Dallas Cowboys home games have been turning into a bazaar for guests for some time now. Lots and lots of gifts are handed out and hardly any proper resistance is offered. The duel with Detroit topped it off – and, above all, left the owner upset.
Dark clouds had already gathered over Dallas at the end of September. At that time, the billionaire owner of the Cowboys – Jerry Jones – said: “I am aware that you have to take a lot of criticism – especially after such a false start.” His self-confident counterattack at the time was direct: “You can take a lot of criticism and still lift the trophies in the end. That’s what this is about.”
And sure: With the current record of 3-3 in the NFC East, nothing is lost, the well-positioned team from Texas can continue to achieve the minimum goal – the play-offs for the fourth time in a row – even if the program upcoming games in San Francisco (3-3), in Atlanta (4-2) and against Philadelphia (3-2).
Prescott is not one to “hit the panic button”
The 9:47 dismantling this Sunday against the Detroit Lions (4-1) deepened the existing cracks in the Cowboys construct, or even added even more gaping wounds. It starts with the fact that Dallas has already suffered its fourth defeat in a row in its own AT&T Stadium in front of over 90,000 spectators – starting with the play-off embarrassment against the Packers in January (32:48) and ending with the matches against the Saints (19:44) and Ravens (25:28).
This 9:47 was also the clearest home defeat since 1988 – and at the same time the worst home defeat in the Jerry Jones era. The billionaire only bought the franchise in 1989 and initially celebrated winning the Super Bowl three times in the 1990s. Since 1997, the Texans have been waiting for the next big thing they have longed for, the sixth major NFL title.
The icing on the cake for this used weekend: Boss Jones only had a broadcast from the US broadcaster shortly before the game against the Lions, in keeping with his 82nd birthday Fox Sports be served a birthday cake. During the game, the owner was repeatedly shown showing how he was losing his mood more and more. Why not? The Lions’ creative offense led the proud Cowboys, also known by the nickname “America’s Team”, in every way – and the defense generated four turnovers (two interceptions, two fumbles).
The now well-paid quarterback Dak Prescott (only 178 yards, no touchdown pass) was served accordingly: “I’m certainly not the type of person to press the panic button. But you can’t prepare for something like that, especially that it’s us happened again at home, where we were actually so strong.”
“That was very worrying”
And Jones? The grumpy-looking owner first made it clear that he didn’t like the result at all and that he couldn’t really enjoy his birthday cake afterwards. He felt “that Detroit was having fun at our expense.” And that shouldn’t be the case, he can hardly realize that – and the fact that the team now has a week off from playing doesn’t help much: “We have a bye week now, of course – but there’s nothing magical about it in itself .You can do some things differently…yet: This was very concerning and very humbling. I felt bad for all of our great fans, especially those in the stadium and certainly those who are completely committed to the Cowboys a lot of work.”
Coach of the Dallas Cowboys – and former Super Bowl winner with the Green Bay Packers: Mike McCarthy. IMAGO/Icon Sportswire
And: “We don’t like where we are right now. But the good thing is that we’re only six games into the season, so we can improve.” It was also asked how Jones himself would function – after all, he is the owner. His answer was: He owned the Cowboys and would act accordingly.
However, not for the time being with a dismissal of the criticized Mike McCarthy, who has been in office since 2020 and is only under contract until the end of this season anyway. Jones said: “I don’t give it a thought, I don’t consider it.” That made the billionaire rather angry. From his point of view, firing the head coach now wouldn’t be synonymous with an upturn: “Do you think I’m an idiot?” In his opinion, the timing would not be right to take such drastic action now.
