Once feared for its dominance, the Dallas defense has slipped hugely as the 2025 season reaches its midpoint.

Once feared for its dominance, the Dallas defense has slipped hugely as the 2025 season reaches its midpoint.
Kevin Jairaj
NFL

Bad news for Cowboys fans: Dallas defense ranks among NFL’s worst across these key categories

Calum Roche
Sports-lover turned journalist, born and bred in Scotland, with a passion for football (soccer). He’s also a keen follower of NFL, NBA, golf and tennis, among others, and always has an eye on the latest in science, tech and current affairs. As Managing Editor at AS USA, uses background in operations and marketing to drive improvements for reader satisfaction.
Update:

Through seven games, Dallas holds a 3–3–1 record – including that incredible 80-point tie with the Packers – which places them second in the NFC East thanks largely to a productive offence rather than defensive strength. They’ve already conceded 206 points (an average of circa 29.4 per game)... almost like they lost a key cog in the wheei.

But just how bad is the defense of America’s Team when compared to others? We thought we’d take a little look given the chatter, with some help from our stat friends at Sofascore.

Bad news for Cowboys fans: Dallas defense ranks among NFL’s worst across these key categories
Dallas Cowboys stats W1-W7

Dallas’ defensive woes laid out

What was once the foundation of the Cowboys’ identity has turned into a liability. According to league-wide rankings, Dallas is among the worst in total yards allowed, rushing yards surrendered and passing yards allowed. For example, opponents have already gained 1,822 passing yards (c.260.3 per game) against them.

As well as that, they’ve allowed 989 rushing yards (about 141.3 per game) through seven matchups. These numbers place the Cowboys squarely near the league bottom in both aspects of defense, something fans all over are commenting on.

Those defensive lapses have left the Cowboys needing points from their offense. And despite them doing just that and scoring 222 points, the defense’s struggles have kept Dallas hovering around .500.

With the season approaching its midpoint, defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus faces mounting pressure to steady the group before playoff hopes slip further. Unless the Cowboys rediscover the intensity that once defined them, even an elite offense would not be enough to save their season. But at least their fans aren’t expecting too much these days.

Standings provided by Sofascore

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