The window was opening for the Dallas Cowboys to squeak into the playoffs during the 2025 NFL season. Brian Schottenheimer had this offense playing at a high level after the bye week against a slew of tough opponents, giving fans some hope. But Matt Eberflus is slamming that window shut.
This Cowboys defense looked like a completely changed unit after their Week 10 hiatus, but that has proved to just be a flash in the pan against a lowly Las Vegas Raiders team. Reinforcements at every level haven't been enough for Eberflus' unit, as they got gashed once again on Sunday Night Football.
Eberflus' task was to slow down Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy, who is essentially playing his redshirt-rookie season and has been as hot and cold as any signal-caller in the league. He's been primarily bottled up by the league's best defenses and taken advantage of weaker groups.
Guess which side of that spectrum Dallas fell on in Week 15?
Mike Tirico just gave the Cowboys every reason to fire Matt Eberflus
Minnesota put up their second-highest point total of the season, amassing 34 points against the Cowboys on the back of arguably McCarthy's best performance yet as a pro. But that's not just the doomsday perspective of a Dallas fan. NBC commentator Mike Tirico echoed that sentiment on the broadcast as well.
"This is the best JJ McCarthy has looked to start his career," Tirico said.
Leave it to Eberflus and the Cowboys to make McCarthy look like a force in this league. Yes, his stats were impressive, as he bounced back from an interception on the opening drive to tally 266 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. But that's not even the whole story.
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McCarthy was largely able to sit in the pocket and pick apart Dallas' weak secondary because the Cowboys didn't get any pressure on the young player. He was sacked zero times and Dallas recorded just one quarterback hit in the contest. He might not have gotten a stain on his jersey.
Sometimes, players just have great nights. Too often, however, players have their only good showings, or their greatest nights, against Eberflus and Co. Tirico's blunt truth in saying that should give the Cowboys every reason to part ways with Eberflus after the season. Maybe even sooner.
Every quarterback in this league is good enough to have success when they are not even challenged by the opposing defense. This is not unique to McCarthy. But this continued offensive success against Dallas is unique to Eberflus, as he somehow took a bad defense and made it even worse.