Jason Garrett is either such a fan of the Dallas Cowboys that he’s OK with blatant homerism, wants to set expectations for the team so high that there is no way it can reach them, or he’s plain stupid.
The former coach of the Cowboys is now an analyst for NBC Sports, and before the Cowboys’ season opener on Sunday night against the Giants in New Jersey, Garrett went all-in on the team.
Garrett said during NBC’s Sunday Night Football pregame show of the Cowboys, “They’re the most talented offense in the NFL.”
Garrett is not known for sarcasm, and he said this line with the straightest of faces. The idea that the Cowboys have the most talented offense in the NFL has become a widely accepted myth that is not true.
For a team that has spent heavily on offensive players in terms of contracts and draft picks, the Cowboys should have one of the top offenses in the NFL. As evidenced by their Week 1 performance, the Cowboys have talented offensive players, but this is not a great offense.
Picking on just the offense after the Cowboys’ 28-20 loss on Sunday night against the Giants is not fair. There’s so much blame to share.
This loss to the Giants is depressing for multiple reasons; tops among them is that it all looks the same.
The defense under first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker was pushed around, didn’t have much of an answer for Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart, or his running back Cam Skattebo, and made zero adjustments to basic swing passes out of the backfield.
What we saw from the Cowboys in Week 1 of the 2026 NFL regular season looked a lot like most weeks throughout the 2025 season. Penalties. Dropped passes. Bad defense. An offense playing catchup. The only real difference is that kicker Brandon Aubrey missed an extra point, albeit a long one.
Head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s sitting all of his regulars during the preseason for safety reasons is the gamble that blew up in his face. None of the Cowboys veterans have played at full speed since the end of the ‘25 season; against the Giants, they looked like a team that was off.
The Cowboys are now 2-5 in season openers when quarterback Dak Prescott doesn’t play a snap in the preseason.
With one game remaining in the NFL Week 1 schedule, the league has already set a record for combined points scored since the merger, in 1970. The Bengals, Saints, Lions, Bears, Ravens, Panthers, Jaguars, Bills, Texans and Vikings all scored 30 or more points this weekend.
The Cowboys, with the most talented offense in the NFL, scored 20 and generated 244 total yards. It didn’t help that the Cowboys’ offense had the ball a total of 23 minutes and 20 seconds.
If the Cowboys’ defense is good enough to be average, the offense has approximately 3.24 inches to be anything other than top five in the NFL for this team to have a good season.
Don’t just look at the numbers; look at when Prescott and his “most talented offense in the NFL” scores.
The Giants started the game with a touchdown on their first possession; it’s their first touchdown in a season opener since 2022.
After the Cowboys tied the game at seven, they had a chance to take the lead late in the half. With 1:18 remaining in the half, Prescott’s deep ball for receiver George Pickens was dropped; that would have put the Cowboys’ offense on the Giants’ side of the field, and put them in the position to take the lead.
Four plays later, Prescott threw an interception, a turnover that the Giants converted into a touchdown for a lead they would never lose.
After that, the Cowboys’ defense could not get off the field with a plane ticket or magic carpet, and the offense had the ball twice in the second half. They were both touchdowns, but when your defense isn’t average, your offense must score.
There are a lot of reasons to be disgusted with the Cowboys for their season-opening stink fest.
The new-and-improved defense looks the same, and the “most talented offense in the NFL” still doesn’t score enough points when it matters.
