Through two preseason games, the Dallas Cowboys’ offense has looked nothing short of anemic.
While preseason is often a time for vanilla play-calling and experimental rotations, there should still be flashes of competence when a mix of starters and second-stringers are on the field.
Instead, the Cowboys have been lifeless, raising concerns about what this team would look like without Dak Prescott under center.
The reality is simple: if Prescott misses any significant time, the 2025 season could very well be lost.
Backup Dilemma
The Cowboys’ quarterback room behind Prescott is, to put it kindly, shaky.
Joe Milton, the young project out of Tennessee, has all the arm strength in the world but remains raw in his decision-making and touch.
Through two games, his drives have consistently stalled, leaving fans frustrated with his inability to sustain momentum.
Then there’s Will Grier, a veteran journeyman who has bounced around the league without ever cementing himself as a reliable option.
Grier has been given plenty of snaps this preseason, but he hasn’t been able to move the offense either. His throws are safe but uninspiring, failing to challenge defenses or energize the unit.
This lack of depth at the most important position in football is glaring.
If Prescott were to go down, the Cowboys’ passing attack would likely collapse into a cycle of three-and-outs, leaving the defense gassed and the season in jeopardy.
A Non-Existent Run Game
The Cowboys’ struggles don’t end with the passing game. Their run game has been equally ineffective, a troubling development for an offense that once prided itself on controlling the line of scrimmage.
Neither projected starters nor backup running backs have been able to consistently find daylight, with runs routinely stuffed at or behind the line of scrimmage.
The offensive line deserves some of the blame, as it hasn’t created much push in these exhibition games.
However, it’s also clear that the running back rotation lacks a true difference-maker.
Without a reliable ground game, Prescott is being asked to shoulder an even greater burden, and the team would have no chance of surviving his absence.
Defensive Struggles
Compounding the offensive woes is the defense’s inability to stop the run.
This problem is a carryover from last season, when opponents routinely gashed the Cowboys up the middle. Unfortunately, little progress has been made in shoring up this weakness.
In both preseason matchups, Dallas’ front seven has been bullied at the point of attack, giving up chunk gains and allowing offenses to dictate the tempo.
If the Cowboys can’t stop the run, they’ll find themselves constantly behind the chains, forced into shootouts that their struggling offense is ill-equipped to win without Prescott.
A Harsh Truth
All signs point to one harsh truth: the Cowboys are dangerously dependent on Dak Prescott. With him, they can hope to mask some of their deficiencies and compete week to week.
Without him, the lack of quarterback depth, ineffective running game, and porous run defense would almost certainly doom their season before it begins.
If Dallas has any chance of making noise in 2025, keeping Prescott upright and healthy isn’t just important; it’s the only path forward.
Dak is unappreciated. Dallas has not had a run game since 2018 . Dak carries the offense and yet fans and media do not appreciate how bad the offense scheme is and how it is only Dak that makes the offense.
Yeah, no run game and no defense is a pretty bad situation.
No wonder Dak’s the highest paid player in the NFL. He’s earned it.
He carries the team. 17 games, however, is asking quite too much.
Commented a couple times before here about why did the Pats basically GIVE Milton to the Cowboys. Now we may be seeing why. Jury is still out but he doesn’t appear to be starter material.
QB1 is the best option now only b/c this Cowboy Front Office has never EVER given him ANY REAL competition.
Here is the lineup of formidable “competition” the brain trust brought in or drafted for QB1;
Garrett Gilbert, Trey Lance, Ben DiNucci, Cooper Rush, Will Grier, now Joe Milton.
Yeah when compared to these guys, QB1 looks pretty good. But when he is compared to the rest of the league’s QBs, PFF has him ranked at 17th. Hmm.
So now they are depending on an injury prone, somewhat immobile, inconsistent, regressing QB to save the day. Front Office made it’s very expensive bed (pun intended) and now they have to lay in it. And unfortunately so do the fans.
