The Dallas Cowboys are dragging toward another season that ends in a playoff absence (their second in a row following a trio of 12-win seasons).

Under first-year head coach Brian Schottenheimer, Dallas' latest loss at home to the Minnesota Vikings has dipped the 6-7-1 Cowboys' odds of making the postseason to the near-lowest of lows, but the Philadelphia Eagles' win over Washington on Saturday put the final nail in Dallas' coffin.

Still with three games left on the schedule, owner and general manager Jerry Jones has vowed to treat these contests as if the opposite fate is still within reach. He wants to play to win.

"A win is very, very important in the NFL. And a win is important to me. And a win does a lot of positive things. I don't care when it happens," Jones said on 105.3 The Fan this week.

"We owe it to that mirror, and we owe it certainly to our fans that we want to walk out there and be competitive. We will not try for draft position. We won't be looking at anything like that. We'll be out there playing football, and we'll bring them to play. So that's a long-winded way of saying we'll play football under whatever the circumstances are."

There's honor in that and I can get behind it. Much of the locker room chatter agrees, echoing these sentiments, as expected, being the men who sacrifice their bodies and minds for the sport to pay their living.

Their attention is, and should be in between the lines. But upstairs, another season will come, and many believe it's better to start preparing in some capacity for the inevitable next chapter before this one is even over, and before it's too late to start.

So, what's in store for 2026 - and beyond - for these Dallas Cowboys?

"I love the bones of our team." Jones said. "We've got some outstanding players and we're in good shape with how we've structured our salary cap, and I really like the idea that we've got some extra picks. I like what we've done throughout this year in putting some cornerstones in place that will help us as we go forward.

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"So when I look at our future, our future looks very bright. And again, I think we've got key players at key positions. We've got some great draft picks ahead of us and we've got some salary cap room to pay it. That's the reason we've made some of the decisions we've made."

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Jones' roster has, for the large majority, reaped many of the benefits of an active, and sometimes controversial offseason of moves. Trading Micah Parsons for Kenny Clark and two first-round picks. Trading for the polarizing-but-promising George Pickens. Drafting starting-caliber rookies on both sides of the ball and making a string of impactful free agent acquisitions.

That urgency goes into the season, as well, where a trade-deadline blockbuster momentarily shifted the trajectory of what we thought this team was capable of.

Some decisions have worked out well, and others haven't, but that's the nature of the business. A requirement in this life, however, is the constant surveillance of a teams' competitiveness level in on-field personnel, leadership, and organizational assets with the future in mind. These display the road map that guides management where to turn next.

Ahead of this final stretch of games in 2025 (that no doubt will remain crucial in determining the following departments' futures) we dive into each of the Cowboys' major anatomical parts - the bones that make up the skeletal image of Jones' team - and analyze how "bright" their immediate and long-term futures really are at this given moment.

And above all, we attempt to put some context to Jerry's blind optimism with the goal of salvaging anything for future use out of 2025.

OFFENSE

Quarterback Dak Prescott will remain the starter in 2026 after a phenomenal statistical season, where at times we questioned if this was the best Dallas' franchise QB has ever played. His league-high contract will remain a heavy factor in construction operations, but at age 33 at the start of next season, so too is his eventual decline (rather naturally or by injury).

Prescott said this offseason that he's open to, and potentially leaning toward pursuing, the idea of playing until he's 40 years old or older. He will be given at least until the end of this current contract - if, of course, his play matches - to foster the belief that that career path is possible in Dallas.

Jones will need to radar that $70 million+ cap hit he's owed and shuffle funds accordingly in a restructure to make all these pieces fit, but that's something he's done before, and it won't be an issue again.

Behind him, running back Javonte Williams will figure to be the wobbliest domino to monitor in building next year's offense. His one-year, $3 million free-agency deal has undoubtedly been one of Jones' sharpest bullseyes of this season ... but what happens next?

Williams, just 26 next year, has shown that he's capable of being "the guy" - from athletic, durability and personality "fit" standpoints. His current market value has doubled up to around $6 million APY since completing his first 1,000-yard rushing season, but his production also proved that elite play can be found at the $3 million figure around the NFL.

