The Dallas Cowboys' playoff odds plummeted to 9 percent with their loss to the Detroit Lions. Winning the NFC East is seemingly Dallas' last hope to sneak into the tournament. They will have to win out and hope the Philadelphia Eagles lose three of their final five games for that to happen.
While Brian Schottenheimer's first season at the helm likely won't end with a playoff appearance, there's a lot to be encouraged by. Between evolving and diversifying the offense and holding players accountable for poor performance, Schottenheimer has passed almost every test.
So, why does Kenneth Murray continue to see the field? It's one of the great mysteries -- arguably the greatest mystery -- of the Cowboys' season. Following yet another meme-filled outing in Detroit, Schottenheimer not only defended Murray, but he revealed the linebacker's snap share isn't going to change.
Brian Schottenheimer said the Cowboys are getting positive play from Kenneth Murray and Logan Wilson. They like the physicality of Murray. Their snap caps will remain the same
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) December 5, 2025
Cowboys remain committed to Kenneth Murray despite abysmal performances
The Cowboys might already be buried for good, but continuing to play Murray over 30 snaps per game is quite literally asking to lose.
Murray is far from the only problem on Matt Eberflus' defense (Eberflus might be the biggest issue), but he arguably shouldn't be on an NFL roster, let alone logging the most snaps of any linebacker not named DeMarvion Overshown.
The former first-round pick was caught in no-man's land on David Montgomery's touchdown run. The end zone view paints it as one of the worst LB reps you'll ever see. It's right up there with Murray getting blocked out of bounds on a Jahmyr Gibbs screen that went some 30 yards. There isn't a linebacker in the league who is worse at shedding blocks in the open field.
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And yet, Schottenheimer has defended Murray all season. Surely, the tape is showing that he's hurting the defense. And the front office acquired Logan Wilson before the trade deadline. So what gives?
Maybe it's a case of 2024 fourth-round pick Marist Liufau being unplayable. Liufau only played nine snaps against the Lions, while rookie fifth-round pick Shemar James played six snaps. But why did Murray play 36 snaps compared to Wilson's 26? The latter can't move in space, but at least he knows how to diagnose and has gap discipline. It's night and day relative to Murray's.
The Cowboys are multiple pieces away from being a good defense, but continuing to ride the Murray boat -- one that already crashed and washed ashore in the first month of the season -- paints a sad picture of why the season has unfolded this way.