The bye week is coming to an end, and that means the second half of the Dallas Cowboys season will begin. It is not going the way that we all had hoped, but the moves they made on defense at the trade deadline should at least set them up well for next year.
I am not moving on from this year yet, but with everything this team is going through and with the worst defense in football, it makes it tough after losing to the Arizona Cardinals at home.
With that said, I think this team still has a few guys that should earn more snaps coming out of the bye week and see if they can build on them heading into 2026 or even lean on them for the rest of the season.
Donovan Ezeiruaku
The rookie from Boston College made his first start in Week 9. He rewarded Dallas for their faith in him by recording the second sack of his career.
At the bye, Ezeiruaku is playing in 51.6 percent of the team’s snaps on defense. That’s more than any other defensive end, but he still needs to be on the field more. While rotating players makes sense, the Cowboys need to play Ezeiruaku as much as possible to speed up his development.
At this point, with Micah Parsons gone, adding Quienn Williams, you have to see if you can develop him into a 7-8 sack-type pass rusher.
This team will need these guys going forward and if Ezeiruaku can be a 5 plus sack guy, that will help. Getting more snaps in the second half of the season will only help him.
Ryan Flournoy
Ryan Flournoy needs all the snaps he can get. If this team does not bring George Pickens back, Ryan looks like he will be the guy next in line behind CeeDee Lamb and Jalen Tolbert.
Jalen Tolbert played seven snaps last night. Ryan Flournoy hit the 45 mark.
— Calvin Watkins (@calvinwatkins) November 4, 2025
Despite his limited time, Flournoy has 16 receptions for 198 yards and scored his first career touchdown in Week 9 against the Cardinals. The Cowboys wanted KaVontae Turpin to take over as WR3, but through nine games, he seems to be the next guy in line behind Lamb and Pickens.
I have no idea what the rest of this season is going to look like, and right now it seems so small after what happened to Marshawn Kneeland yesterday. This entire team is probably feeling it right now and going forward, I just hope this team can play inspired football.
