Dallas Cowboys' Highest & Lowest Graded Players in Week 1

Dallas Cowboys S Jalen Thompson and OLB Donovan Ezeiruaku force a fumble by New York Giant TE Isaiah Likely. IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dallas Cowboys' Highest & Lowest Graded Players in Week 1

Originally posted on Dallas Cowboys on SI
By Randy Gurzi | Last updated Sep 14, 2026 5:20 PM ET

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For a fan base that spent an offseason buying into the hype that things could get better, Sunday night felt like getting hit in the face with an ocean of ice water . The Dallas Cowboys lost to the New York Giants 28-20, but that score is criminally misleading.

Dallas was overpowered throughout the game as the Giants controlled things from the opening kickoff. To highlight how one-sided this was, the Cowboys had just two possessions in the entire second half of the game.

It's easy to feel as though the sky is falling after one week, but the fact remains that the season is a marathon. The Cowboys need to treat this loss as a learning experience as they look to get back on track in Week 2 as they host the Washington Commanders. The good news is that while everything felt hopeless, there were some positive surprises in Week 1 when it comes to which players scored the highest grades from PFF.

Five highest graded Cowboys in Week 1 loss

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Shockingly enough, two defensive players made the top five for Dallas with outside linebacker Donovan Ezeiruaku first overall with an 86.5 . Behind him was defensive tackle Otito Ogbonnia, who earned an 82.8.

1. Donovan Ezeiruaku - 86.5
2. Otito Ogbonnia - 82.8
3. Dak Prescott - 79.7
4. Javonte Williams - 78.9
5. Tyler Booker - 78.4

An honorable mention should go to Tyler Guyton, who had a 70.2 overall . Guyton was seen as a potential weak link on the offensive line entering the offseason, but held his own against a stout group of EDGE players. Guyton still needs to improve in pass protection, but he was far better than fellow starting tackle Terence Steele, who earned a grade of just 50.1 overall.

Five lowest graded Cowboys in Week 1 loss

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As bad as Steele was, he still didn't come close to making the bottom five. Unsurprisingly, all five of the players who are part of this list were on the defensive side of the ball, with middle linebacker DeMarvion Overshown turning in the worst performance (29.4 overall).

Two free agent additions followed him as safety P.J. Locke and defensive lineman Jonathan Bullard had debuts to forget. The same was true for rookie EDGE Malachi Lawrence, who was part of a group of young players who were called out by Brian Schottenheimer. James Houston rounded things out with a 37.9.

1. DeMarvion Overshown - 29.4
2. P.J. Locke - 33.0
3. Jonathan Bullard - 33.8
4. Malachi Lawrence - 34.8
5. James Houston - 37.9

Another concern that needs to be mentioned is the struggles for linebacker Dee Winters. He was given a grade of just 42.2, which is alarming. Dallas knew the linebacker position was a weakness and two of their most disappointing players were the starters at that position.

There's a lot to fix before Week 2, but looking at their middle linebackers feels like a good place to start.

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

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