Dallas could play this safe and re-sign Williams to run it back with Schottenheimer and OC Klayton Adams, or it could get stubborn and gamble on the open market, again, for a player they'd be hoping can fill the prints Williams left behind. Our logic says the former plan should be the way to go.

At receiver, CeeDee Lamb is locked in long-term at a top-value price, but now his co-star George Pickens is qualified for something similar. This route more than likely suggests the franchise tag being placed on "GP", but a continued string of underwhelming games to end the season could knock this thinking off kilter. Or at the least, it lessens what Pickens should make, to more responsibly represent the good and the bad that comes with him on the team. That goes for either Dallas or any other team paying him.

Either way, the Cowboys are on the most favorable side if they retain their star receiver duo. The $28 million tag is set up for that to be done, and be cost effective. Otherwise, Jones would inherit a compensatory pick that is beyond a long-shot of ever turning into anything as good as Pickens is.

Tight ends Jake Ferguson and Brevyn Spann-Ford are signed and worth developing, but at the line of scrimmage, the biggest need for external reinforcements is at right tackle, where veteran starter Terence Steele has all but ushered himself out of a spot by playing far worse than his five-year, $82.5 million extension advocates.

Dallas has a top-five offense in the NFL in 2025, so clearly the "key" players are on this side of the ball and worth investing in. This unit can have a bright immediate future with Dak under center.

The other side is a different story.

DEFENSE

Coordinator Matt Eberflus was objectively dealt a bad hand with the trade of an all-world pass rusher in Parsons - who tragically tore his ACL this week amid another double-digit sack season leading a playoff-bound Pack. Then there was the collection of major injuries and a pack of unfortunate headlines in player-related drama that beamed unwarranted attention on this struggling unit all season long.

READ MORE: Cowboys Urged To Hire ‘Home Run’ Matt Eberflus Replacement

Still, there was enough time to overcome those roadblocks during the season. Eberflus never did, but we'll get to him later.

The Cowboys are tasked ahead of 2026 with affording the big trio of defensive tackles in Osa Odighizuwa ($20 million APY), Kenny Clark ($21.3 million) and Quinnen Williams ($24 million). Dallas may not necessarily be tied to Clark, but it's possible that he's not a "cap casualty" either.

This is possibly the best group of interior linemen Jones has had. So, with one of the loudest gripes from Cowboys Nation recently being about the inability to stop the run, we bet he'll find a way to keep the trio together.

The other areas of the defense are where many expect Dallas' two first-round draft picks are to be used, with linebacker and defensive back drawing a lot of attention in this class.

The Cowboys will build around the explosiveness and youth of DeMarvion Overshown (if he can stay healthy) in the middle, but they'll need to see more from a youngster in Shemar James or Marist Liufau (or a rookie) while Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn carry this season with much less optimism than they initially brought in during the offseason. Logan Wilson is under contract, so he'll likely be nothing more than a serviceable fill-in veteran next year after his deadline move.

In the secondary, the Cowboys' high-priced duo of Trevon Diggs and DaRon Bland continue to suffer unfortunate injury luck since each of their large contracts from the previous few years. Bland is newly signed and would likely be one starter, while the team has also seen good things from rookie corner Shavon Revel Jr. as the potential second boundary guy for the future. But elsewhere? Caelen Carson or Reddy Steward or Twikweze Bridges just aren't there yet.

And yes, this outlook of a Bland/Revel pairing (+ a free agent or rookie) harbors from the general belief that Diggs and Dallas are nearing a divorce after this season. The chaos that has explained much of his season is simply too much to overcome, and if there isn't a trade suitor, the Cowboys can benefit from cutting their eventual losses by releasing him and moving on.

At safety, Malik Hooker and Donovan Wilson will be figures to question as they'll both be at least 30 years old and each coming off short stints on IR this season.

As has been displayed throughout this season, there are pieces to build around on this defense, but the history of making opposing quarterbacks look tremendously better than they really are is not a surprise. There are major holes to fill before the future can get any close to something to be excited about.

