Just one month and one day ago, the Dallas Cowboys' 2025 season looked to be over after they fell to 3-5-1 with an embarrassing 27-17 loss to the Arizona Cardinals on Monday Night Football to close out Week 9.
But America's Team has certainly made things much more interesting since then. The day after that loss to the Cards, of course, was the NFL trade deadline, and Jerry Jones made some big splashes by acquiring linebacker Logan Wilson from the Cincinnati Bengals and three-time Pro Bowl defensive tackle Quinnen Williams from the New York Jets, both of whom got some time to acclimate to their new surroundings and schemes, as Dallas was on a Week 10 bye.
And coming out of that bye, the Cowboys have yet to taste defeat, with wins over the Las Vegas Raiders, Philadelphia Eagles, and Kansas City Chiefs to get to 6-5-1, thus putting themselves in the mix in both the NFC East race with the Birds and the wild-card race. The Dallas defense undoubtedly played a big part in that trio of victories, and ESPN believes that one particular defender could be the Cowboys' X-factor coming down the stretch.
What's interesting, however, is that they chose a defender who hasn't suited up since Week 6 and won't suit up again until at least Week 15, that defender being none other than Trevon Diggs.
Trevon Diggs will have to wait at least another week to become the Cowboys' X-factor
In their latest NFL Power Rankings, ESPN chose an X-factor for each of the 32 franchises for the final stretch of the season, and Todd Archer, who took the Dallas section, had this to say on why he rolled with Diggs:
"Diggs hasn't played since mid-October, but he was designated for return from injured reserve Sunday. He suffered a concussion in an at-home accident and was placed on injured reserve to help right knee soreness that had developed.
"He was not playing at his Pro Bowl level from 2022 before going on IR, but perhaps he can find that form in a Cowboys defense that has improved with the additions of Quinnen Williams, DeMarvion Overshown, Shavon Revel Jr., and Logan Wilson. Diggs would provide another playmaker as the Cowboys fight for a playoff spot."
Of course, it has to be noted that, on Wednesday, Diggs was officially ruled out of the Cowboys' Thursday night matchup with the Detroit Lions. So, he certainly can't be the X-factor this week. But, to be fair, these rankings were released Tuesday, so we'll give Archer a little pass, as we understand the point he's trying to make.
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He's undoubtedly accurate in his assessment that Diggs wasn't playing at a very high level, but the lingering knee issue could certainly have something to do with that. And Archer is also correct about the improvement of the Dallas defense.
Over their first nine games, the Cowboys allowed 30.8 points, 397.4 yards, 143 rushing yards, and 23.4 first downs per contest, with opposing offenses converting on 52.6 percent of third-down opportunities.
But over the last three weeks, during which they've upped their sacks and total takeaway averages, they've surrendered 21.7 points, 312.3 yards, 69.7 rushing yards, and 18.3 first downs per contest, with opponents converting on just 35.1 percent of third-down attempts.
Brian Schottenheimer obviously can't keep a two-time Pro Bowl cornerback on the bench if he's healthy enough to play, but one has to wonder if disrupting the chemistry that Matt Eberflus' unit has found is the wisest move, especially since rookie Shavon Revel Jr. has stepped in and played solid football thus far.
Again, though, Diggs can't sit if he's ready to go, and perhaps seeing the defense improve over the last few weeks will light a fire and help him bring the intensity that Cowboys fans have become accustomed to seeing before all these injury setbacks over the last couple of seasons.