One of the refrains that emerged after the Dallas Cowboys came out struggling in Week 1 against the Giants, especially on the defensive side of the ball, was that for all the change that the the team installed in that unit, for the wave of new players and draft picks, for the rebuilt defensive coaching staff under new coordinator Christian Parker, the results were awfully familiar. The 2025 Cowboys defense was the worst in the NFL in points allowed, and was a mess when it came to communication, accountability and cohesion.
And to open 2026, those were the same exact problems for the Cowboys defense. new players, new coaches, same results and problems. To many fans and observers, the 2026 defense has just looked like a retread of the 2025 defense.
Christian Parker: ‘Not Our Business’
That notion was put to Parker on Thursday as he met with the Cowboys media at The Star. And he was none too pleased about the comparisons between the two seasons, despite the fact that Dallas allowed the Giants to control the ball for the bulk of the second half and the defense gave the offense only two possessions in 30 minutes of play.
Said Parker, via Jon Machota of The Athletic: “That’s not our business. We weren’t here. This is the 2026 defense. It’s our responsibility to fix our performance on Sunday, not performances from 2024, 2025. I think everybody has been accountable and responsible for that. We had a good day at practice (Wednesday). We’re going to have another good one (Thursday).”
![Patrik [No C] Walker](https://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/1946640157798494209/XNWwENH__normal.jpg){kind=small}
Cowboys, Christian Parker to Deal With Jayden Daniels
Parker emphasized that the Cowboys will need to up their preparation as they face the Commanders, who have quarterback Jayden Daniels back and healthy. Dallas struggled with keeping Jaxson Dart in the pocket on Sunday–Daniels could prove more difficult to contain.
Said Parker: “Our preparation has to tick up in terms of us having urgency to get those things fixed. But nobody is walking around hanging their heads. Guys know what we have to do. We look forward to being able to respond.”
Cowboys’ Quinnen Williams Expects More
Indeed, the Cowboys’ defensive performance against New York has led to a good bit of introspection. Quinnen Williams, the team leader and Pro Bowler who was acquired from the Jets at the trade deadline last year, put some of the struggles on his shoulders and said he expects more.
He said: “I think I did decent, but the player I am, I can do more. I can be more disruptive in the backfield, I can be more disruptive when it comes down to gap-and-a-half, making plays and different things like that. I’ll just watch the film, learn and grow from it.
“Can’t nobody in this world hold me accountable more than I hold myself. Can’t nobody in this world critique me more than I critique myself. I expect to be dominate every single week. I expect to be a playmaker, a game-changer every single week. And I wasn’t that. I got to do better.”
Cowboys Coach Shuts Down Criticism of Defense Before Week 2