text: 2005 The Cowboys improved their defense before the 2005 season, adding DeMarcus Ware, Marcus Spears, Kevin Burnett, and Chris Canty through the draft. Parcells hoped to jumpstart the team's transition from the traditional 4–3 defense, which had been the Cowboys' base defense for the past 20 years, to his preferred 3–4 defense, which he believed favors the talents of the current lineup (speed and athleticism over power). Jerry Jones also added a number of veterans, including nose tackle Jason Ferguson and cornerback Anthony Henry via free agency. On offense, the Cowboys tried to upgrade their passing game by signing free agent quarterback Drew Bledsoe. Bledsoe had a solid year and gave the Cowboys stability at the quarterback position, which had been lacking since Troy Aikman's retirement five years earlier. The Cowboys endured an up-and-down 2005 season. Entering Thanksgiving the Cowboys had a 7–3 record, Dallas finished the season 2–4 and missed the playoffs. An injury to kicker Billy Cundiff led to inconsistency at that position, and costly misses contributed to close losses against the Seattle Seahawks and Denver Broncos. Shortly before the regular season finale, the Cowboys learned that they had been eliminated from the playoff chase, and turned in a listless performances against the St. Louis Rams on ESPN Sunday Night Football to finish the season 9–7, 3rd place in the NFC East.