‘Very, very disappointed’ – Brian Schottenheimer is unhappy about Dallas Cowboys’ 2025 weakness making a return
The Dallas Cowboys head coach didn’t hold back his punches on Monday when breaking down one of the worst aspects of his team’s preseason opener.
Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer witnessed a familiar problem make its return during the preseason opener against the Seattle Seahawks: special teams.
Yes, the Cowboys have All-Pro kicker Brandon Aubrey and they even have a quality punter and returner in Bryan Anger and KaVontae Turpin. But in terms of blocks and coverage, the Cowboys struggled to the point of the front office publicly admitting special teams coordinator Nick Sorensen had to be better. The Cowboys were also one of the most penalized special teams unit in the league in 2025.
Last Saturday night, the Cowboys’ struggles returned. Wide receiver Traeshon Holden had a muff punt inside the ten-yard line (has since been waived) and the Cowboys special teams were also called for five penalties.
It was not a good showing, and it’s one that led to Schottenheimer getting very real about the situation.
Schottenheimer calls out Cowboys special teams
“Not good enough,” Schottenheimer said Monday. “I addressed that today with the guys. It’s not the standard. We know that, but it’s also preseason game one. Our mantra is get back to basics. You got to pay more attention to detail. Very, very disappointed in how we lost contain.”
Beyond the obvious mistakes that show up on the stat sheet, Schottenheimer detailed the issues he saw on film that led to big plays from the Seahawks. He particularly noted issues in coverage and communication.
“Very disappointed in how we gave up kick-side leverage,” Schottenheimer said. “When the ball’s supposed to be kept on your right shoulder, keep it on your right shoulder. The ball’s supposed to be on your left shoulder, keep it on your left shoulder.
“And then we did a terrible job of communicating non-verbally on the coverage teams. ‘Hey, I’m the ball player. I’m the outside player. I’m the capper.’ Didn’t do a good enough job of that.”
Going into the second week of the preseason, it’s certainly something to watch. Keep in mind, many of the bottom of the depth chart roster battles are defined by special teams. For instance, Cowboys safety Julius Wood looks like a legit player on defense. But him standing out on special teams will contribute almost as much to his defensive play in making the 53-man roster.
For now, the Cowboys are making sure they spend time fixing the woes seen on Saturday night.
“We had a long special teams meeting today,” Schottenheimer said. “It’s going to be a big part of our emphasis because it wasn’t good enough.”
