A large Dallas Cowboys helmet at the NFL Experience at the Mandalay Bay South Convention Center. Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Cowboys' uncertainty on offense leads to mediocre win total projection

Originally posted on Dallas Cowboys on SI | By Tyler Reed | Last updated Jul 17, 2025 10:17 AM ET

The Dallas Cowboys are starting a new era under new head coach Brian Schottenheimer. For the most part, a team doesn't hire a new coach unless things went poorly the season before.

That is the exact case with the Cowboys. Mike McCarthy's tenure as the head coach in Dallas ended in a whimper.

Now, Schottenheimer is tasked with becoming the man to lead Jerry Jones' team back to the promised land.

No one really knows how this first season will go for Schottenheimer and the Cowboys. However, many preseason predictions are those of little faith for this franchise in 2025.

Vic Tafur of The Athletic has the Cowboys over/under win totals at 8.5 heading into the preseason.

"The Cowboys were quiet this offseason, not making any splashy signings and firing coach Mike McCarthy for an in-house guy (Brian Schottenheimer) who was not mentioned on any coaching list league-wide. (And there are a lot of lists!) Dallas did trade for receiver George Pickens, who on paper is a perfect fit — a deep threat to line up opposite CeeDee Lamb and take advantage of Dak Prescott’s big arm," he wrote.

"But Mike Tomlin had reached the end of his wits with Pickens in Pittsburgh, and the last time he let a star player leave, Antonio Brown showed up with scorched feet in a hot air balloon and put the Raiders through hell. We’re also concerned with the running game, as the Cowboys will regret letting Rico Dowdle walk. This season will hit the rocks during a brutal Week 12 through 15 stretch where the Cowboys play the Eagles, Chiefs, Lions, and Vikings, and Jerry Jones starts openly pining for Arch Manning."

That's a pretty scathing assessment for the Cowboys. This team has the potential to be a postseason threat; however, if things do go south, this could be the perfect example of how they will.

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

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