Cowboys field – After suffering blocked field goals in two straight games, the Dallas Cowboys are shuffling their protection unit ahead of tonight’s matchup against the Buccaneers.
For two straight Sundays, the Dallas Cowboys have watched in frustration as their field goal attempts were swatted away. It happened in Week 3 against the Baltimore Ravens, and again in Week 4 against the Houston Texans. The issue has become a glaring vulnerability. with Texans coach DeMeco Ryans noting publicly that his team exploited the exact same protection flaw the Ravens had exposed a week earlier.
Now, the pressure is on to stop the bleeding. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer confirmed that the team is overhauling its field goal protection unit ahead of tonight’s clash with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The timing is forced by necessity; offensive lineman Drew Shelton is injured and ruled out for the game. removing a key piece of the existing rotation.
Yet, the shake-up is about more than just filling a vacancy. The recurring failures have left the coaching staff little choice but to fundamentally rethink how they shield the kicker. The Cowboys remain the only team in the NFL to have multiple field goals blocked this season. a statistic that looms over the preparation for tonight’s kickoff.
The logic of the adjustments is clear: the current setup has failed to perform. Each blocked kick served as a repetitive scouting report for every opponent on the schedule. By forcing personnel changes. the staff is attempting to break the cycle of failure that began in Week 3. banking on a mix of roster rotation and technical cleanup to restore stability.
“Moving some pieces around, we were going to move some pieces around anyway because it hasn’t been very good,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve got a good rotation going but at the end of the day we’ve just got to clean some things up from a technical standpoint.”
Whether these changes hold up under the pressure of a live game remains the primary question. With the Buccaneers well aware of the recurring flaw, the protection unit will be tested from the opening drive.
Cowboys field goal Brian Schottenheimer NFL blocked kick Buccaneers Cowboys news