Cowboys 2025 Season in Review

Dak Prescott threw 30 touchdown passes and finished fourth in the entire league. Fourth. On a seven-win team. Here's how this offense climbed into the top five in expected points added, why the defense dragged the whole thing into the ditch, and the single number that explains why Dallas watched January from the couch. Seven and nine and one. Missed the playoffs, fifth among NFC non-playoff teams. The offense smashed. The defense got muffed. That's the 2025 Cowboys in one breath.

The team-level split is almost cartoonish. The offense finished +107 expected points added — fifth in the league, 80-eighth percentile. The defense? +171.9 expected points added allowed. Dead last. 30-second of 32 — and remember, on defense you want that number negative. A big positive means you got carved up. Turnover differential tells the same story: just 11 takeaways all season, 30-first in the league. The week-to-week ride was pure boom-or-bust — a 40-40 tie with Green Bay, a 44 to 22 demolition of Washington, a 44 to 24 loss in Denver, a 34 to 17 flop at the Giants to close it out. When the offense was on, Dallas could beat anybody. The rest of the time, it was a track meet they couldn't win.

Now let's talk about the passing offense, because this is where Dallas lived. +107.3 expected points added on 658 dropbacks — fourth in the league, 90-first percentile. 267.8 passing yards a game. Prescott's completion percentage over expected was +4.4, third among qualified starters, and the protection held up — 31 sacks allowed, 80-fourth percentile. Prescott went 400 of 600 for 4552 yards, 30 touchdowns, 10 interceptions. The moment that captured it: Week 7 against Washington, third and 11 from their own 14, Prescott hit KaVontae Turpin in stride for an 86-yard touchdown — +7.97 expected points on a single snap. That's a top-five passing offense doing top-five passing offense things, and the chemistry with George Pickens — 93 catches, 1429 yards, nine touchdowns — was the engine all year.

Now let's dig into the rushing offense, because nobody saw this unit coming. 4.6 yards a carry, ninth in the league, 70-fifth percentile. 2136 rushing yards, 125.7 a game. The expected points added was a hair below water — −9.3 on 465 carries, league-average efficiency — but the volume, the yards per carry, and the red-zone punch were all real. Javonte Williams carried this group: 252 attempts, 1201 yards, 4.8 a clip, 11 rushing touchdowns — eighth in the league in rushing scores, with +156.5 rush yards over expected. Steady floor, not boom-or-bust. Williams gave Dallas a real second gear on early downs and finished drives at the goal line.

Next up, the pass defense — and brace yourself, because this is where the season fell apart. +130.8 expected points added allowed through the air. Sixth percentile, near the floor of the league. 35 sacks, 30-first percentile. Just six interceptions all year, part of the 11 total takeaways that ranked 30-first. 265.9 passing yards allowed a game, 35 touchdown passes surrendered. Third-down stop rate was sixth percentile — they could not get off the field. Sam Williams forced a Jalen Hurts fumble in the Week 12 win over Philadelphia that flipped a tie game, but the season-long verdict is the verdict: worst pass defense in football by expected points added, and there's no spin that fixes it.

And the run defense was no better. +41.1 expected points added allowed on the ground — ninth percentile, near the bottom of the league. 2153 rushing yards allowed, 126.6 a game, 24 rushing touchdowns surrendered. Per carry, opponents averaged +0.09 expected points every time they handed it off. No standout, no anchor, no week where the front held up against a real rushing attack. 44 to Denver, 44 to Detroit, 40 to Green Bay in that wild tie, 34 three different times in losses. When you can't stop the run and you can't stop the pass, a top-five offense gets you seven wins. That's where Dallas landed.