"We need to play better on defense": Cowboys HC Brian Schottenheimer reveals why Matt Eberflus won't be on sideline for final 3 weeks

The Dallas Cowboys will take on the final three games of the 2025 NFL season with a lot at stake. After a 34-26 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday, the "Lone Star" is on the verge of being eliminated from playoff contention.

They need to win out and hope that the Philadelphia Eagles (9-5) lose their next three games to win the NFC East and advance to the postseason. The Cowboys are in a complex position following their Week 15 loss, and they started making changes to try to spice things up against the LA Chargers on Sunday.

Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus announced on Thursday that he will be calling the defense from the booth instead of the sidelines. While fans joked that it was the sign that he was done with the team, head coach Brian Schottenheimer explained the reasoning behind the decision on Friday.

“At the end of the day, we all understand we need to play better on defense," Schottenheimer said, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. "That’s not a secret. Nobody has shied away from that. Certainly Flus hasn’t shied away from that. I think as we look for options and ideas, it was something Matt and I talked about.

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"There’s no question you can see things better up in the box. You can make quicker adjustments up in the box. I think when Matt and I kinda talked through this stuff, it became very clear that that’s where we want to put him so that we can make some adjustments faster. I think it’s gonna be a great thing for us.”

The Cowboys are on a two-game losing streak, in which they allowed 44 points to the Detroit Lions in Week 14 and 34 to the Vikings in Week 14. Eberflus' performance has been under heavy scrutiny, and owner Jerry Jones shared his frustrations with the team's defensive display against JJ McCarthy and Co.

Jerry Jones calls out Matt Eberflus after Vikings game

Jerry Jones wasn't happy with how his Cowboys played against the Vikings, noting that JJ McCarthy went off after he struggled to play well.

“We let their quarterback have a big day on us,” Jones said. “That wasn’t the plan. We could have used more pressure, without question, at different times. The result was that we let him make some pretty significant plays out there, plus, he played pretty well."

The Cowboys will take on another tough opponent on Sunday, and a loss could put the final nail in the coffin of the Texas team.

Edited by Orlando Silva