SPECIAL TEAMS

Dallas' kicking has often made Schottenheimer comfortable as soon as the offense crosses the 50-yard line, leading to more conservative play-calling instead of aggressively hunting touchdowns. That leads to a reliance on Brandon Aubrey getting points, which as Jones frustratingly noted, won't keep you in many games at this level (and with that defense).

That, however, is a point against philosophy, not against the special teams unit.

Aubrey is on track to be the best kicker in history, or certainly of this generation. His expiring contract has been a story throughout this season, but for the pocket-change price of $7 million, he can stay in Dallas long-term as the richest kicker of all time.

It's aggravating that it hasn't been handled proactively by now, but it shall in due time. Perhaps the "brightest" of futures resides here with Aubrey's sweet swing being re-signed for 2026.

Bryan Anger and Trent Sieg will fill their customary duties, as well, with young speedy return man KaVontae Turpin back deep. "Turp" got a massive promotion this offseason with hope for an increased offensive role, but the emergence of Pickens and Ryan Flournoy have left him sticking to kick returns for most of his action. Next year, he will still be one of the league's best.

LEADERSHIP

Brian Schottenheimer has earned a heap of praise throughout his inaugural head-coaching season for how he's infused the locker room with energy and togetherness, even amid stretches of defensive incompetence or lulls in offensive efficiency. And as a play-caller, he's largely impressed as one of the causes of Dallas' high statistical outputs. That at least earns him more leash to begin his career, which also is usually the case with Jones and head coaches going into Year 2.

Schottenheimer's top assistant, offensive coordinator Klayton Adams, is also a name to be excited about moving forward. Dallas has been atop the league rankings in yards and points throughout the year, and Adams has plenty of weapons to work with in marrying the formula we've seen win games on its own, somehow avoiding the opposing side weighing it down...

Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus is seated on one of the hottest seats in football. Will the final three games do much to change that? Likely not, though Jones will say it things to the contrary.

For 'Flus, he'll look at them from stories above as he's moved up to call defensive formations from the coaches booth rather than from the sidelines. It could be a schematic adjustment, or simply a strategic portrayal of Cowboys management making one type of coaching "change" before another more consequential one follows.

It's likely time to move on from yet another DC in Dallas, but don't be entirely surprised if Eberflus is extended a "prove it" year of sorts in 2026, pointing to better health, more incoming rookie experiments and a full program with those DTs as reasons to turn believe he can turn things around, or at least be gifted the chance to at the beginning of the year.

Assets and Cap Space

A lot of weight is sitting on the first-round NFL Draft picks in 2026, one in Dallas' own and the other Green Bay's. The second received by the Packers in 2027 will be sent to the New York Jets in the Quinnen Williams trade (the better of the DAL or GB positioning). Most of all, these matter because Dallas does not have a second or third-rounder in the upcoming draft.

One fourth, three fifths, no sixth and two seventh-round picks (via NYG and KC) make up what the Cowboys carry into the spring's draft. It's a decent enough pool, with two of the first-, the fourth- and maybe a couple of the fifth-round rookies potentially winning a spot on next year's team. That chance increases if they play defense.

In the financial department, ESPN wants you to sweat because the handful of mega contracts are currently bloated onto next season, putting the team in the red. But don't fret. Technically the team hasn't done anything wrong, as the next league year has not begun and Dallas has not yet turned its attention to freeing up space like it is planning on.

Prescott, Lamb, and Tyler Smith restructures will open up wiggle room. More team-specific deals for Clark and Quinnen Williams will generate savings and cuts to Diggs and Steele will free up an additional $20 million-ish, in addition to the $20 million-ish that rolls over from this season's remaining budget.

That's upwards of $100 million of the inevitably growing cap ceiling for the Cowboys to work with in 2026. That, as Jerry has lauded, is certainly something to look forward to.

If it's used correctly.

Bright Idea or Bright Future?

Of course, none of these examinations mean anything if the proper moves are not followed through by Mr. Jones.

Putting Dallas' final three games aside, the framework is there for Dallas to have reason to believe it can be competitive in 2026.

Now it's about turning bright ideas into actions that lead us toward a bright future.

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