FRISCO, Texas — Brian Schottenheimer is not second-guessing his decision to keep Dallas Cowboys starters out of preseason games, the coach said Monday, one night after a 28-20 loss to the New York Giants.
Dallas opened with a new defensive coordinator, new starters at several spots, and a defense that had not played a game together.
Schottenheimer felt good about training camp, the two joint practices, and the padded work in between.
“Not really,” Schottenheimer said. “I mean, it’s a philosophy, and it’s a catch-22, man. If you put a player out there and all of a sudden someone comes and they get dinged up and they’re out for the year, you’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t.”
“I felt really, really good about our work in training camp. I felt really good about the work in the two joints. There was plenty of padded work,” Schottenheimer continued. “We just did not perform to the level that we should perform to last night. And we own that. I’m always going to be first one off the bus, taking responsibility and accountability for that. But we’ll get back to work. And we’ve got the right guys in this locker room to fix it.”
New York ran for 165 yards, converted 9 of 11 third downs, and held the ball for 36:40.
Brian Schottenheimer Had A ‘Very Real Conversation’ With The Cowboys
A number of players were at the facility Monday getting treatment after a physical game. Schottenheimer said he shared his feelings with the team after the game.
“A bunch of guys were in today. I said physical game, so a number of guys were in getting treatment and things like that,” Schottenheimer said. “But with this group, absolutely not. These guys, we had a very real conversation after the game, and I shared my feelings with them. It was not the standard. It was not the way we expect to perform when we step out there on the white lines.”
“We had our chances, and we didn’t make the plays that we needed to,” Schottenheimer added. “But these guys are great with getting held accountable. And I put myself in that situation as well.”
Schottenheimer said he slept about five hours, off and on, after the team flew home.
Brian Schottenheimer Says Young Cowboys Will Lean On Veterans
Anxiety is real for rookies, and Schottenheimer said it still is for him.
“I think it’s a powerful thing, though, too,” Schottenheimer explained. “I’m 25 years. I still get anxious. I still get butterflies. I still get excited. But most of these guys have played football their whole lives, and what we try to get them to understand is it’s the same game. Field dimensions are pretty much the same, and the hashes and stuff are a little bit different, but it’s part of it, and they’ll lean on some of the older guys as well. And I think that’s what’s so cool about our locker room.”
First-round pick Caleb Downs had 8 tackles, 1 sack, and 1 forced fumble in his NFL debut. First-round pick Malachi Lawrence had 5 tackles.
Third-round pick Jaishawn Barham had 6 tackles. Schottenheimer said he does not worry about the group’s ability to run to the football, and that Barham was a young player upset about a mistake.
“There’s situations in the game where you would say, hey, a guy wasn’t maybe running 100 miles an hour, but I thought overall I don’t worry about this group with their ability to run to the football,” Schottenheimer said. “I think that was more a young player dejected that he had made a mistake that turned a guy free. And that’s the intensity that he plays with. But Jaishawn made some really good plays, and he had some plays he’d like to have back, just like there’s a lot of calls I’d like to have back from yesterday’s game.”
Dallas hosts the Washington Commanders on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
