FRISCO — The Cowboys plan to do AARs (After Action Reports) for their entire coaching staff once Sunday’s season finale in New York is finished. They’re designed to be an evaluation tool, a dossier that helps the Cowboys decipher what went right, what went wrong, and what changes are required for each member of their coaching staff.
“Everything is going to be looked at,” Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said on Monday.
The Cowboys may have gotten a jumpstart on the AARs for at least a couple of their coaches.
There were a lot of notable storylines that stemmed from Thursday’s 30-23 win over the Washington Commanders. Among them was the absence of linebacker Logan Wilson, who was healthy and available, but ultimately played zero snaps for the entire game. For perspective: Wilson averaged 28 snaps per game since the Cowboys acquired him from the Cincinnati Bengals at the trade deadline.
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Schottenheimer said they planned to play Wilson. They plan to play every person who’s active on game day at least 20 snaps, whether it’s on defense, special teams or offense. Somewhere along the line, the plan failed to be put into action — something that should be considered when it comes to evaluating a defense and a defensive coordinator that’s been under the spotlight this season, and not in a good way.
“We only had 21 snaps [on defense] in the first half,” Schottenheimer said on Monday. “We kind of messed the rotation in the second half. It’s not the first time it has happened. It won’t be the last time. It happens with receivers. It happens with defensive linemen. It shouldn’t happen. But we take that as a coaching staff.”
Schottenheimer, when asked about it again later, continued: “We do keep track of [snap counts]. Occasionally, you look at the numbers and they don’t make sense, and this one certainly didn’t make sense. We have to do better as a coaching staff with that.”
As Schottenheimer noted, mistakes do happen. And like live music or acting, sometimes the audience doesn’t even know a mistake has occurred. But leaving Wilson out was a mistake that was notable — not only to those on the outside, but to the person at the top of the organization.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked on Friday on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM) why Wilson didn’t play against the Commanders.
“I don’t have an explanation for you for why Wilson wasn’t in there,” Jones said about Wilson, who they acquired for a 2026 seventh-round pick. “We planned to have him in there. He needs to be in there. He has good instincts. The reason we got him was because he reads the play quick and can basically be in his lane of responsibility and react quick. It’s critical that a linebacker have quick reacting [skills]. He’s able to do that. That’s why we got him.”
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The Cowboys also acquired Wilson to add competition at inside linebacker with Kenneth Murray Jr., who has started 15 of 16 games for the Cowboys this season. The Cowboys defense, as a whole, had struggles against a Commanders offense that was led by third-string, 39-year-old quarterback Josh Johnson. The Commanders only had 41 plays, but they averaged eight yards per play against a Cowboys defense that’s now allowing an average of 29.8 points per game — the most in the NFL. The Commanders, in particular, had success running the ball against the Cowboys, finishing with an average of 8.6 yards per carry.
Schottenheimer said part of the mess-up happened due to the fact that Murray and Wilson are both green-dot players, meaning they both relay the play calls from defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to the rest of the defense.
“You can’t just put a [green-dot] guy in like a receiver,” Schottenheimer explained. “An earned first down, I can throw in a receiver in there and say, ‘Hey, go steal a rep.’ With the green dot and helmet you can’t do that, so it makes it a little bit harder.”
Wilson said Monday that he also wanted to know why he went from part of the game plan to completely out of it. He told The Dallas Morning News he wanted to know the reasoning. Schottenheimer said linebackers coach Dave Borgonzi gave him the explanation, citing the limited offensive play calls for Washington in the first half as one of the reasons.
“Logan is a pro,” Schottenheimer said. “We knew what we were getting with him when we traded for him. Again, we make mistakes, players make mistakes. You communicate. That’s where the accountability just gets stronger.”
Wilson said Monday that he tries not to focus too much on things out of his control.
“It’s up to them to figure out how they want to use us,” Wilson said. “I just worry about trying to execute when I’m out there.”
The fact that he wasn’t is something that should be considered in that AAR they’re working on for the defense.
Staff Writer Calvin Watkins contributed to this report.
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