Brian Schottenheimer and his offense are feeling the heat after a 2-4 start.

The Cowboys have scored fewer than 20 points in consecutive Dak Prescott starts for the first time in seven seasons, and Dallas has work to do to compete for the NFC East crown.

One of the players now carrying the blame for Dallas' 31st-ranked rushing offense is George Pickens. Pickens' 1,429 receiving yards in 2025 ranked third in the NFL, and his 428 this season sit outside of the top 10. However, Schottenheimer has issued a different type of challenge to his Pro Bowl receiver.

"I think GP is one of those guys where I don't ever see him really affected in terms of the emotion of does he get the ball? Does he not get the ball? These guys play a lot of snaps. ... He needs to understand that he impacts us in the running game as well," Schottenheimer said. "He needs to understand that he impacts us in the running game as well. He's got to do the same thing in the run game, picking up safeties and blocking corners, just like Javonte [Williams] does, picking up blitzes so he can catch balls. That's part of the team-first mindset, and GP does understand that. When he's going, they're going to play soft inside. When he's not going, the safeties get pretty good runs at our backs. And that's got to improve."  

Schottenheimer takes accountability for play calling

Dallas' offense has become too simplistic in Year 2 under Schottenheimer in 2026. This season, the Cowboys rank as second-to-last in the NFL in motion rate (42.7%), 28th out of 32 teams in under-center rate (30.4%) and 20th in play action rate. 

"I think some of it is deserved," Schottenheimer said of the criticism coming his way. "We got to play better. I got to coach better. And so when you grow up in a family that your dad's a head coach for over 20-something years [21 years], you understand that this is part of the job description. No one likes it. I block out most of it. Some of it gets to me doing this job and having to speak to you guys is part of that. But at the same time, I've got strong shoulders. I know what a great coach I am. I know what this team is capable of, and that's what I focus on."

So how does Schottenheimer plan to fix the run game? By calling more runs to allow Williams to get in more of a rhythm. However, the caveat he threw out is that Dallas should not fall behind early in games. The Cowboys have spent the fifth-most time trailing (3:23:30) in the NFL this season. 

"I think it starts with calling more runs, which requires being in more, I keep using the word normal, close games where you're not having a play from behind," Schottenheimer said. "I do think that the more you run it, the better you feel. You figure out combination blocks and things like that. I will say early on in most of our games, we've not run it as well as we are capable of. And there's been times where again, as the head coach and the play caller, I have to make the decision of, 'okay, clock says X, we're down X, what is it? All right, it's time to go.' So those are decisions that we discuss and we make those decisions, but it starts with just letting these guys get into a groove, let these guys get bats at the plate, if you will. And that's a big part."