The Dallas Cowboys were once again doomed by their awful defense in 2025. But at least one player hopes first-year defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus doesn’t bear the brunt of the blame for that.
Clowney offered a staunch defense of Eberflus after the Cowboys were eliminated from playoff contention with a 34-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday in Dallas’ final home game.
The Cowboys (6-8-1) missed the playoffs for the second straight season and for the first time under rookie head coach Brian Schottenheimer. Dallas has dropped three straight in December and allowed 37.3 points per game over that span.
Jadaveon Clowney: Dallas Defense’s Struggles ‘On Us’
Reading the tea leaves, it doesn’t seem like Eberflus is going to survive for the 2026 season. But Clowney deflected the blame onto the Cowboys personnel.
“We’ve got to be pros and go out there and execute everything he’s calling and make plays,” Clowney said. “We’ve got a lot of playmakers, but we got to go out there and make them.
“That’s on us. It ain’t all on him. We’ve got to execute his calls and make plays.”
Of course, Eberflus and the Cowboys defense have endured a roller coaster of a season that started with the Micah Parsons trade to the Green Bay Packers. They then loaded up by acquiring Logan Wilson and Quinnen Williams but also endured the death of defensive end Marshawn Kneeland on Nov. 6.
Still, the stats are what they are. The Cowboys rank 30th in the NFL in yards-against per game (380.1), 32nd against the pass (257.8 yards per game) and 31st in points-against per game (30.3).
They gave up 452 yards to Justin Herbert and the Chargers offense, which had entered play with fewer than 300 offensive yards in three of their previous four games. Dallas has just one turnover forced in its past four games.
“It don’t matter what you call, [if] you don’t got guys that make the plays,” Clowney said “It ain’t on him.”
Matt Eberflus Is Likely To Be Fired
Cowboys fans looking for your pound of flesh can rest easy. The Cowboys are likely to have their third defensive coordinator in as many seasons since Dan Quinn departed to take become head coach of the Washington Commanders.
The Cowboys defense has been an eye sore since Quinn left. They’ve allowed 28.8 points per game over 15 games in that span after ranking in the top-7 in the league in Quinn’s three years as DC.
Still, when Jones delivered his post-elimination postmortem Sunday, and was asked about “difficult talks ahead” with Eberflus, he gave his hand away a bit.
“I might not couch it as difficult,” Jones said. “It’s certainly something that we have to do, and that is to look at the entire year and look at what our options are and how to correct it so we’re not here at the same time next year.”
One could rightly argue that Jones had the largest hand in the Cowboys being where they are, since he cut off talks with Parsons’ camp and negotiated the trade to Green Bay. But even though he certainly isn’t going to fire himself after more than 30 years as the de facto general manager, Jones did acknowledge his own shortcomings.
“Ultimately, you point your finger right back at you, the guy who hired Matt Eberflus,” Jones said. “The whole thing is really easy to sit here and say, ‘You could have done things differently.’ But that goes with the territory, and anytime you [are the one that makes] the ultimate decision, then you’ve got to look at that, and weigh it.”
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