‘No Players Were Interviewed’: Dallas Cowboys Locker Room Empties Before Media Availability After Arizona Cardinals Collapse
FRISCO, Texas — A day after the Dallas Cowboys’ 33-30 overtime loss to the Arizona Cardinals, most of the roster had left the team facility before reporters reached the locker room for Monday’s media availability. No players were interviewed, Jon Machota of The Athletic reported.
Dallas led 24-10 with 14:20 left in the fourth quarter Sunday and did not trail until overtime. It was the first time the Cowboys had blown a 14-point fourth-quarter lead at home, ProFootballTalk noted. Before Sunday, Dallas was 202-0-1 at home when leading by 14 or more points in the fourth quarter, including the playoffs, CBS Sports’ Garrett Podell reported.
Machota posted about the session on X shortly after it ended. He was among the reporters waiting to get into the locker room.
“The Cowboys just had locker room availability, but majority of roster left the facility before we got in there,” Machota wrote on X. “No players were interviewed. Can’t say I remember that happening before.”
Player Programs Ended Early At The Star, Per Dallas Morning News
Joseph Hoyt of The Dallas Morning News posted the reason on X less than an hour after Machota. The team’s player programs had wrapped up ahead of schedule.
“Player programs ended earlier than scheduled, which is why the locker room was almost empty during media availability,” Hoyt wrote.
Players had talked after Sunday’s game, when Von Miller and Kenny Clark defended the coaching staff in the locker room at AT&T Stadium and Dak Prescott took questions.
Sunday kept Arizona perfect in Arlington. The Cardinals came in at 2-5 and trailed 17-3 when they went to Gardner Minshew II in place of Jacoby Brissett late in the third quarter. Minshew threw all three of his touchdown passes in the fourth, and Arizona is now 5-0 at AT&T Stadium since it opened in 2009.
Owner and general manager Jerry Jones said Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan’s “Shan & RJ” that the loss hit the team hard. He called it a psychological setback.
“That was a hurtful loss that we had Sunday, and it’s painful. It’s very painful,” Jones said. “Winning gives your team a better chance to go to another level psychologically. Winning is important. Losing is bad psychologically. So that was a setback out there. Make no mistake about it.”
Brian Schottenheimer, Stephen Jones On State Of Dallas Cowboys
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer spoke at his news conference earlier Monday. He said he doesn’t worry about the losses wearing on the locker room and called the roster a group that believes in one another.
“Yeah, I don’t worry about that with this group,” Schottenheimer said. “This is a group of pros, high-character individuals, high-character men that believe in one another and what we’re doing.”
Cowboys COO and executive vice president Stephen Jones said Monday on 105.3 The Fan’s “K&C Masterpiece” that the 3-5 start belongs to everyone in the building. He put the front office in that group.
“This is an organizational thing, top to bottom,” Stephen Jones said. “We all got to own where we are, which is three and five, and we all know that we have to be better.”
Dallas visits the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday, Nov. 8, at Lucas Oil Stadium. Kickoff is set for noon CT on FOX.
