What did Cowboys get right in Schottenheimer's first season?

ARLINGTON, Texas -- In the front lobby of The Star sit the five Vince Lombardi Trophies from the Dallas Cowboys' Super Bowl wins.

Just about every day, those who take a tour of the Cowboys' facility will take pictures and remember what are officially the good old days.

The Cowboys' Super Bowl drought has now reached 30 years. The current players are hardly responsible for decades of disappointment, but there is no question 2025 is a disappointment.

With two games to play against the Washington Commanders and New York Giants, the Cowboys are 6-8-1. Not only will they miss the playoffs but they also are guaranteed a non-winning record.

Before the Cowboys' losing streak reached three games, coach Brian Schottenheimer agreed that the Cowboys needed to make the playoffs for the season to be a success.

"You can't sit up here and talk about winning world championships, and if you don't make the playoffs, you don't have a chance to win a world championship," Schottenheimer said. "Winning is the No. 1 objective."

He acknowledged last week that there has not been enough winning.

But there have been successes, mostly individual, if not the ultimate success.

"They're out there," owner and general manager Jerry Jones said after Sunday's 34-17 loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

Here are some:

And then there's Schottenheimer, the first-year head coach. He led the team through the tragedy of Marshawn Kneeland's death. He handled disciplinary issues with Pickens and Lamb before the Nov. 17 game at the Las Vegas Raiders. And the offense has produced with him as the playcaller, ranking fifth in points per game (28.3) and second in yards per game (393.1).

He also had to deal with the trade of edge rusher Micah Parsons a week before the season to the Green Bay Packers. That move opened holes in the defense that weren't filled the entire season. Dallas ranks 30th in total defense this season.

"I'd like to think that, with where we are, I'm not so sure that one position, one player, would have had us in necessarily a different situation," Jones said. "But that's a fair look as to, 'Would we have been maybe at a higher level?'"

Jones then asked where the Cowboys ranked defensively last year. They were 28th and Parsons missed four games with an ankle injury. Still, the Cowboys had 52 sacks. In 2023, they were fifth in defense.

For most of this season, the defensive production has been abysmal. They have recorded only 29 sacks and 11 takeaways. Schottenheimer has lamented the turnover ratio (minus-6) all year. The kickoff and punt return games have not been as effective as in years' past.

Aside from the three-game winning streak (Week 11-13), the Cowboys have not been good enough as a whole.

"At the end of the day, the consistency has not been there," Schottenheimer said. "Ultimately, when I judge myself, it's going to be based on winning first and then the culture second. I think we've done a better job right now with the culture piece than we have the winning.

"We've got to get that corrected."