Eric Kendricks’ success in wild-card round only magnifies issues for Cowboys.
The 2025 season for the Dallas Cowboys was one full of optimism and disappointment. On one hand, the offense was tied for the sixth-most points in the league (27.7 PPG). The defense, however, allowed the most points (30.1 PPG) and passing yards (251.5 YPG) and consistently failed to provide enough of a balance for the offense to carry this team to the postseason.
The shocking trade of Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers before the season and the firing of defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus shortly after the Week 18 loss to the New York Giants speak to how miserable the season was defensively for the Cowboys. To make matters worse for Dallas, it let linebacker Eric Kendricks go after last season, someone who led the team in tackles (138) and forced fumbles (three).
In Sunday’s wild-card win over the Philadelphia Eagles, Kendricks secured the victory for the San Francisco 49ers when he broke up a pass from Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts on 4th-and-11, while also recording his most tackles (10) with the 49ers. As The Athletic‘s Matt Barrows pointed out, Kendricks suddenly became the 49ers’ “glue,” which begs the question of why he was still available so late into the season before landing with another team.
After all, he did not sign with the 49ers until Nov. 26 and did not appear in a game until the team’s Week 16 win over the Indianapolis Colts.
Eric Kendricks’ Wild-Card Success Highlights What Cowboys Gave Up
Ironically, Kendricks turned down an offer to sign with San Francisco during the 2024 offseason and instead chose the Cowboys. Despite leading the team in tackles, he underwent offseason shoulder surgery and had not been signed by another team until the opportunity arose in the Bay Area. Once he found out that All-Pro LB Fred Warner had suffered a horrific ankle injury, Kendricks wanted to help out all he could.
He only appeared in four games for the 49ers, but his best performance by far was in Sunday’s wild-card win, only reminding the Cowboys of what they gave up that much more. For a Dallas team that lost three one-score games and tied with the Green Bay Packers, having someone like Kendricks could have been the difference in games where one or two plays were crucial.
There is no doubt the Cowboys should focus on bringing in some defensive help in the upcoming NFL draft, but the regret of not having Kendricks around on a defense that was so bad is evident regardless. For comparison, no player on the team had more than 91 tackles and one forced fumble this season, which were two areas in which Kendricks excelled during his time with the franchise.
After missing the postseason for the second year in a row, the Cowboys seem to be stuck in neutral at the moment, at least on defense. They lost five of their nine games despite scoring at least 20 points and even scored 40 in the tie with Green Bay, but it did not matter because the defense could not get enough stops on its end.
Of course, it is not fair to say that Kendricks alone would have been enough to help Dallas and provide a spark to its poor defense. But, considering how well he played last season and the game-sealing play he made for San Francisco in just his fourth start of the season, the Cowboys cannot be feeling too good watching a former player shine for another team in the postseason while they are watching from home.
