Dak Prescott and Brian Schottenheimer test their trust in fallout from Cowboys' brutal loss

FRISCO, Texas — Brian Schottenheimer wouldn't specify the word the Dallas coach said he wished he hadn't used with Dak Prescott before the play that triggered a series of game-management miscues by Cowboys coaches and players in the final seconds of a loss to Baltimore.

Whatever it was, Schottenheimer's star quarterback chose a conservative — and very quick — throwaway that forced the Cowboys to settle for a tying field goal and left the Ravens just enough time to kick the winner with help from dubious Dallas decisions on special teams and defense.

When he suggested soon after the 34-31 loss that he had overcoached an 11th-year quarterback in the moment, Schottenheimer brought trust into the equation. He even mentioned it on his own while taking responsibility for the loss two days later, saying it had nothing to do with trusting Prescott and bristling a bit at the question of whether the situation had eroded his QB's trust in him.

“He’s thrown interceptions before, and I still trust him,” Schottenheimer said. “So if I make a mistake, I hope he trusts me because I’ve made a lot of really good decisions, too.”

While Schottenheimer and Prescott were sketchy on the details of what led to the third-down incompletion in the end zone, both were transparent in saying mistakes were made — mistakes they can't make again.

They've had a 10-hour flight home from Rio de Janeiro and plenty of time since to hash it out as the Cowboys (1-2) prepare for a visit Sunday to the Houston Texans (0-3).

“Honest conversations between a head coach and a quarterback,” Prescott said. “Clearing the air, debriefing as you can say, this is what happened, this is what should happen, this is what we’ll do better together next time.”

This coach-QB relationship is critical

Prescott had one of the best seasons of his career in 2025, Schottenheimer's first as the head coach and play caller of the Cowboys. There are plenty of indications Dallas will be just as potent on offense this season while trying to reach the playoffs for the first time since 2023.

With the Cowboys making aggressive moves to try to improve one of the NFL's worst defenses from a year ago, including a trade this week with Pittsburgh to acquire cornerback Joey Porter Jr., the relationship between Schottenheimer and the first quarterback to have a contract with an average annual value of $60 million is as important as ever.

And one wrong word here or there gets magnified, say, 60-fold. Prescott makes it clear that it's just a word.

“I don’t think it was a lack of trust,” Prescott said. “It’s terms that we use that mean a lot of different things. And so was there a term (that) needed to be used? Absolutely. Was it the term that we probably should have used then? No. So that’s where Schotty's taking the accountability, but it’s not like it’s a lack of trust from one or another or he’s trying to tell me, ‘Hey, throw it here, throw it there, do that.’ Not at all. So just a mistake that, glad we made it in Week 3.”

There were other mistakes, too

There were 7 seconds left after Brandon Aubrey's tying field goal, and the Cowboys made another mistake by having Aubrey's subsequent kickoff go through the end zone rather than force a return that would have run time off the clock.

Baltimore got the ball at its 35-yard line, Lamar Jackson threw a 27-yard completion and got a timeout called with 1 second remaining to set up Tyler Loop's 56-yard field goal as time expired.

New defensive coordinator Christian Parker acknowledged the mistake plenty of pundits said he made by going with a man-to-man defense instead of a zone, which allowed standout receiver Zay Flowers to get open right at the target line for a field goal.

“I had an original call in mind, overthought the situation relative to what their mindset was going to be going to overtime, trying to get something quick, Hail Mary, all those things,” Parker said. “So definitely would make a different call if that situation came up again.”

This isn't their first rodeo together

Since Parker is a 34-year-old making his debut as a play caller, it is perhaps a bit early to start talking trust between him and a defense filled mostly with young players.

Schottenheimer and the 33-year-old Prescott, on the other hand, are in their fourth year together — fifth if you count the year as a consultant spent on the Dallas staff by the son of the late Marty Schottenheimer, a 200-game winner in the NFL.

“This has got nothing to do with trust,” Schottenheimer said. “So it was the word that I chose, which I’m not going to give away. And when I said the word, it put him into a mindset that he doesn’t play with. He doesn’t play that way. He doesn’t play the game that way. And so that’s what I would change.”

Prescott said the trust runs both ways, and was asked how he tries to make sure he keeps it that way.

“You debrief, you be honest, hold each other both accountable and you be accountable to your own doings and you go forward,” the four-time Pro Bowler said.

Owner and general manager Jerry Jones was quick to recognize the errors, saying on his radio show Tuesday that there was no explanation, only evaluation.

Schottenheimer didn't shy away from Jones' assessment later that day, nor did Parker two days after that.

“I think it’s important,” Prescott said. “I think as a leader, as somebody that has to make a lot of decisions, even myself, when you mess up and you haven’t made the decision that you wanted to make, you have to do that. If not, you lose respect and you lose trust. And I know those are two of the better leaders I’ve been around in my time, and I wouldn’t expect anything less.”

Now the Cowboys move forward.