The Dallas Cowboys have the NFL‘s No. 1 ranked offense a quarter into the 2025 season. Quarterback Dak Prescott is the league’s leading passer.
And yet, the Cowboys have just one win to show for it. Dallas is 1-2-1, coming off a 40-40 tie in Sunday’s Week 4 home contest against the Green Bay Packers (2-1-1). The issues have been on the other side of the ball. The Cowboys have, statistically, the worst defense in football.
Former Cowboys quarterback and Super Bowl champion Troy Aikman said the 2025 version of Dallas reminds him of the 2024 Cincinnati Bengals. Those Bengals scored points with anybody but at the same time, struggled on defense. It was a massive reason why they missed the playoffs. Prescott is playing at a level that will keep the Cowboys competitive, but Aikman believes he needs help.
“From what I’ve seen, it sure looks like it is,” Aikman said on Monday Night Countdown. “He’s playing at an MVP level. It reminds me of this team we’re going to see tonight in Cincinnati, when you had Joe Burrow last year and he’s playing at an MVP level, and they failed to make the playoffs because the defense didn’t hold up their end of the bargain. Through four games, Dak has been amazing. I was thoroughly impressed with the gameplan last night, knowing they did not want to allow Micah [Parsons] to be a factor getting to Dak. He was not going to hold onto the football. He got it out quickly, he was very decisive, he was on point.
“I couldn’t be more impressed with the way that Dak has begun this season through the first quarter of the year and yet, they’ve won one game. So, he can’t do it alone. He’s got to have some help. But yes, from what I’ve seen of them offensively, especially last night without CeeDee Lamb, I like what they’re doing on offense. I can’t imagine anyone taking any issue with them.”
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Dak Prescott off to hot start, Cowboys struggling elsewhere
Lamb did not suit up against the Packers, but it didn’t matter much. The offense still performed, recording 436 total yards. Prescott completed 31-of-40 passes for 319 yards and three touchdowns, a 94.4 QBR.
Prescott doesn’t care about the stats; he showed up Sunday to win. A tie left him “unfulfilled.”
“I’m unfulfilled with this — very, yeah,” Prescott said after the game. “You don’t play the game for ties. I’ve told you before, I don’t care about the stats. I don’t care about the ups and downs, the ebbs and flows that you hear about. The end result [should be a] win. When you don’t get that, right now, it’s tough for me. In ten years, it’s the first tie I’ve been a part of.
It’s hard to kind of wrap my head around, but I know I would’ve felt a hell of a lot worse if it was a loss; but I’m not satisfied, not that I would be if we won. Um yeah, it’s just, it’s a weird feeling.”
