Grading Cowboys performance at Eagles in Week 1: Offense earns C-, good start for Brian Schottenheimer

The Dallas Cowboys almost shocked the world and ruined the Philadelphia Eagles‘ Super Bowl LIV championship banner night with a win, but they couldn’t quite get over the hump in a 24-20 loss. 

Dallas got off to a fast start, producing 20 points in the first half on four possessions (two touchdowns and two field goals). A few critical lapses at the worst possible times like a fumble by backup running back Miles Sanders from the Eagles’ 11 late in the third quarter and drops by All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, especially on the last possession came back to Dallas. The team’s pass rush also struggled to get home against Philadelphia quarterback Jalen Hurts without All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons, who watched the game from his couch while readying to debut with the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. 

So what would the Cowboys’ report card look like for all phases of the game — coaching, offense, defense and special teams — look like after Week 1? Let’s find out with grades for every phase following Dallas’ first game of the 2025 NFL season. 

Coaching

Grade: B-

New head coach Brian Schottenheimer was getting everything exactly how he wanted early on in his debut as the Cowboys’ offensive play caller. Dallas opened the game with consecutive touchdowns, and had a picturesque opening drive given Schottenheimer’s motto of winning from the line of scrimmage with physicality. The Cowboys opened with four runs on their six-play, opening drive possession that ended with a one-yard rushing touchdown by new lead running back Javonte Williams. The passes thrown by Prescott got George Pickens his first catch as a Cowboy for six yards, and a 32-yard gain down to the one on a play-action deep shot to CeeDee Lamb that set up Williams for the score.

That balance remained on Dallas’ second drive with five rushing plays to four passing plays with the same end result: a one-yard rushing touchdown for Williams. The Cowboys settled for two field goals to finish out the half, but it was the best start for Dallas in some time. Last year, the Cowboys had just one opening drive touchdown in Week 14 against the Cincinnati Bengals.  

The second half struggles (Dallas didn’t score after halftime) appeared to have more to do with execution than playcalling. However, Dallas only ran once on the team’s final three drives. Perhaps mixing in the run on the game’s third-to-last and penultimate possessions could have helped the Cowboys find more rhythm. It was certainly understandable why Schottenheimer exclusively went to the air on the game’s final drive. 

New defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus also did a solid job all around given the short notice of losing his best player in Parsons, but he needed to be more aggressive on passing downs because of the loss of Parsons. He didn’t blitz once in the first half, and the Eagles scored touchdowns on all three of the drives in the half. That’s in large part because of the pressure Dallas failed to apply without Parsons: an 11.8% quarterback pressure rate and no sacks. 

In the second half, Eberflus came to his senses, and the Cowboys ended up with a 37.5% blitz rate across the final two quarters, which exponentially improved Dallas’ chances. The team’s quarterback pressure rate skyrocketed to 56.3%, and edge rusher Marshawn Kneeland was able to sack Hurts once. Eberflus is going to have to get much more aggressive and creative with his blitz packages sans-Parsons in order to fluster opposing quarterbacks this season. Also, his failure to put a quarterback spy on Hurts was a massive mistake that led to the Eagles quarterback moving the chains in key moments. That includes sealing the game on the final drive and accounting for two rushing touchdowns. 

Offense

Grade: C+

As mentioned just a moment ago, the Dallas offense got almost everything they could have asked for in the first half. Getting shut out in the second half will drop the grade down. So too will All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb having a career-high four drops that outshone his 7 catches for 110 yards receiving on 13 targets. He had a couple drops earlier in the game on a third down or two, but his final drops of the night on Dallas’ last drive were memorable for the wrong reasons.

Quarterback Dak Prescott heaved the football Lamb’s way on a post route toward the middle of the field, and the football made contact with the No. 88 stitched on the chest of Lamb’s jersey. However, the ball was dropped. That play would have set up Dallas 25 yards from the end zone with just under three minutes left to play. His final drop of the night, a tougher play on fourth down, was more understandable, but Prescott and the Cowboys certainly believed in Lamb to make the play. 

“That’s terrible. I can’t point the finger at anybody else. I take full accountability and everything else that comes with it. As a player, I train for moments like that and the ball to come my way,” Lamb said postgame, via The Athletic. “I need to catch the damn ball.”    

Backup running back Miles Sanders’ fumble at the 11 late in the third quarter was a worse sin than any of Lamb’s drops, and it killed Dallas’ best drive of the second half. Key errors at the worst moments prevented Dallas’ from jumping out in front in the second half and truly applying pressure on the defending champions. 

Defense

Grade: B-

Most people expected Eagles 2024 NFL Offensive Player of the Year running back Saquon Barkley to run roughshod on the Cowboys after Dallas had the NFL’s fourth-worst run defense (137.1 rushing yards per game allowed) last season. Helmed by Kenny Clark, who was of course acquired in the Micah Parons trade, the Cowboys held up against Barkley, limiting him to 60 yards rushing and a touchdown on 18 carries for a paltry 3.3 yards per carry. The bad was their inability to pressure Hurts, which led to him scrambling time and time again for touchdowns (two) and momentum-killing first downs. For example, his four-yard scramble on third-and-3 to ice the game. None of the Cowboys’ front four was able to get after Hurts until Eberflus began blitzing in the second half as mentioned earlier. That’s a result of trading away Parsons. 

However, Dallas’ secondary was excellent. Pro Bowl cornerback Trevon Diggs wasn’t targeted on his 20 coverage snaps, which led to Eagles Pro Bowl No. 1 wideout A.J. Brown not being targeted until 1:51 left in the game. All-Pro cornerback DaRon Bland surrendered just two catches for 11 yards. That’s a strong performance from the team’s top two corners. If the Cowboys can begin to generate any consistency with the pass rush, this grade should soar in a hurry. 

Special teams

Grade: B+

It was a ho-hum performance from Dallas’ special teams unit. All-Pro Brandon Aubrey drained his two field goal attempts from 41 yards and 53 yards out. Punter Bryan Anger drove his two punts for a combined 87 yards with one pin inside the 20. All-Pro returner KaVontae Turpin fair caught his only chance to field a punt and returned four kickoffs for a combined 81 yards.

Thursday marked a solid yet unspectacular night for the Cowboys special teams unit.