Brian Schottenheimer rips Cowboys unit despite big preseason win

Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Brian Schottenheimer rips Cowboys unit despite big preseason win

By Ernesto Cova | Last updated Aug 18, 2026 11:07 AM ET

The Dallas Cowboys entered Week 1 of the preseason as one of the teams to watch after a strong offseason.

Brian Schottenheimer's team looked the part in a somewhat meaningless dress rehearsal, with the new-look defense containing the Super Bowl champion Seahawks — or at least their backups and third-stringers.

However, the second-year head coach was far from satisfied after the 17-7 win. The special teams unit gave up a 52-yard punt return and had a fumble on a punt return. It was also flagged for an illegal formation on another punt and averaged just 24 yards per kickoff return. That's why Coach Schottenheimer gave his special teamers an earful.

Brian Schottenheimer wasn't pleased with the Cowboys' special teams

“Yeah, not good enough. Addressed that today with the guys. It’s not the standard. We know that, but it’s also preseason Game 1,” Schottenheimer said, per The Athletic's Jon Machota. “Our mantra is get back to basics. Got to pay more attention to detail. Very, very disappointed in how we lost contained. Very disappointed in how we gave up kickside leverage.”

Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer on their special teams play in Seattle: “Yeah, not good enough. Addressed that today with the guys. It's not the standard. We know that, but it's also preseason Game 1.

“Our mantra is get back to basics. Got to pay more attention to detail.… pic.twitter.com/uN3yDsDsQp
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) August 17, 2026

The Cowboys offense wasn't a problem last season, and the defense is expected to be one of the most-improved units in the game. As such, Schottenheimer expects special teamers to also be up to the standard.

“And then we did a terrible job of communicating non-verbally on the coverage teams,” he added.

It wasn't all bad, though. At least punter Bryan Anger averaged nearly 49 yards per punt and star kicker Brandon Aubrey converted his lone field goal attempt — a 29-yarder.

The Cowboys haven't been a true Super Bowl contender in a while now, and they'll have to be on point in all three phases of the game to live up to the hype as the team to beat in the NFC East in 2026 after A.J. Brown's Philadelphia departure.

Ernesto Cova

Ernesto is a bilingual (English-Spanish) sports writer with over eight years of experience covering major leagues such as the NBA, NFL, and MLB. Ernesto’s work focuses on providing insightful, up-to-date coverage of sports, blending his expertise in sports psychology with a passion for analyzing player performance, team dynamics, and trade developments across various sports leagues

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