EmailPrintOpen Extended ReactionsFRISCO, Texas -- Quarterback Dak Prescott has been around long enough to know the general feeling around the Dallas Cowboys at the moment.No one inside the organization -- ownership, personnel, coaches and players -- expected the team to be 2-4 when they left Oxnard, California at the end of training camp. They didn't expect the defense to be as porous as last year's, and certainly none of them expected the offense that returned nearly everybody from 2025 to be as inconsistent as it has been through six games."When your guys believe, you've got a chance," Prescott said following Sunday's 32-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers. "And we know right now that we're probably the only ones, the guys in the locker room are the only ones who do believe."The rough start has led to the typical reaction from fans: owner and general manager Jerry Jones needs to hire a real general manager; coach Brian Schottenheimer is over his head; the effort is lacking. The fans could be put off by the 31-year Super Bowl drought or it could be recent failures.The Cowboys had three straight 12-5 finishes from 2021 to 2023 but that seems a long time ago. It is as if the organization has not recovered from the 48-32 loss to the Packers in the wild-card round of the 2023 playoffs when a team that went undefeated at AT&T Stadium in the regular season was bludgeoned at home in the postseason.Since then, the Cowboys are 16-23-1. While a good amount of the roster has been changed over -- only seven starters remain -- the success has disappeared.Yet there is an opportunity for the Cowboys to get others to believe again, at least temporarily.Five of the Cowboys' next six games, beginning with Monday's matchup against the similarly disappointing and 2-4 Philadelphia Eagles (8:15 p.m. ET, ABC/ESPN), are against teams with a combined 9-21 record. Only the San Francisco 49ers, who come to AT&T Stadium on Nov. 15, have a winning record (6-0).The Cowboys play Philadelphia twice in that span, the second meeting coming on Thanksgiving. The Eagles have been hurt by retirement and decimated by injury, including quarterback Jalen Hurts being ruled out Monday for the remainder of the season due to blood clots in his lungs.The Arizona Cardinals (Nov. 1) are 2-4 and coming off an upset win against the disappointing 2-4 Los Angeles Rams. The Cardinals have beaten the Cowboys four straight times but are hardly a vexing opponent. The Indianapolis Colts (Nov. 8) fired general manager Chris Ballard on Monday. The Tennessee Titans (Nov. 22) are 1-5 and coming off their first win of the season.But it's not about the Eagles, Cardinals, Colts or Titans. Nor is it about the 49ers."It's what's going on right here," cornerback DaRon Bland said. "I can't think about everything on the outside. I've got to think about what's right here and what we got in the room."Last week, the Cowboys added Mike Pettine as a senior defensive assistant to aid first-time coordinator Christian Parker. Against the Packers, the Cowboys' defense had their first interception of the season, held Green Bay's run game in check (though it ranks even lower than the Cowboys) and had their first three-sack game of the season -- though they allowed 11 third-down conversions and seven pass plays of 15 yards or more.The perplexing development has been the implosion of the offense with only 29 combined points over the past two games.Schottenheimer said, "We have great trust in our offense." He added that the poor execution falls on the players and the coaches."I'm always honest with these guys. I raise my voice a lot with these guys," Schottenheimer said. "But again, how you get the message across to me is more about being upfront and honest and direct. And that's the way we talk, whether we win or we lose. And I think it's your responsibility as a head coach to paint the picture of why you either won or you lost."Whether it's a paint-by-numbers or some sort of Picasso, the Cowboys hope the picture can change quickly."The answer is to win," left guard Tyler Smith said. "When you're losing, the only way you get out of a wreck like this is to win. And ultimately, I think winning just starts with being consistent with how you prepare. Ultimately, correcting the mistakes that you made."I feel like we're not playing our best ball right now. I don't think we're anywhere where we could be. I just feel like we just need to find a little bit more consistency with the way we play."
