Just two weeks ago, the Dallas Cowboys allowed Russell Wilson to put up 37 points and 450 passing yards on him. That wouldn't be odd in 2018, but it's 2025. Then, Caleb Williams had a career day with 298 passing yards and four touchdowns in the following game.
That's why Brian Schottenheimer has finally had enough. Talking to the media, the first-year head coach echoed Jerry Jones' comments about Donovan Wilson and the veterans, and he called out the secondary for their subpar efforts.
Brian Schottenheimer Calls Out Donovan Wilson, Cowboys Veterans
"It starts with the leadership that we have on this football team," Schottenheimer said. "Guys like Donovan Wilson, guys like Osa [Odighizuwa], guys like Malik Hooker. They're prideful guys. They realize we can't be giving up explosive plays."
Wilson had a game-saving interception in overtime in Week 2, but he was burned over and over throughout the game. That was the case again in Week 3, and while they didn't have star CB DaRon Bland, there was no excuse for the lack of effort and missed assignments.
Wilson has an ugly 52.7 PFF grade to start the year (on pace to be a career-worst by a big margin), having given up 8 receptions for 106 yards and 2 touchdowns on just 12 targets in coverage.
It's not like the Cowboys have a ton of options to replace Wilson if he keeps struggling (Juanyeh Thomas or practice-squadder Alijah Clark won't turn this secondary around), but it's important that Schottenheimer is acknowledging the struggles and holding his veterans accountable.
The Cowboys are giving up the most passing yards per game (288.0), and a lot of that has come with explosive plays of 30+ yard gains. Schottenheimer might be an offensive-minded coach, but he knows they have to do better:
Schottenheimer Knows The Cowboys' Secondary is Struggling
"We're not giving up 16-, 17-, 18-yard explosives. We're giving up 35 and 40 and 45. At the end of the day, that's not good enough, man," Schottenheimer said. "We gave up six explosives for, like, 215 yards."
Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers will be in town on Sunday, and after struggling to get anything going against the Cleveland Browns' elite defense, Matt LaFleur might be licking his chops. Hopefully, he won't listen to the pointers Schottenheimer just gave him:
"I wouldn't run the ball against our defense," Schottenheimer said. "We're playing the run really well. I'd sling it all over the place. That's unfortunately what we're allowing to happen, and until we do something about it, that's what we're going to see for the next couple weeks."
You know things aren't going well when your own head coach admits that the opposing team should just sling the pigskin down the field. This should only ignite the Cowboys' competitors' fire, and if that's not the case, this team will need to consider making some moves before the trade deadline, with veterans like Kyle Dugger or Damontae Kazee as potential interesting options.