I know, I know. If you’re a Dallas Cowboys fan, hope for the 2026 season is quickly fading away. And I don’t blame you.

The Cowboys have way too many problems, and fixing all of them in time will be close to impossible. However, a few areas have a realistic shot at improving. That could be enough to save the 2026 season, starting Sunday night against the Green Bay Packers.

Here’s my list.

1. A healthier, better secondary

Let me be clear: I’m not here to be a Christian Parker apologist. Dallas’ first-year defensive coordinator has plenty he can do better. But we have to be fair to Parker, because the secondary he’s been forced to coach over the last few weeks isn’t an NFL starting-caliber lineup.

Look at the Week 5 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Cowboys started Shavon Revel Jr., who clearly isn’t living up to expectations. Nickelback Reddy Stewart was called up from the practice squad for the third consecutive week, by the way. Markquese Bell played a lot at safety as the team kept rotating that unit, and Dallas has had to turn to Ameer Speed at cornerback, too.

Then there’s cornerback DaRon Bland. He isn’t playing up to his $92 million contract.Some people might want to pin that on Parker, but we’ve watched Bland steadily decline over the last few years. I’m not going to act like Parker ruined him, because I honestly don’t believe he did.

That is to say, the Cowboys have a talent problem in the secondary. A lot of what shows up on film falls squarely on the players.

Now fast-forward a few weeks to when this group is fully healthy. Joey Porter Jr. lines up at one outside cornerback spot. For now, I’m going to act as if Dallas can bench Bland and put Cobie Durant at the other. We don’t know if Durant will play against the Packers, but he might. That moves Caleb Downs back to nickel, where the Cowboys want him. Add to that Jalen Thompson returning from injured reserve to join Malik Hooker at safety.

I’d feel very good about those five starting defensive backs. It would be a world of difference compared to what Dallas has fielded recently.

The big questions are when Thompson returns, when Durant returns, and how much the injury limits him. All of it leads to one more: Will it be too little, too late? Still, between the Porter acquisition and a group that finally gets healthy, I expect this secondary to look much better at some point in 2026.

2. Letting Dak Prescott cook under pressure

Over the last couple of weeks, the Cowboys played with some fear in pass protection. We saw it against the Houston Texans and their ferocious four-man pass rush. We saw it again against the Bucs and their heavy dose of blitzing.

Dallas leaned on max-protection looks, keeping tight ends and running backs in to block. We saw plenty of six- and seven-man protections, plus heavy play action to take shots downfield.

The problem? Secondaries are ready for it. George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb are running routes into six defenders in coverage, and that isn’t going to work as often as the Cowboys want it to.

So when did the offense look its best? Honestly, it was when Dallas used tempo. In those moments, the Cowboys weren’t scrambling into max protection. They let quarterback Dak Prescott work with several targets downfield, even with right tackle Terrence Steele getting beat.

I think head coach and play caller Brian Schottenheimer will figure out he’s better off giving Prescott more options downfield than spending resources to get clean pockets. Prescott is one of the best quarterbacks in the league against pressure. Let him play through it.

3. A better run game and cleaner protections

I’m not sure how much will improve on defense beyond the secondary, barring a major trade. On offense, though, getting Tyler Smith and Tyler Guyton back together on the left side should have a significant trickle-down effect.

For starters, the Cowboys should run much more consistently. Guyton was moving people even before Smith returned. He looks better than ever in pass protection, and he’s finally using his 6-foot-7 frame to be a menace in the run game. Meanwhile, Smith has been a menace for years.

We already saw glimpses against Tampa Bay. That duo wiped out the Bucs’ defensive line on Javonte Williams’ touchdown run during the opening drive.

Additionally, I expect Dallas to sort out its blitz pickup. The Bucs slowed this offense down by messing with protections. At times, the Cowboys didn’t know where pressure was coming from. Mostly, the offensive line failed to pick up stunts and identify the right rusher, leaving Prescott facing multiple free rushers. That threw off his game and was a big part of what went wrong in Week 5.

Now that Smith is getting more practice time with this group, I expect the continuity and chemistry to show up. If the offensive line stays healthy, it’s only going to get better.