Cowboys recent defensive success against ‘big games’ is poor
Few things are more exciting for a Cowboys fan than watching Dak Prescott pass for more than 300 yards (and win), CeeDee Lamb or George Pickens notch another 100+ yards receiving day and the occasional 100+ yards rushing game by one of the Cowboys running backs.
Depending on the type of fantasy football league you're playing in, 100-yard rushers, 100-yard receivers and 300-yard passers can be highly rewarding if you have them on your roster.
300+ yards passing, 100+ yards rushing and 100+ yards receiving are statistical milestones that are correctly labeled as big games' for the players who achieve them. And for every big-game performance by an offensive player, there is a defense that allowed those performances.
Over the last six years, despite three consecutive 12-5 finishes from 2021-23, the Dallas defense has been remarkably generous in allowing big-game performances.
body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table { border: 1px solid #000 !important; border-collapse: collapse !important;}body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th { padding: 4px 6px !important;}| 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 | |
| Big Games performances allowed | 16 | 15 | 12 | 5 | 14 | 15 |
| NFL Rank | T21st | T22nd | T14th | 2nd | T23rd | 30th |
Over the six years, across two head coaches and four defensive coordinators, the defense ranks 24th in the league in allowing big plays - and even the much-lauded Dan Quinn defenses only had one year in which they were effective against big games.
But that was then, this is now. Today we look at who the big-game players were last season and which defenses enabled them or shut them down.
300+ PassersThere were only 68 games with 300+ yard passers last season, the lowest value in the last decade. Dak Prescott shared the league lead with six 300+ games, one short of his career high from 2019.
body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table { border: 1px solid #000 !important; border-collapse: collapse !important;}body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th { padding: 0px 6px !important;}| Player | Team | 300+ games |
| Dak Prescott | DAL | 6 |
| Jared Goff | DET | 6 |
| Justin Herbert | LAC | 4 |
| Matthew Stafford | LAR | 4 |
| Bo Nix | DEN | 4 |
| Jacoby Brissett | ARI | 4 |
| Mac Jones | NE | 3 |
| Josh Allen | BUF | 3 |
| Source: ProFootballReference.com |
The combined W-L record of the eight QBs listed in the table above in games in which they passed for 300+ yards is a relatively modest 19-14-1, or .573, in part because Jacoby Brissett lost all four of his 300+ games. Prescott is 4-1-1, Goff is 4-2.
The Dallas defense allowed four 300+ yards passing games, tied for 17th in the league. The best defenses in this category (ATL, CIN, MIN, NYG) allowed only one such game each last season.
100+ Receivers2025 saw 152 occasions where a receiver notched more than 100 yards receiving.
The Cowboys topped the league last year with 13 such performances, six by CeeDee Lamb, five by George Pickens, and two by Ryan Flournoy.
body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table { border: 1px solid #000 !important; border-collapse: collapse !important;}body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th { padding: 0px 6px !important;}| Player | Team | 100+ games |
| Jaxon Smith-Njigba | SEA | 9 |
| Ja'Marr Chase | CIN | 7 |
| CeeDee Lamb | DAL | 6 |
| Puka Nacua | LAR | 6 |
| George Pickens | DAL | 5 |
| Stefon Diggs | NE | 5 |
| Amon-Ra St. Brown | DET | 5 |
| Drake London | ATL | 5 |
| A.J. Brown | PHI | 5 |
| Source: ProFootballReference.com |
Despite the high number of 100+ receiving games, the Cowboys only managed to have two receivers surpassing 100 receiving yards in the same game when Lamb (121) and Flournoy (115) managed that feat in the loss to the Lions.
The combined W-L record of the nine receivers listed above in games in which their receiving yards exceeded 100 is 32-20-1, or .613.
The Dallas defense allowed 100+ receiving yards by a receiver six times, four against NFC East opponents:
- Wk 2 vs NYG: Malik Nabers, 167 yards; Wan'Dale Robinson, 142 yards
- Wk 3 @ CHI: Luther Burden, 101 yards
- Wk 12 vs PHI: AJ Brown, 110 yards
- Wk 16 vs LAC: Quentin Johnston, 104 yards
- Wk 18 @ NYG: Gunner Olszewski, 102 yards
Leading the league in 100+ receiving performances allowed are the Steelers (10) and Eagles (8), Cleveland allowed the fewest such performances with one.