Bottomline, can’t blame the greedy QB1 for FO caving into his absurd demands. Blame an inept FO for not seeing a large body of work with well below average PS results and NOT switching gears. 2 in 9!
They’re run game isn’t that bad!! I’ve seen some really good stuff from the RBs…. And I’m not talking about Malik Davis!! Phil Mafah has been doing really good and he’s been playing against the starters and backups, unlike Davis!! And I didn’t get to see all of the ravens game last nite, but I seen some good stuff from Miles Sanders too!! I know he made a couple mistakes, but it was his first time playing in weeks!! But he still did some good stuff too!! I’m not sure how he ended with just 15 yards on 7 carries, but I seen him break off a couple that went for 7 or 8 yards and one that went for 10 or 11 yards!! I know he lost 5 yards on a miscommunication with Joe Milton where he about fumbled the hand off, but that’s only 5 yards and the 3 plays I just mentioned are at least 25 yards so he should’ve totaled more than just 15 yards!! I could’ve mistaken number 37 with 27, but either way, the run game has been pretty good!! And we haven’t even had our projected starter in to play yet, and Blue hasn’t played yet either, so our running game hasn’t been that bad considering who we’ve had in at RB!!
And our run defense has been good too!! It’s not that our players aren’t there to make the plays, because there were plenty of plays in the ravens game where we should have made a stop for a loss or a minimal gain, but the players wouldn’t wrap up and make the tackle!! That’s the problem…. Our players just need to make the tackles!! There were a couple plays our defense made against the run, like the one Darius Harris made!! But the biggest thing is that our starters haven’t even been playing, so if our backups and practice squad players can make plays like that, then our starters shouldn’t have any problems doing it in the regular season!!
One more thing I forgot to mention….. I do agree though that we are gonna be in trouble if Dak gets hurt!! I do believe in Joe Milton, but he needs more time to develop!! He has the arm to make any play on the field, and he’s mobile enough to run if he needs to, he just needs to make better decisions, and he needs to be calmer while standing in the pocket!! He gets too nervous and rushes his throws and that’s why he makes bad decisions and ends up making mistakes!! His 2 interceptions in the endzone 2 weeks in a row are proof of that!! But I think if he can get that taken care of, he’ll be a really good QB in the NFL!! And maybe he just needs to play in the regular season to be better!! Dak wasn’t too good when he was first starting out either, he wasn’t good in practice or the preseason, but when he played in the regular season, he was a totally different player!! Maybe Milton is the same way!! He played really good against the Bills in the season finale last season, and he don’t look anything like that now, so maybe he needs to play in the regular season!! But if not, then he don’t have to fix much to be a good QB!! Everything he’s doing wrong is easily fixable!! So I think he just needs more time to develop!!
And I think Will Grier is being really underestimated!! He showed what he can do in the last preseason game he started for us a couple years ago when we cut him to keep Trey Lance!! He’s a good QB, he just hasn’t been given a chance!! If he was given more of an opportunity the last few years, he would be a solid starter in the NFL, or at worst a top backup QB!! He just needs to be given a chance, and more opportunities!! It seems like every time he starts doing really good and getting the hang of playing good, he gets cut and has to start over again!! If he was the backup the last few years instead of that no good Cooper Rush, he would be a lot better right now than a lot of people think Cooper Rush is!! Either way, in the 3rd preseason game, I think Grier needs to get more playing time than what he’s been getting!! I think he should start and play until halftime, and then put Milton in to play the 2nd half of the game!! Milton don’t start looking good until the 2nd half of the game anyways, so why not start playing him then!! Plus, if he has somebody start in his place, it mite start a fire under him and make him play better!! I could be wrong, but I think that’s how they should start the last preseason game!! But either way, I’m not gonna give up on Milton yet, I still think he’s gonna be a really good QB, he just needs more time!! And Grier just needs more opportunities!! But that’s just my opinion!!
a Dallas Cowboys since the 70’s Dak Prescott does well during the regular it’s when Dak Prescott chocks in the playoffs one and done