The Dallas Cowboys never looked in any real danger en route to a season sweep over the Washington Commanders. Even so, the Christmas Day contest was probably a lot closer than fans anticipated.
It was a spirited effort from Dan Quinn's squad. They are dealing with significant injury issues that only worsened during the game when ex-Cowboys center Tyler Biadasz went down. But a Josh Johnson-led offense still managed to put up 23 points on Dallas, even if it wasn't enough.
Simply put, this win won't be enough to save defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus from his inevitable offseason fate. In his weekly Friday hit with 105.3 The Fan, Jerry Jones left little room to doubt that he's considering moving on from Eberflus after the season.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on @1053thefan when asked if he’s pleased scheme-wise and with the coaching staff on the defensive side of the ball: “No. No. Not at all. We have a lot of work to do over there. But we can do it.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) December 26, 2025
Cowboys win may not be enough to save Matt Eberflus' job
Eberflus is coming in for scathing criticism right now. The play-caller hasn't been able to get a tune out of his players, and morale has diminished. A few flashes here and there are not good enough, and even though Dallas' defense only had 41 plays to deal with in Week 17, they still managed to cough up 328 total yards and 8.0 yards per play against a Josh Johnson-led offense.
A prolific team would have been able to capitalize on these frailties much more effectively. The Commanders are not world beaters by any stretch, but Eberflus' unit still managed to make hard work of it. That's a big problem -- one unlikely to go unnoticed by head coach Brian Schottenheimer when the time comes to assess everything after the campaign.
Here is what Jones said when he was asked how close he thinks the Cowboys are, via Jon Machota of The Athletic:
“To be very candid with you, the loss against Detroit was a surprise to me. I thought we had turned the corner defensively. . . . I thought it was onward and upward at that point.”
Once again, the Cowboys failed to generate a turnover. They gained just two sacks despite Washington missing left tackle Laremy Tunsil and right guard Sam Cosmi. They gave up explosive plays to Deebo Samuel Sr., Terry McLaurin, and rookie running back Jacory Croskey-Merritt. Had it not been for another positive performance from the offense, things may have looked different.
The Cowboys are well-positioned to strengthen the defense through the draft next spring. They are in desperate need of more dynamism, especially on the edge. Those in power could also use this as the perfect opportunity for some fresh ideas on defense, and Eberflus will be on the chopping block if this scenario comes to fruition.
Eberflus has been around the game for a long time. He's aware of what could come next, and there is no time to alter perceptions at this late stage. What the Cowboys need to figure out is whether he deserves the benefit of the doubt after so much upheaval, or whether this could be the start of a concerning trend.
Time will tell, but a late-season triumph over the Commanders isn't going to alter much in the grand scheme of things. And it certainly doesn't help that Jones took a flamethrower to Eberflus' seat.