The Dallas Cowboys are 2-3 through their first five games, which simply isn’t good enough for this team. The Cowboys were hoping to take a step forward this year, but instead, they look eerily similar to the team they were in 2025, when they missed the playoffs entirely.
After losing to a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that was being led by undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels, the Cowboys held a players-only meeting in an effort to right the ship. The move has been met with some pushback, with former Pittsburgh Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin claiming Dallas is “dead” because of this meeting, and it didn’t take long for one of the Cowboys’ former Pro Bowl wide receivers to agree with Tomlin’s comments.
Keyshawn Johnson Agrees With Mike Tomlin, Says Cowboys are Doomed
Ever since the Cowboys traded Micah Parsons ahead of the 2025 campaign, they have been scrambling to piece things together, particularly on the defensive side of the ball. While the offense generally is able to hold its own, the defense has been unable to hold up its end of the bargain.
General manager Jerry Jones and the front office have tried their best to repair the defense in the wake of Parsons’ departure, but nothing has worked yet. With expectations high, it’s not a stretch to suggest that Dallas is already running out of time to figure things out, even though it has only played five games this year.
That led to the aforementioned players-only meeting, with Tomlin coming out and suggesting this is bad news, not just for head coach Brian Schottenheimer, but for the team as a whole. One of the Cowboys’ former wide receivers, Keyshawn Johnson, quickly chimed in and agreed with Tomlin’s claim, saying that he believed players-only meetings were the most pointless things he dealt with during his playing career.
“Mike Tomlin is correct. You’re done,” Johnson said of Dallas on “The Schultz Report.” “This is a Hall of Fame Coach telling you, this ain’t me. It came from a Hall of Fame coach … Why in the hell would I waste my time to go listen to some captains, who probably isn’t doing their part of the job, try to tell me how to do my job? Get out of here.”
Cowboys Need to Start Winning Again, and Fast
On one hand, it’s good to see that the Cowboys are committed to getting back on track, but the fact that they boxed Schottenheimer out of this meeting in an attempt to get back on track isn’t necessarily encouraging. If it works, great, but there is clearly a fair share of folks who are skeptical about this move.
Dallas will need to bring its A-game in Week 6, and while it is playing the 3-2 Green Bay Packers, this is a game that is going to be very winnable for this team. Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET on Sunday Night Football, and even though it’s only the sixth game of the season, it wouldn’t be a surprise if this winds up being one of the most important games of the year for the Cowboys.
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