DALLAS — Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Friday that Dallas is going to have a better defense than it had last season, when the Cowboys allowed 511 points. Jones said Dallas made changes to be “stronger in the middle.”
Jones made the comments on the K&C Masterpiece on 105.3 The Fan, two days before the season opener against the New York Giants.
No Cowboys defense had allowed 500 points in a season before 2025. The 511 were the most in the NFL. Dallas finished 7-9-1 and missed the playoffs. After the season, the Cowboys replaced defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus with Christian Parker, who is 34 and calling plays for the first time.
Adjustments made right before the snap, or as a play is just beginning, are hard to make from a coach’s viewpoint. Jones said the players have to make them, and that the new schemes are built for that kind of communication.
“Let’s spare the snap judgment, because I’m not sure that’s going to give you the initial feel whether it’s good or bad,” Jones said. “This thing is going to be in process is the best way to say it. It’s play by play. We’re going to have some times when we’d like for it to bend better. But in general, I can assure you, we’re going to have a better defense than we had last year.”
“Now, I know everybody’s saying, well, that’s not much to say,” Jones continued. “But I am excited. I’m excited about the schemes. I’m excited really about, you hear this time and time again, but I am excited about the communication. And you just can’t play this game out there without the players talking with each other. The coach can’t do it from the sideline. It has to be out there on the field with the players. We’ve got some guys that really are into their game. A big part of it is the communication with their teammates.”
On Tuesday, during his weekly appearance on the Shan & RJ show on the same station, Jones said Dallas had changed more of its defense than in any year since 1989, his first season as owner.
Dallas traded for edge rusher Rashan Gary in March. In April, the Cowboys drafted safety Caleb Downs 11th overall and edge rusher Malachi Lawrence 23rd overall.
Jerry Jones On The Dallas Cowboys’ Interior Defensive Line
The defense is also younger this season, and Jones said younger rosters lose fewer players to injury.
“Now, you ask about the talent, and I love our talent because I like the talent where it’s focused on in the positions,” Jones explained. “I like the interior of our defensive line.”
“I like where we have focused our talent,” Jones added. “It’s toward the interior of our defense. We’ve been needing that, in my opinion. If I could do an assessment of where we’ve been defensively the last 10 years, you might say, we’ve had trouble stopping the run when we needed to. That’s a cliche almost, but it’s a fact. I think we’ve addressed that more than any year that I’ve been here that we started. We’ve made those changes to be stronger in the middle.”
Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark start at defensive tackle. Dallas acquired Clark from Green Bay in August 2025 in the trade that sent Micah Parsons to the Packers. Williams arrived from the Jets at last season’s trade deadline. Dallas sent a 2027 first-round pick and a 2026 second-round pick in that deal.
Both were voted team captains for 2026.
Last season, Dallas allowed 2,133 rushing yards and 24 rushing touchdowns at 4.7 yards per carry, according to NFL.com.
Christian Parker’s Defense Opens Against The New York Giants
Clark said this week that he expects the Giants to run the ball under offensive coordinator Matt Nagy and senior offensive assistant Greg Roman. On Thursday, Parker broke down what Dallas expects from the new-look Giants offense.
The Giants went 4-13 last season. Giants coach John Harbaugh makes his debut Sunday after 18 seasons as Baltimore’s head coach.
Dallas has won 11 of its 12 season openers against the Giants, according to DallasCowboys.com. Kickoff at MetLife Stadium is 7:20 p.m. CT Sunday on NBC.
