The Dallas Cowboys entered the 2026 season full of hope for a new era of defense. After firing defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, Dallas hired 34-year-old, longtime Vic Fangio staffer Christian Parker, and also revamped its roster. Nearly half, 46.2%, per the Dallas Morning News, of the snaps taken on Dallas' defense in 2025 are no longer on the team.
However, the on-field performance was more of the same in a 28-20 road loss to the New York Giants. New York converted 82% of its third downs, with one of those stops being the game-ending knee down. That figure was New York's best third-down conversion rate in a single game since 1978.
Based on defensive expected points added (EPA)/ per drive in TruMedia, the Cowboys delivered the worst effort by any team in Week 1, and it was worse than all of their defensive games last year. Of the 576 defensive performances since the start of the 2025 season, it ranked 574th. Their seven defensive possessions yielded four touchdowns, one takeaway via fumble recovery, a punt and the game ending.
So how did the Cowboys' latest stinker happen after all that change?
"To lose contain on a guy like Jaxson (Dart) that is that athletic, and it was multiple guys at multiple times. ... We have Jayden [Daniels and the Washington Commanders] this week, and then you guys have maybe heard of Lamar Jackson [and the Baltimore Ravens] coming in a couple weeks. So we certainly have to get better with our discipline," coach Brian Schottenheimer said. "The other thing that I will say, looking at the game, that we need to be better in is our communication on defense. ... Communication is two parts. It's the person that gives [the call], and the person that receives it has to acknowledge it. Some of the things that we did in the red zone late where we didn't have anybody accounting for [running back Devin] Singletary, who is a pretty dynamic player. Those were communication issues. That can't happen because those are self-inflicted wounds that get you beat."
In an otherwise forgettable night, the debut of 11th overall pick Caleb Downs was a positive one. The ex-Ohio State safety racked up seven total tackles, one sack and one forced fumble. Dart targeted Downs once and completed a pass for five yards on the rookie's 29 coverage snaps, per TruMedia. In college, Downs was relied on to help with on-field communication, and he didn't put the blame on Parker, a first-time defensive coordinator, not getting the call in fast enough.
"I think it's just first-game execution honestly," Downs told CBS Sports related to Week 1 communication. "I don't necessarily think it's not getting a call or anything like that. I think it's just making sure we're detailed in our work and doing our jobs at the highest level more so than anything else. Just executing our job is the biggest thing."
Downs' role in Dallas
While Schottenheimer had plenty to gripe about with his defense after Week 1, Downs wasn't one of them. He's already in love with his ability to harass the quarterback, something he did with a strip sack of Dart with 2:36 left in the first half. Unfortunately for the Cowboys, New York jumped on the football as it did on three of the four fumbles Dallas forced.
"I think Caleb played really, really well," Schottenheimer said. "Jaxson Dart never saw him on the blitz. He gets a free run and the ball goes spiraling through the air, and the 320-pound guard [Jon Runyan Jr.] catches it and rumbles for five yards. That's kind of how the night went for us. I think that's one of the positives of what we did on defense: we attacked the ball. We had four forced fumbles. ... Caleb is a guy that can move around, but we like him down near the line of scrimmage."
Early in the game, Downs functioned as a safety in Dallas' base defense and then closer to the line as a nickel corner/hybrid linebacker near the line of scrimmage in sub-packages. That's how former NFL coach Matt Patricia, now Ohio State's defensive coordinator, used him as a chess piece up and down the field.
"Yeah, a lot similar to college, being able to move around," Downs said. "So being able to play, whether it's nickel, being able to play safety and then third down, being able to play dime as well. I think just being able to make plays wherever you're at, that's the biggest thing. So I have confidence in my ability, and that's what I'm going to go out and do."
Dallas' plan at deep safety with Malik Hooker sidelined for what they hope is only a couple of weeks with a forearm fracture is to have seven-year veteran P.J. Locke fill in at that spot so that Downs can be freed up to play more of his hybrid role along the line of scrimmage.
"I think I can play the run game really well. Play the pass game, whatever it is, whether it's man or dropping zones," Downs said. "I'm an extra corner or extra linebacker. Whatever you need."
The Cowboys trust Downs to handle whatever they throw at him because of the way he attacks watching film and preparing himself to play each and every week.
"Man, [I] probably sound like a broken record. The way he prepares, the way he practices is not like, I don't want to say any. It's not like most rookies I've been around. It's different. There's a different mindset," Schottenheimer said entering Week 1. "There's a different competitive fire in this kid. He craves coaching. He cannot get coached enough. And I think at the end of the day, that's why he's such a good player. I think you look at him and just the way he's always played the game, he plays it with instincts. ... He works his butt off at studying the X and the O's part of it. So unique young man, very special talent."
Why Downs and Schottenheimer still believe in Christian Parker
Downs and Parker are the two new faces of the Cowboys' defense, along with four-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. They walked off the bus together at MetLife Stadium Sunday night, and Downs sees symmetry in their career trajectories.
"We're going through the same journey at the same time," Downs said. "It's my first season, and it's his first season calling the plays and being the defensive coordinator. So I think there's a lot of similarities there, and we're just trying to succeed at what we do, and that's the biggest thing."
After their deflating primetime defeat, Parker pulled Downs aside immediately after landing back home to talk about what needs to change entering Week 2 against the Washington Commanders.
"When we got off the plane for a couple minutes, just talking about some of the things we needed to correct for this coming week and really just basic defense," Downs said. "How we need to adjust and do certain things. Just talking about this coming week and how we're going to prepare a little bit differently."
Downs' tone when describing that chat oozed with confidence. Why? Because there is a belief that the issue that plagued them in Week 1 can be course-corrected shortly.
"Everything that we made mistakes on is very fixable," Downs said. "Defense is pretty simple. At the end of the day, it's not like we're playing rocket science. It's just we got to do our jobs when we're on the field, and that's the biggest thing."
Schottenheimer had a similarly productive chat both after the game and on Monday back home at The Star, Dallas' team facility. He came away from that conversation feeling convinced he made the right choice to hire Parker.
"He and I were on the same page with that, which is a good thing," Schottenheimer said. "And then this morning he was amazing with the staff and having hard conversations and real conversations. "And this is not just the players, this is us as a staff. That's a leader. That's a leader of men. ... I'm around him every day. ... I have no question Christian Parker is the right guy for this job. He's an outstanding coach. He will learn from this, just like our young players are going to learn from this. We're going to play our young players this weekend, too. They're going to play better, and Christian's going to call a better game this week and feel better about it."
Dots for Downs
While crunching film, Downs is munching on Dot's Pretzels as a partner with the brand for their new "A Winning Season Tastes Like Dot's" campaign.
"Yeah, for me, I'm always trying to win at whatever I do. And if you're going to have a snack, you're going to watch a movie, you're going to spend time with your family, you always got to have Dots with you," he said. "Winning season tastes like Dots."
