FRISCO, Texas — The Dallas Cowboys are not at the level owner and general manager Jerry Jones thought they would be, he said Friday, five days after a 28-20 loss to the New York Giants at MetLife Stadium.
Jones spoke during his weekly Friday appearance on the K&C Masterpiece on 105.3 The Fan, two days before Dallas hosts the Washington Commanders in its home opener at AT&T Stadium.
New York was better than Jones thought it could be. The Cowboys, in his words, did not play as well as they should and can.
“I’d rather say it more positively,” Jones said. “We’re not at the level that we thought we would be. I’m going to give you a lot of reasons, logical reasons. You’re dealing with a conceptually new coaching staff, dealing with a new, to a lot of people out there, the defensive scheme. And then you’re dealing with people who are fresh into that scheme.”
Giants quarterback Jaxson Dart completed 23-of-29 passes for 230 yards, 3 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He added 11 carries for 54 yards.
New York converted 9 of 11 third downs, gained 394 yards, and held the ball for 36:40.
Jerry Jones Compares Cowboys’ Changes To Jimmy Johnson’s First Season
Jones reached for the same comparison on Sept. 8, five days before the opener, during his Tuesday appearance on the station.
“Now, you’ve got a lot of veteran players out there, but still they’re changing up some of the things that they’re doing,” Jones explained. “Are they capable of doing what we’re asking? Absolutely they are. But the bottom line is that the last time, frankly, the last time that, from my perspective, that we had as many changes on defense, we had as many changes with the coaching staff, had as much change with the personnel, and had as much change with the team, was the first year. Jimmy Johnson was our coach, and we won one football game.”
“Now, things have changed, and you can come in with less experience than you could in those days,” Jones continued. “But having said that, it’s a challenge now to put it together and get it ready to go. We didn’t play well last week. What I meant to say was New York had really more to do with it than I thought they would. And so that’s a factor. But Washington could have a lot to do with it here Sunday too. So we’ve got to be ready to step up the level of play. There’s no question.”
Jones bought the Cowboys in 1989 and hired Jimmy Johnson as coach. Dallas went 1-15 that season.
In January, the Cowboys replaced defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus with Christian Parker. Parker, 34, is calling plays for the first time after two seasons as the Philadelphia Eagles’ passing game coordinator and defensive backs coach.
Dallas allowed 511 points last season, the most in the NFL. The Cowboys finished 7-9-1.
The Cowboys traded for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams at the trade deadline last November. Edge rusher Rashan Gary arrived in a trade with the Green Bay Packers in March. In April, Dallas drafted safety Caleb Downs 11th overall.
Jerry Jones Says Giants Loss Adds Emphasis To Commanders Home Opener
At the end of the day, the players make the plays or the mistakes, and Jones said it has to show up on the field Sunday.
“The home opener is special, and it seems like forever since we’ve played a meaningful game, and so you can’t ever dismiss that excitement of being there,” Jones said. “This one’s particularly challenging, not challenging, but exciting, if you will, because we really did not do what we wanted to do on our opening game there in New York. And so this puts added emphasis on this game for us. We really want to play well here in front of our home fans.”
Washington opened with a 24-22 loss at Philadelphia. Quarterback Jayden Daniels completed 18-of-34 passes for 164 yards, 2 touchdowns, and no interceptions. He ran for 31 yards.
Football does not give a team many games relative to baseball or basketball, in Jones’ view.
“I think that, in a sense, if you really put your feelings up there when you walk into a game, they all are of that nature,” Jones said. “A game, you don’t really, in the grand scheme of things, you don’t have that many in football relative to baseball or basketball or maybe even other sports. So you have a limited time, numbers of times that you can walk out there and have it all together.”
“We’re relatively healthy and we’re certainly motivated, and we’ve had a lot of work not just since the game last week, but we’ve got an entire offseason that we need to bring to the game here Sunday,” Jones added. “And so when you look at all of that, they’re all that important to me. I’d say it’s all focused on what we’re going to do out here Sunday.”
Kickoff Sunday is 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX. Dallas then faces the Baltimore Ravens at Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro on Sept. 27.
