In the wake of the Dallas Cowboys‘ disappointing 28-20 loss to the Giants to open the NFL season on Sunday night, there were ample attempts to diagnose exactly what went wrong. The Cowboys were not forceful enough on the offensive line, and allowed too much pressure on Dak Prescott. They were pushed around too easily on the defensive front. The secondary made too many coverage mistakes. The receivers dropped too many passes. Go down the list, and you’ll find a check mark next to just about every possible mistake a team can make in a season opener.
It was pointed out by coach Brian Schottenheimer that the Cowboys, on the defensive side of the ball, are particularly young and inexperienced, especially after DeMarvion Overshown and Malik Hooker went down with injuries. The defense seemingly had no answer for the Giants’ lengthy marches, and perhaps that had something to do with its youth, or with the fact that they did not play together, even in the preseason.
But, with one loss in the books, Prescott did have a warning for the young and uninitiated in the group.
Dak Prescott: Cowboys Approach ‘The Right Way’
Speaking to Cowboys reporters after the loss, Prescott was asked about his message to the young players on the team who might have been a bit overwhelmed on Sunday: He warned them not to go off course.
Said Prescott: “I know the way that we approach things. I know that our routine, I know that our standard, I know that the way that we practice is the right way, so, my message is just echoing—don’t change, don’t flinch, don’t blink.
“This is a long year, we have to stick together. We are hanging our hat on our brotherhood, and that is who we believe that we are, so there is no better time to show it than after a loss. A little bit of adversity—we’ve got to make sure, we use it as a lesson. Humble us. I am sure you guys are going to write whatever, deservingly, about this game. We’ve got to make sure we put the blinders on and focus on what we can control.”
Cowboys Defense Not Up to Task
Prescott was asked about whether this year’s opener was reminiscent of the frustrations that the Cowboys offense felt frequently in 2025, when the defense was so poor that the offense frequently was shoved into bad situations. He shut down that notion quickly, saying, “I’m in this year, sorry.”
But still, the Cowboys allowed the Giants nearly 400 yards and could not get off the field on third down, allowing New York to go 9-for-11 on third-down conversions. The Giants averaged 5.8 yards per play, and their methodical drives limited the Cowboys to two drives in the second half.
Dak Prescott Not Panicking
Despite it all, Prescott mentioned that it is just one game, and there is time for the Cowboys to bounce back.
He said: “It sucks to lose, it damn sure sucks to lose the first one, to this team, a division game, but still optimistic. That doesn’t change our goals, that doesn’t change how we feel about our team. As I said, credit to those guys. They beat us tonight.
“This is a marathon, though it is a long season and we’re going to respond. We’ve got great leaders, and I feel confident in even the message and the feel in the locker room after that. Guys are pissed off. Nobody is more disappointed than the players and coaches and everybody that put this game plan together and tried to execute it. And we had a failure to do so.”
Dak Prescott Sends Firm Warning to Cowboys After ‘Failure’