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The Dallas Cowboys left Thursday night’s 24-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with even more questions about a defense that had already struggled mightily through the first four weeks of the season.
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Speaking right after the loss to the Bucs, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones made it clear that he isn’t ready to make a change at defensive coordinator, where first-year coach Christian Parker is plying his trade.
Asked about replacing Parker, Jones said moving on from him or changing play-calling responsibilities would be “premature” five weeks into the season.
“Certainly, he’s sitting there with taking it on the shoulders, which goes with the territory, but I feel that he’s competent,” Jones said. “And the things that he’s trying to do, I’m going to say it one more time: the thing that probably bothers me the most is how (the Buccaneers) ran between the tackles, so to speak, and were able to have that running game up in there where we have a lot of strength (with Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark).”
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones believes the 2026 defense, looks like the 2025 offense.
“We are still, in my mind, right where we started looking to our defense,” he said.
The Cowboys allowed 241 rushing yards and 165 yards before contact. They gave up 20 or more points…
— Todd Archer (@toddarcher) October 9, 2026
The Cowboys defense entered Week 5 ranked 28th in points allowed (28.0 per game) and 30th in yards allowed (389.5), and the unit endured yet another bad performance against Tampa Bay.
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The Buccaneers rushed for 241 yards, including 165 from Bucky Irving, while undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown, adding 23 rushing yards on seven carries.
The Cowboys added Williams last season and recently traded for cornerback Joey Porter Jr., though Porter missed Thursday’s game because of illness. Even then, Dallas has allowed at least 20 points in 12 straight games dating back to last season, matching a franchise record.
Ultimately, Jones described himself as “extraordinarily, extraordinarily disappointed” with Thursday’s result.
“We really do need to get it done when it’s there to take,” Jones said.
Dallas fell to 2-3 heading into its bye week before visiting the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, Oct. 18, at Lambeau Field.
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This story was originally published October 9, 2026 at 8:35 AM.