{"id":1000165,"date":"2026-08-14T11:47:25","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:47:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1000165\/"},"modified":"2026-08-14T11:47:25","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:47:25","slug":"sean-mcvay-makes-simple-but-telling-assessment-about-the-2026-dallas-cowboys-and-he-was-quickly-proven-right","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/1000165\/","title":{"rendered":"Sean McVay makes simple but telling assessment about the 2026 Dallas Cowboys, and he was quickly proven right"},"content":{"rendered":"
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  1. \n\t\t\t\t\t\tHome<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n
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  3. \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tNFL<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n
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  5. \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tDallas Cowboys<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    The Dallas Cowboys\u2019 biggest question entering the 2026 NFL season is the defense. But to Sean McVay\u2019s point, this is not last year\u2019s unit. And it\u2019s plainly obvious he\u2019s right. <\/p>\n

    \t\t\t\t\"Aug
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tAug 11, 2026; Woodland Hills, CA, USA; Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer (left) and Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay react during a joint practice at the Rams Practice Facility.
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tKirby Lee-Imagn Images<\/p>\n

    The Dallas Cowboys play preseason football on Saturday but when it comes to evaluating starters, the most important day of the preseason is already in the rearview mirror. <\/p>\n

    That\u2019s because Tuesday\u2019s joint practice with the Los Angeles Rams took place. And for the Cowboys defense, it was a particularly important measuring stick. You see, these two teams practiced together last year. And the truth is the Rams offense picked apart the Cowboys defense.<\/p>\n

    This year, it was a way more even matchup<\/a>, with MVP quarterback Matthew Stafford forced to accept sacks, throw away the football, and even turn the ball over. It was an even matchup against one of the high-powered offenses of the NFL. That alone is telling. <\/p>\n

    But if you\u2019re wondering about the why that happened, Rams head coach Sean McVay inadvertently explained it when talking to Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer. <\/p>\n

    McVay on 2026 Cowboys roster<\/p>\n

    Speaking on the Up & Adams! Show<\/a>, Schottennheimer revealed what McVay told him even before practice started. <\/p>\n

    \u201cIt was funny talking to Sean before,\u201d Schottenheimer said. \u201cHe said, \u2018Man, Schotty, you guys have adjusted your roster a little bit,\u2019 and some different names that he didn\u2019t get a chance to go against last year.\u201d <\/p>\n

    It\u2019s a simple comment on the surface but one that carries plenty of weight. Think about it, what\u2019s the No. 1 reason why doubters are quick to write off the Cowboys? It\u2019s their defense, which was the NFL\u2019s worst last year. <\/p>\n

    This is indeed a different Cowboys defense<\/p>\n

    But to McVay\u2019s point, consider this: Compared to last year\u2019s Week 1, the Cowboys have a projected new seven starters. SEVEN<\/strong>. That\u2019s over 60% defensive overturn. And even that falls short. <\/p>\n

    I\u2019m not even counting players like edge rusher Donovan Ezeiruaku, who is expected to start in his second year. Nor am I counting Shavon Revel Jr., who could wind up winning the battle for starting cornerback. <\/p>\n

    The Cowboys added Jalen Thompson via free agency through a $33 million deal. They picked one of this year\u2019s most talented prospects in Caleb Downs in the first round. They got DeMarvion Overshown back from injury and a veteran presence in Dee Winters. Star defensive tackle Quinnen Williams is part of the defense since Week 1 and edge rusher Rashan Gary looks to complement him. <\/p>\n

    Is it enough? That remains to be answered. But combined with the fact that the coaching staff was also overhauled on defense, it\u2019s unfair to blame this year\u2019s unit for the sins of last year\u2019s. <\/p>\n

    What we do know so far is this unit competed against the Rams starters in practice. Both the Rams and Cowboys beats described the session as a pretty even matchup. As for Schottenheimer, he saw what he wanted to see. <\/p>\n

    \u201cOn defense, I thought you felt our play style, our demeanor,\u201d Schottenheimer said. \u201cThat was really, really cool. And I thought we created a bunch of turnovers.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Can they make this count in September when the regular season starts? Time will tell. For now, even Sean McVay this isn\u2019t your 2025 Dallas football Cowboys. And it\u2019s time we start acting like it. <\/p>\n

    \"Play<\/a><\/p>\n

    \t\t\t\"Aug\t\t<\/p>\n

    Dallas Cowboys News<\/p>\n

    \t\t\t\t\t\t\t
    \n\t\t\t\t\t\tDallas Cowboys Training Camp Recap: Defense is getting the meteoric rise it needs from player that raises unit\u2019s ceiling\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a><\/p>\n

    The most noteworthy notes from the latest Dallas Cowboys practice, headlined by yet another good day from second-year cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Home \/ NFL \/ Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys\u2019 biggest question entering the 2026 NFL season is the…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1000166,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,29841,1596,8998,32896,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":["post-1000165","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-dallas","tag-america","tag-brian-schottenheimer","tag-dallas","tag-dallas-cowboys","tag-sean-mcvay","tag-texas","tag-tx","tag-united-states","tag-united-states-of-america","tag-unitedstates","tag-unitedstatesofamerica","tag-us","tag-usa"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/117093707474818864","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000165","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1000165"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1000165\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1000166"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1000165"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1000165"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1000165"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}