100+ RushersTwo teams really stood out last year with 100+ rushing performances. The Bills (10) and Ravens (8) easily outpaced all other teams, with the four next-placed teams all finishing with only five such performances each. Fortunately for the Cowboys, neither team was on the schedule last year, which allowed the Cowboys a modicum of dignity; their five 100+ rushers allowed still ranks T23rd in the league, but it could have been a lot worse.
body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table { border: 1px solid #000 !important; border-collapse: collapse !important;}body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th { padding: 0px 6px !important;}| Player | Team | 2025 Dallas opponent | 300+ games |
| James Cook | BUF | No | 9 |
| Derrick Henry | BAL | No | 8 |
| Bijan Robinson | ATL | No | 5 |
| Jonathan Taylor | IND | No | 5 |
| Christian McCaffrey | SF | No | 4 |
| Breece Hall | NYJ | Yes | 4 |
| De'Von Achane | MIA | No | 4 |
| Source: ProFootballReference.com |
Breece Hall is the only running back in the table the Cowboys faced last year, and of course he put up 113 yards in that game. In total, the Cowboys allowed five 100+ rushers, but again, it could have been much, much worse.
The Cowboys themselves only had three 100+ rushing performances, two by Javonte Williams and one by Malik Davis.
Shutting down big-game performances is going to be a tall order for the Cowboys. Has the team done enough to upgrade the personnel in the secondary? And is the new defensive line with elite interior players still going to stop the run when they face stiffer competition? And how good will the defensive scheme be? Christian Parker's tenure with the Eagles is not really a good measuring stick for that; the Eagles topped the league in 2024 with just five total big-game performances allowed, but then dropped to T24th with 12 in 2025.
If there is one reason for optimism, it's that the Cowboys offense ranked first in the league with 22 big-game performances last year, and if they maintain that pace, the defense may not need to shut down big-game performances, even just reducing the number a little bit would go a long way.
How do you think the defense will do this season in limiting big-game performances?
body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table { border: 1px solid #000 !important; border-collapse: collapse !important;}body .sbnu-legacy-content-table td,body .sbnu-legacy-content-table th { padding: 0px 6px !important;}| Team | 300+ passing allowed | 100+ receiving allowed | 100+ rushing allowed | Total Big Games allowed |
| CLE | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| NOR | 0 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
| LVR | 0 | 3 | 1 | 4 |
| DEN | 2 | 3 | 1 | 6 |
| SEA | 2 | 4 | 0 | 6 |
| LAC | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| KAN | 2 | 3 | 2 | 7 |
| ATL | 1 | 4 | 2 | 7 |
| HOU | 0 | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| BUF | 0 | 3 | 5 | 8 |
| TEN | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| GNB | 2 | 4 | 2 | 8 |
| CAR | 0 | 5 | 4 | 9 |
| MIN | 1 | 4 | 4 | 9 |
| DET | 3 | 6 | 1 | 10 |
| ARI | 2 | 4 | 4 | 10 |
| JAX | 4 | 6 | 10 | |
| SFO | 4 | 4 | 2 | 10 |
| NYG | 1 | 4 | 5 | 10 |
| NWE | 2 | 5 | 4 | 11 |
| CIN | 1 | 4 | 6 | 11 |
| NYJ | 2 | 4 | 5 | 11 |
| BAL | 2 | 8 | 1 | 11 |
| MIA | 3 | 4 | 5 | 12 |
| CHI | 4 | 6 | 2 | 12 |
| PHI | 2 | 8 | 2 | 12 |
| TAM | 5 | 5 | 2 | 12 |
| LAR | 3 | 7 | 3 | 13 |
| IND | 4 | 8 | 2 | 14 |
| DAL | 4 | 6 | 5 | 15 |
| WAS | 5 | 7 | 6 | 18 |
| PIT | 5 | 10 | 5 | 20 |
| Source: ProFootballReference.com |