The fact that the Dallas Cowboys went to New York on Sunday night and saw their defense mostly get steamrolled by a Giants team that was being run by a new head coach, a second-year quarterback and a second-year running back coming off an injury, was certainly a surprise and cause for discouragement. But what might be an equal surprise is the level of angst expressed by reporters and observers in and around The Star, as well as the legion of fans who bought into the Cowboys’ Super Bowl hype train and are already seeking a refund.
The defense, and especially the unit’s communication, was a major problem, and that is especially frustrating because it was the major issue last year, too. The Cowboys spent the past nine months trying to fix it under new coordinator Christian Parker, and those fixes fell apart in Week 1. The Cowboys allowed 394 yards to the Giants, who were 9-for-11 on third-down conversaions and 4-for-4 in converting red zone trips to touchdowns.
Cowboys Faithful Might Clamor for a Trade Soon
So, now what? That’s one of the questions roiling the Cowboys fan base. Yes, it is only one game and there’s plenty of time for the Cowboys to make fixes. But the first two weeks of the 2026 NFL season–against the Giants and Commanders–were supposed to be the easy part of the early Cowboys schedule.
If Dallas loses both game, and if the defense does not improve in Week 2, the time to make major changes might arrive sooner than expected. This team spent all summer talking about potential big-swing trades. Would they push for a deal after just two weeks?
A Trade After 6 Weeks?
Fort Worth Star-Telegram Cowboys beat reporter Nick Harris was on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, and weighed in on when, exactly, we can look for a Cowboys trade.
He gives it six games: “I think one of things that Mike McCarthy did well was break up the season into trimesters, and I think after that first trimester is the best time to look at the roster and be like, OK, we have a big enough sample size here to understand what we have and make a move based on that or don’t make a move based on that. So, yeah, I would say after six games.”
Cowboys Will Get Grace–But Only Some
Harris did repeat the sane man’s view that this was just one game, and it is a bit early to make the Cowboys defense walk the plank based solely on the showing against the Giants. But he did concede that if there is a “grace” period for Dallas, it will be a short one.
Harris said: “Every team has some issues in Week 1 to some extent. I don’t think you’re going to see the Panthers give up 59 points every week, I don’t think you’re going to see the Texans defense play the way they did against the Bills, you know, I don’t think you’re gonna see that Broncos offense play that poorly. So I think there is some Week 1 grace specifically. And you did have a first-time coordinator calling plays for the first time. So, I think there is some grace in that.
“But that grace doesn’t last very long. This is still the National Football League and that game counts as much as the rest of them.”
Cowboys Potential Trade Timeline Revealed Before Week 2