The Cowboys' offense is capable of winning a Super Bowl, but the defense is so bad that the team can lose to anyone.
The Dallas Cowboys' 2025 season will be remembered for two things.
One: the offense led by Dak Prescott was elite, and you can argue it was so good at times that it was Super Bowl-caliber.
And two, the defense was bad. Like, historically bad.
That meant the Cowboys were good enough on offense to beat any team they faced but also bad enough on defense to lose to anyone, as evidenced by their losses to the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals.
So, for most, the main path Dallas has to take this offseason is to retain its offense and vastly improve its defense.
With Javonte Williams signing a three-year, $24 million deal, Dallas has one item off its checklist done. But more has to happen.
And for Sports Illustrated's Eva Geitheim, when describing the Cowboys' quarterback position in one sentence, it perfectly encapsulates Dallas' problem.
"Dak Prescott is coming off a career year, but it won’t matter if the Cowboys don’t improve their defense," Geithiem wrote.
That is exactly how the 2025 season played out.
Dak Prescott played at least the first half of the year at an MVP level and would finish with 4,552 passing yards, 30 TDs, and just 10 interceptions en route to his fourth Pro Bowl nod.
Such was the defense's poor play that Dak and the offense had to be perfect on every drive for the Cowboys to win.
So many times, all Dallas needed was one stop by the defense to get the ball back to Prescott and let them go win the game. But time and time again, the defense gave up a touchdown or field goal, and the chances of winning went by the wayside.
It is clear how potent the offense is and can be in 2026, but the key here is that if the defense under Christian Parker can become average, not even good, then Dallas will likely win more games than it loses.
With free agency nearly upon us, how the franchise will approach it will be interesting to watch.
Williams' future is already sorted, with George Pickens hopefully up next.
But having both as Cowboys next season won't matter unless the defense is overhauled.
And that is exactly what Dallas' plan of attack needs to be.