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Cowboys' lowest-graded offensive players still outperformed most of defense's best
Carolina Panthers running back Trevor Etienne gets a first down during the second half against the Dallas Cowboys. Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

Cowboys' lowest-graded offensive players still outperformed most of defense's best

Originally posted on Dallas Cowboys on SI  |  By Tyler Reed  |  Last updated Oct 13, 2025 5:54 PM ET

Dallas Cowboys fans did not get the opportunity to celebrate a victory Monday. In fact, it was more of an "I hate everything" type of Monday.

Things came crashing to a halt in a season with so much hope after the team dropped an absolute heartbreaker to the Carolina Panthers on Sunday.

To no surprise to anyone, the Cowboys' defense received some absolutely dreadful grades from Pro Football Focus with their Week 6 performance.

According to PFF, the highest-graded player on the defense was rookie edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku, who was the only player to get higher than a 65 when he earned a 92.1.

The offensive grades have come in for the Cowboys, and those grades are further proof of how pathetic the defense really played on Sunday.

Three Cowboys defenders in total scored higher grades than the five worst player grades on the offensive side.

Along with Ezeiruaku, DaRon Bland, and Shemar James were able to score higher grades than the bottom five players on offense, but not by much.

Running back Javonte Williams scored the lowest offensive grade at 46.4, and that was better than four of the top grades from the defensive unit.

The hits keep coming, and the Cowboys' defense is just going to have to accept the punches. It's obvious that something must change, and quickly.

Scott Kinser-Imagn Images

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This article first appeared on Dallas Cowboys on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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