thrive a year ago.

The quarterback hasn't been good enough. Neither has his protection, his running game or, for that matter, his head coach's play-calling.

But amid the growing criticism of Prescott, there's a question that deserves more attention: Why has Schottenheimer moved away from so many of the things that made his quarterback successful?

On Tuesday, the Cowboys pulled the trigger on a new third-string QB, following up Joe Milton's poaching by the Eagles by signing journeyman Kyle Trask.

Hopefully, he never has to play.

Hopefully, Dak plays at a higher level.

Prescott finished 2025 fifth in ESPN's QBR (70.2), throwing for 4,552 yards and 30 touchdowns while leading an offense that ranked second in total yards.

Those are the numbers of a quarterback playing some of the best football in the league.

Maybe even the best of his career. 

And now? Six games later, his offense has undergone quite the transformation.

According to CBS Sports, Dallas used pre-snap motion on 56.6% of its plays in 2025, ranking 13th leaguewide. That number has fallen to 36.5% this season — dead last.

Play-action usage has dropped from 28.2% to 24.2%, while under-center snaps have declined from 38.4% to 30.4%.

Meanwhile, shotgun usage has climbed to 69.6%, the fifth-highest rate in football, and Dallas is running the ball on a league-low 32.5% of its plays.

So ... what's changed?

Well, according to offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, change was always part of the plan.

Back in February, Adams explained that simply bringing back the same offensive approach would be the "worst mindset you can possibly have," particularly with opposing defenses possessing a full season of film to study.

Fair point. What worked in 2025 wasn't guaranteed to work again.

But Adams also emphasized the importance of understanding an offense's "core building blocks" while searching for ways to improve.

And looking at the numbers six games into 2026, one has to wonder whether Dallas has gone a little too far in its attempts to evolve.

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Of course, some of Schottenheimer's adjustments have reasonable explanations.

For starters, Dallas can't run the football.

Javonte Williams, who rushed for 1,201 yards while averaging 4.8 yards per carry last season, is averaging just 3.7 yards through six games. The Cowboys rank 31st in rushing yards per game at 76.

All-Pro guard Tyler Smith missed the first four games following thumb surgery, Malik Davis' season-ending injury upended Dallas' backfield plans before Week 1, and the offensive line has struggled to generate consistent rushing lanes.

Throw in the Cowboys' tendency to play from behind, and it's not difficult to understand why Schottenheimer has leaned further into the passing game.

But does that justify everything?

Dallas can't establish the run, so it's calling less play-action. Makes sense, right?

Well ... not necessarily.

Research from Pro Football Focus found that even when teams averaged fewer than 3.5 yards per carry, quarterbacks recorded a 108.4 passer rating using play-action compared with 93.0 without it.

Granted, those findings come from an older league-wide sample, and protecting the quarterback remains a factor.

Still, Schottenheimer doesn't necessarily need Williams running wild for Prescott to benefit from a run fake.

And the pre-snap motion? That's an entirely different conversation.

Dallas can't run the football? Fine. Its offensive line is struggling? Understood.

But what does either problem have to do with reducing pre-snap motion?

Moving receivers before the snap can help Prescott identify coverage and force opposing defenders to communicate.

None of those advantages requires Dallas to establish the run. And against defenses increasingly comfortable attacking Prescott, why wouldn't Schottenheimer want every available advantage?

Yet Dallas has reduced its motion usage by more than 20 percentage points.

Why?

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The Cowboys' struggles against the blitz have made that question harder to ignore.

Tampa Bay pressured Prescott 13 times in Week 5. Green Bay followed with 21 pressures Sunday night, repeatedly disrupting an offense that struggled to provide answers.

Prescott completed just 11 of 19 passes for 74 yards when pressured against the Packers, according to the Cowboys.

And the quarterback isn't pretending he's blameless.

"I just got to simplify the plan, and that starts with me," Prescott said afterward.

That's fair. Recognizing pressure and delivering the football remain his responsibilities.

But finding ways to make those responsibilities manageable falls on Schottenheimer, too.

Motion, quicker passing concepts, protection adjustments and play-action can all provide answers against aggressive defenses. None guarantees success, and not every blitz can be defeated by moving a receiver.

But Dallas appears to be using fewer of the tools that helped define last year's offense.

Against Green Bay, the Cowboys attempted 54 passes and managed just 48 rushing yards in a 23-13 loss.

Schottenheimer admitted afterward that throwing so often wasn't the plan, pointing to Dallas playing from behind.

But the Cowboys called just one rushing play after Williams' third-quarter touchdown cut Green Bay's lead to 17-7, despite more than nine minutes remaining in the quarter.

Was abandoning the run that early necessary?

Adams acknowledged before the game that the Cowboys were still searching for an offensive identity.

"We need to be more balanced," Adams said.

Six games into a season following one in which Dallas finished second in total offense, that's quite an admission.

None of this means Prescott has been perfect. His failed throwaway against the Giants was costly, his first interception against Green Bay was a poor decision, and there are other throws he'd undoubtedly like back.

But the five interceptions on Prescott's stat sheet don't tell the entire story. Several came on deflections or plays where receivers lost their footing.

Neither does a two-game stretch that has portions of the fan base questioning whether it's time to move on.

Prescott deserves criticism for the mistakes he's made. Schottenheimer deserves scrutiny for the decisions he's made.

Adams was right in February. The Cowboys couldn't expect to roll out the same offense and catch defenses by surprise for another 17 games.

But there's a difference between evolving an offense and moving away from the things that made it successful.

Dallas had a quarterback playing like one of football's best, an offense that worked and a formula worth building upon.

Now, six games into 2026, it's searching for an identity it seemingly already had.