How the 2026 Cowboys are borrowing the Lions' 2023 blueprint
Looking back at the 2023 Detroit Lions season, the Cowboys could be looking at an impressive defensive turnaround.
The 2022 Detroit Lions paired a high-powered offense with a defense that couldn’t stop anyone, though they ultimately finished second in the NFC North despite clear deficiencies. A lot of similarities can be found when compared to the 2025 Dallas Cowboys campaign, and hopefully the Lions turnaround in 2023 is a precursor for what the Cowboys will enjoy in 2026. The two Year-2 versions share more than surface-level commonalities: defensive scheme, statistical performance, offseason priorities, draft approach, and reliance on development from young edge rushers.
All of it helps put things in perspective as to why there’s optimism around a Cowboys defensive rebound. Under then defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn, the Lions leaned on hybrid fronts, shifting between 3-4, 4-2-5, and 4-3 looks to generate offensive line confusion pre-snap. The secondary leaned heavily on man coverage, with zone concepts mixed in, with its safeties staying in single‑high looks.
Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker plans to install a similar system in Dallas, though with a greater emphasis on zone coverage from the cornerbacks and safeties, masking coverages before the snap. A statistical comparison between the two Year-1 units reinforces the connective tissue. In 2022, Detroit ranked 28th in points allowed and dead last in total yards surrendered.
Their struggling secondary finished near the bottom of the league in passing defense, while the run defense was just as ineffective. Dallas’ defense last season performed at a comparable level, and in some cases, worse. Ranking near the bottom of the league in points allowed, total yards, passing yards allowed, and run defense.