Game schedule dates, times, locations Sept. 8 Rangers 10, Seattle 5 Sept. 9 Seattle 3, Rangers 2 Sept. 10 Seattle 4, Rangers 3 Sept. 11 Arizona 9, Rangers 1 Sept. 12 Rangers 6, Arizona 2 Sept. 13 Rangers 7, Arizona 6 Sept. 15 vs. Boston, 7:05 p.m., RSN Sept. 16 vs. Boston, 7:05 p.m., RSN Sept. 17 vs. Boston, 7:05 p.m., RSN Sept. 18 vs. Toronto, 7:05 p.m., RSN Sept. 19 vs. Toronto, 6:05 p.m., RSN Sept. 20 vs. Toronto, 1:35 p.m., RSN Aug. 17 Golden State 78, Wings 70 Aug. 20 Wings 91, Indiana 85 Aug. 23 Wings 92, Seattle 70 Aug. 25 Wings 96, Portland 78 Aug. 30 Wings 97, Connecticut 71 FIBA World Cup break Sept. 17 vs. Los Angeles, 7 p.m., KFAA, USA Sept. 19 vs. Phoenix, 12 p.m., CBS, Paramount+ Sept. 21 at Phoenix, 9 p.m., KFAA, USA Sept. 23 at Seattle, 9 p.m., KFAA, USA, CNBC End of regular season Sept. 13 N.Y. Giants 28, Cowboys 20 Sept. 20 vs. Washington, 3:25 p.m., Fox Sept. 27 vs. Baltimore (at Rio de Janeiro), 3:25 p.m., CBS Oct. 4 at Houston, 12 p.m., Fox Oct. 8 vs. Tampa Bay, 7:15 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Oct. 18 at Green Bay, 7:20 p.m., NBC Oct. 26 at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA Aug. 29 North Carolina 15, TCU 10 Sept. 12 TCU 63, Grambling State 7 Sept. 19 vs. Arkansas State, 7 p.m., ESPNU Sept. 26 at Central Florida, TBA Oct. 3 vs. BYU, TBA Oct. 17 at Baylor, TBA Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, TBA Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN Sept. 5 Indiana 52, North Texas 16 Sept. 12 North Texas 44, UNLV 6 Sept. 19 at Texas State, 11 a.m., USA Sept. 26 vs. Houston Christian, 6:30 p.m., ESPN+ Oct. 1 at Tulsa, 8 p.m., ESPN Oct. 10 vs. Charlotte, TBA Oct. 24 at Navy, 2:30 p.m. CBSSN Oct. 29 vs. Florida Atlantic, 6:30 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2 Nov. 7 vs. Rice, TBA Nov. 14 at UTSA, TBA Nov. 21 at Tulane, TBA Nov. 28 vs. UAB, TBA All home games at Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium Aug. 27 Central Oklahoma 59, Texas Wesleyan 7 Sept. 5 McNeese State 52, Texas Wesleyan 0 Sept. 12 Texas Wesleyan 56, Texas College 20 Sept. 26 vs. Nelson, 6 p.m. Oct. 3 at Arkansas Baptist, 2 p.m. Oct. 10 at Louisiana Christian, 2 p.m. Oct. 17 vs. Mary Hardin-Baylor, 1 p.m. Oct. 24 at Langston, 2 p.m. Oct. 31 vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State, 2 p.m. Nov. 7 at Ottawa (Arizona), 6 p.m. Nov. 14 at Wayland Baptist, 2 p.m. Aug. 22 Vancouver 5, FC Dallas 0 Aug. 30 FC Dallas 3, St. Louis 3 Sept. 5 FC Dallas 4, Kansas City 3 Sept. 9 FC Dallas 2, Minnesota 1 Sept. 12 FC Dallas 2, Portland 1 Sept. 19 vs. Austin, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV Sept. 26 vs. LAFC, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV Oct. 10 at Charlotte, 6:30 p.m., Apple TV Oct. 14 vs. Seattle, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV Oct. 17 at Houston, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV Sept. 19 Black Light Run Sept. 25-26 Dumpster Expo Oct. 1-3 Dirt Track Championship Oct. 2-3 Goodguys Lone Star Nationals Oct. 14 Tony Stewart Bowling Tournament Oct. 16-17 High Limit Racing Championship Oct. 29-31 POWRi Racing
This story was originally published September 13, 2026 at 11:08 PM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Mac Engel is an award-winning columnist who has covered sports since the dawn of man; Cowboys, TCU, Stars, Rangers, Mavericks, etc. Olympics. Movies. Concerts. Books. He combines dry wit with 1st-person reporting to complement an annoying personality.
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