When it comes to the difficult challenge of finding solutions to the Dallas Cowboys’ 2026 defensive woes, it’s possible to go so far deep down the statistical rabbit holes, so deep into the intricacies of the film and the schemes and the philosophies that you miss the forest for the trees. And maybe the great, big arboreal issue facing defensive coordinator Christian Parker is not whether he has a senior advisor sitting on his shoulder, and not whether he sits in a booth or stands on the sidelines, but rather this much simpler issue: His players seem to have forgotten how to tackle.
The Cowboys, as rated by Pro Football Focus, are the fourth-worst tackling defensive unit in the NFL. Even last year’s wretched unit was better than that. They were only the sixth-worst.
Christian Parker’s Unit Isn’t Tackling
Cowboys former All-Pro Quinnen Williams, for example, has been the subject of much hand-wringing. His play has dropped off considerably this season and there’s consternation about whether Parker’s scheme is just not a good fit for him. Maybe that’s so. But before fretting over the scheme, it should be said that Williams would be playing much better if he simply tackled better. He has missed a team-high nine tackles in five games, nearly matching the actual number of times (11) he has successfully made a tackle.
Cowboys COO Stephen Jones, in an appearance on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas this week, did not single out Williams but said that tackling and fundamentals need to be addressed.
“I think the fundamentals are a big part of this,” Jones told the station. “It’s not only just missed tackles, it’s play style, it’s intensity, it’s identity, it’s making plays when you need to make plays. I think all these things come into play when you talk about, ultimately, putting a product, a defensive team, on the field that can go out and help you win football games.
“Obviously, we haven’t done that up to now. I agree with you. We have to tackle better, we have to, our play style has to be better, we have to make plays on the ball, we have to get to the quarterback. All these things I think play into us ultimately having a defense that can help us win football games.”
Cowboys ‘Peeled Back the Skin’
Fans and observers around the Cowboys can only hope that, in the week since the Tampa loss, the team has actually found some adjustments it can make to shore up weak spots. Jones said that was the takeaway for the organization from the massive Thursday upset.
Said Jones: “What we want to take from it is, certainly the loss makes you want to even dig deeper and look even harder at where we need to be better, whether it is the players, whether it is the coaches, whether it is the organization—Friday was a tough day. But we also really peeled back the skin on the onion and said, we’re not good enough right now.”
Cowboys Give Blunt Message to Christian Parker’s Defense Before Week 6