Dak Prescott Admits Cowboys Defensive Failings ‘Frustrating’ After Week 6 Loss

For the Cowboys, the story of the 2025 season continues to unfold in a familiar fashion, with the team playing good, clean offense–they’ve gone three weeks without a turnover–combined with poor defense, a mix that give them a chance to keep up with anybody in the league, and to lose to anybody in the league. When asked, after the Cowboys’ 30-27 loss to the Panthers in Week 6, whether the notion that the Cowboys need to be perfect offensively to win is getting “demoralizing,” star quarterback Dak Prescott would not go quite that far.

Frustrating, though? He granted that.

“I wouldn’t say it’s demoralizing, but I would definitely say it’s frustrating,” Prescott said. “Right, like even the last time we had the ball, probably not our best series of the game right there other than the three-and-out to start the game off. At a crucial point like that, we just can’t do that. On top of that, that being the last time we touched the ball. It makes it frustrating.”

Cowboys Could Not Get Panthers Off the Field

Indeed, the Cowboys took a 24-20 lead into the final quarter after Prescott found George Pickens for a touchdown late in the third. But the Cowboys D allowed a 10-play drive for a Carolina touchdown to follow that and retake the lead.

Prescott drove Dallas down to the Panthers’ 8-yard line for a first-and-goal, but a botched snap and two incompletes led to a field goal that tied it at 27-27.

But two things frustrated Prescott most. The offense got the ball back in great field position (their own 46) with 8:18 to play, but Dallas went three-and-out and punted. Despite starting on their own 14 with 6:07 to go, the Panthers methodically chewed the clock with a 16-play drive that led to the game-winning 33-yard field goal as time expired.

Dak Prescott: ‘That’s the NFL’

The fact that the Cowboys were unable to get the ball back and allowed the Panthers to control such a critical part of the game says a lot about where the defense rates at this point of the season.

“That’s the NFL,” Prescott said. “You trust that the guys are going to get a stop. Unfortunately, we had a PI call on third down and after that, they ate the clock up, kept running the ball. And did a good job. They won the fourth quarter, and that’s the NFL.”

At 2-3-1, the Cowboys can take some comfort in the notion that only one of their three losses has been a blowout, when they lost, 31-14, in Week 3 to the Bears. Other than that, it’s been a four-point loss to the Eagles and the field-goal loss to Carolina.

Cowboys Need to Break Through With Wins

But Prescott says they’re going to need to stop leaning on that close-but-no-cigar routine.

“We got a good team that’s grimy. We gotta find a way to win these games,” Prescott said. “That’s the missing chink in the armor right now, whether it’s the tied game or this game, we have got to find ways to win games. If we do that, we feel a whole lot different in the locker room.

“The reality is, is the team different (when it wins or loses close games)? Not really. But you feel a lot better, you’re taking confidence, and you get that confidence, that allows you to feel more confident at the end of games, knowing I guess you could say and believing you can pull it out.”

Cowboys fan favorite expected to start, will face brother in Week 5 vs Jets

Dallas Cowboys safety Malik Hooker was one of six starters to miss practice on Wednesday afternoon due to injury, and he is expected to miss Sunday's showdown with the New York Jets in Week 5 of the NFL regular season.

With Hooker sidelined, the team will need to call on some reinforcements, and fan favorite Juanyeh Thomas is the early favorite to get the start.

According to Tommy Yarrish of the team's official website, Thomas "will likely start at safety," which means he will be facing off against his younger brother, Azareye'h Thomas, for the first time.

Azareye'h was a third-round pick by the Jets in the 2025 NFL draft out of Florida state.

Kevin Jairaj-Imagn Images

Thomas is eager to get his start and believes it is something he has been preparing for and he is ready to contribute and the team return to the win column.

"It's something I've been practicing for," Thomas said. "I know my role, I prep like a starter every week, so this is nothing different. This was a chance for me to come in and see if I can help. Like I said, I practice for this moment. I won't do anything different, I'll just see what I can do."

While Thomas is excited to start in Week 5, he's also excited to face his younger brother, which will be a dream come true.

"The day after he got drafted, we were just sitting there talking like 'Man, we used to dream, we used to talk about this, we used to train for this.' Now, it's just crazy." Thomas said.

John Jones-Imagn Images

It's going to be a great afternoon for the Thomas family, but hopefully it's Juanyeh and the Cowboys who come out on top.

Kickoff between the Cowboys and Jets at MetLife Stadium is set for 1:00 p.m. ET on FOX.

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