Photo Credit: Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty
Jerry Jones, the owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, is known for leading the team to three Super Bowl wins in the 1990s. But tough seasons have been part of his journey as well.
“We won one game my first year,” Jones said after the Cowboys’ 34-10 loss to the Houston Texans on Monday night that dropped Dallas to 3-7 on the season. “One. And so have we had rough seasons? Yes. Yeah, I’ve been around. Certainly we have. And we’ve had other tough years. This one, we didn’t anticipate the record. And the way we’re playing right now, we wouldn’t have anticipated that. But, not, this isn’t — y’all have heard me tell these old stories until you’re sick — but not, you stay in this league long enough, you’ll have times like this.”
The Cowboys of 1989 were not expected to compete for a top spot in the NFC. The team also finished 5-11 for three straight seasons from 2000 to 2002. Jones made his only midseason coaching change in 2010 when he replaced Wade Phillips with Jason Garrett after a 1-7 start. In 2015, the Cowboys ended the season 4-12.
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Mike McCarthy Retains Support Despite Disappointments
Currently at 3-7, Dallas is projected to have a top-10 pick in next year’s draft. Head coach Mike McCarthy is in the last year of his contract, but Jones says the team still supports him.
“That losing the team stuff, that’s so overblown,” Jones said. “These guys are so, first of all, they’re natural competitors. Secondly, they’re so proud of the fact that they are professional and disappointed in maybe the way they executed the play, but that’s not anything that’s brother or first cousin to give up. … Everybody’s certainly disappointed, but that’s a big difference in not knowing that you got to put the foot in front of the other to go.”
Frustration Mounts as Home Losses Continue
For the first time since 1989, the Cowboys have lost their first five home games. They’ve been outscored by 118 points at home, the third-highest margin in the Super Bowl era. Their five-game losing streak matches their longest since 2015, and it ties McCarthy’s record from 2008 when his Green Bay Packers team went 6-10.
“Explain it? I think it’s very frustrating. It’s frustrating for everybody. Frustrating for the players, frustrating for the coaches. I know it’s disappointing for the fans,” McCarthy said. “But we just, we have a lot of moving parts going on, and we just have to be cleaner and more detailed in certain spots. We’re not playing well enough, not executing well enough, coaching well enough to overcome some of the mistakes we’re making in critical times of the game.”
Critical Mistakes and Missed Opportunities on the Field
On their opening drive against Houston, the Cowboys tried a fake punt, but Bryan Anger’s pass to Juanyeh Thomas was 5 yards short. Later, trailing 20-10 in the third quarter, McCarthy opted to go for it on fourth-and-2 at the Texans’ 8-yard line instead of taking an easy field goal. Cooper Rush’s pass fell incomplete.
“They won the chess match there,” McCarthy said. “That was a poor call by us.”
“You can’t have it both ways, “We’re trying to play it exactly right, managing the game, 14-play drives. … We needed seven [points] there.”
Soon after, Rush was sacked, fumbled, and rookie left tackle Tyler Guyton recovered the ball only to fumble it himself. Texans defensive end Derek Barnett picked up the loose ball and ran 28 yards for a touchdown.
“We’re not teaching [offensive] linemen to carry the ball,” McCarthy said. “That’s twice now. That’s obviously a big play in the game. We need to fall on the ball.”
Injuries Add to Cowboys’ Challenges
Guyton injured his shoulder on the play and didn’t return. The Cowboys later lost right guard Zack Martin and left guard Tyler Smith to ankle injuries. Tight end Jake Ferguson also left in the first half due to a concussion. Quarterback Dak Prescott, recovering from hamstring surgery, watched from the coaches’ booth.
“I feel in times of adversity, the confirmation comes into what you know from your past experiences but also just trust the people in the room, the people that are doing the work. And I do,” McCarthy said. “I believe in this locker room. Our leadership, most of it has been injured. There is good coming out of this. You don’t see it because we’re not winning games, but there’s young men that are getting an opportunity to do more. And I do believe that will pay forward. It needs to hurry the hell up because we need it in six days. But this is just the reality of what we’re going through. I do believe because not only what they do for the organization but the energy and the effort they give me. I have every reason to believe that we can play better.”
Urgency for Wins as Season Progresses
The Cowboys face the Washington Commanders next week, followed by a Thanksgiving game against the New York Giants. The Giants are the only team left on the Cowboys’ schedule with a worse record.
“This is it, man,” McCarthy said. “We’ve got seven losses. We gotta go. Backs against the wall. Gotta fight, claw, scratch. Gotta do everything we can to go win the next game. That’s where my mind’s at. That’s the way we coach and that’s the expectation. We gotta win and we deserve to win. We deserve the opportunity to win and that’s about putting the best people out there. Right now they’re young. Those guys, our young guys are getting a lot of experience.
“But we need to do whatever the hell we need to do to win.”
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This report used information from ESPN.
