{"id":39359,"date":"2025-12-09T14:27:36","date_gmt":"2025-12-09T14:27:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=39359"},"modified":"2025-12-09T14:27:36","modified_gmt":"2025-12-09T14:27:36","slug":"breaking-cowboys-schottenheimer-makes-concerning-admission-about-starter-before-week-15","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/breakingnews.azontree.com\/?p=39359","title":{"rendered":"BREAKING : Cowboys&#8217; Schottenheimer Makes Concerning Admission About Starter Before Week 15"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"post-featured-container-id\">\n<div id=\"post-featured\">\n<figure><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2248459398-1-e1765289359757.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 820px) 95vw, 780px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2248459398-1-e1765289359757.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=780 780w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2248459398-1-e1765289359757.jpg?quality=15&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1100 1100w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/GettyImages-2248459398-1-e1765289359757.jpg?quality=35&amp;strip=all&amp;w=1350 1350w\" alt=\"Cowboys' Schottenheimer Makes Concerning Admission About Starter Before Week 15\" width=\"780\" height=\"439\" \/><\/figure>\n<div>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>The Cowboys had a number of problems that emerged on Thursday night in Week 14 against the Lions, a 44-30 loss, that will be concerns for the team as it wraps up the final four games of the year and attempts to keep alive the very thin playoff hopes that still linger despite a 6-6-1 record. One of those, undoubtedly, was the play of second-year lineman Nate Thomas at the left tackle position.<\/p>\n<p>Thomas, a seventh-round pick in 2024, was making his second straight start for the Cowboys, as regular tackle Tyler Guyton recovers from a knee injury. Guyton did not practice at all last week, so there is certainly a worry that he won\u2019t be ready to go on Sunday against the Vikings. Coach Brian Schottenheimer said he won\u2019t know more about Guyton\u2019s status until practice on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p>That could force Thomas back into the starting lineup against the Vikings, and if Thomas\u2019s performance against the Lions is any indication, that\u2019s a problem for Dallas.<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Cowboys\u2019 Nate Thomas \u2018Struggled\u2019<\/h2>\n<p>The Cowboys struggled to keep quarterback Dak Prescott out of harm\u2019s way in the Lions loss, allowing 22 pressures on his dropbacks, per Pro Football Focus. Eight of those were courtesy of Thomas, who allowed a sack and two hits on Prescott, plus took a penalty.<\/p>\n<p>With a blitz-heavy Vikings defense on tap, the possibility of Thomas back in the left-tackle spot is a big concern, as coach Brian Schottenheimer conceded on Monday.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNate struggled,\u201d Schottenheimer admitted. \u201cI think he\u2019d be the first to tell you that. Young player, second start. Again, very talented. I think where Nate needs to grow is understanding that he plays a very difficult position to play and you\u2019re going to get beat at times, you got to bounce back.\u201d<\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Nate Thomas Shoulders an Issue<\/h2>\n<p>Schottenheimer said the Cowboys have been working with Thomas, who has enough talent to stick on the roster through two training camps, on keeping his shoulders square at the line. They will continue to do so.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cFor him, it was more the aggressive sets,\u201d Schottenheimer said. \u201cWhat do I mean by that? His initial set was really good and then as there was space, he would begin to turn his shoulders, which softens the edge and makes it easier for the defensive end to effect the quarterback. Whereas, Nate\u2019s a 330-pound man with incredible athleticism and size. He needs to stay square longer. That\u2019s something we will keep working with him on.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_5581305\">\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Logan-Wilson-trade-Cowboys.jpg?quality=65&amp;strip=all&amp;w=300\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 754px) 100vw, 754px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Logan-Wilson-trade-Cowboys.jpg?resize=150,84 150w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Logan-Wilson-trade-Cowboys.jpg?resize=300,169 300w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Logan-Wilson-trade-Cowboys.jpg?resize=425,239 425w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Logan-Wilson-trade-Cowboys.jpg?resize=320,180 320w, https:\/\/heavy.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/Logan-Wilson-trade-Cowboys.jpg?resize=267,150 267w\" alt=\"Cowboys' Schottenheimer Makes Concerning Admission About Starter Before Week 15\" width=\"754\" height=\"422\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-5581305\" data-lazy-load=\"\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-5581305\">GettyHead coach Brian Schottenheimer of the Dallas Cowboys<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<h2>Cowboys Had Protected Dak Prescott All Season<\/h2>\n<p>The Cowboys have prided themselves on keeping Prescott upright for most of this season. The team had allowed just two sacks in its previous three games, and, leading into the Lions matchup, Prescott\u2019s 12 sacks in 17 games gave him the lowest full-season sack percentage of his career.<\/p>\n<p>Now, it\u2019s the second lowest. And the Vikings, who have 47 sacks\u2013No. 4 in the NFL in that stat\u2013are up next.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI really do feel like one of the best things we\u2019ve done all year is protect Dak, and we didn\u2019t do it very well the other night,\u201d Schottenheimer said. \u201cWe need to do it better this week against the Vikings.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Cowboys left tackle Nate Thomas had a major struggle against the Lions, and that is a concern for Week 15 against the Vikings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":39360,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-39359","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-dallas-cowboys"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v23.7 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>BREAKING : Cowboys&#039; 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