FRISCO, Texas — Stephen Jones said Monday the Dallas Cowboys still have what they need to field one of the best offenses in the NFL, a day after an 0-1 start.
Dallas returned all 11 offensive starters from a group that ranked seventh in the NFL in scoring last season at 27.7 points per game.
“Well, I think the offense speaks for itself,” Jones said Monday on 105.3 The Fan‘s “K&C Masterpiece.” “I mean, consistently they were really good last year. They put together some long drives yesterday when we needed to have them. Obviously, you mentioned the drive right before the half that really hurt. And, of course, the opening drive where we were three and out.”
Jones continued: “But, you know, overall, I still think, you know, we have everything we need there to do things in a way that we can have one of the best offenses in the league.”
Dallas ran 52 offensive plays against New York and did not produce a gain longer than 17 yards. The Cowboys had at least two receptions of 20 or more yards in every game last season.
Stephen Jones On George Pickens And CeeDee Lamb
George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb each had passes go through their hands.
“I don’t think you’re gonna, you know, it’s kind of like CD and Philly last year,” Jones said. “You know, you just don’t see guys, you don’t, I don’t think we’re going to see those things from those two guys where they’re not making, usually they’re making a huge play versus, you know, having a tough one.”
Pickens had 1,429 receiving yards last season, third in the NFL. Lamb had 1,077, 11th in the league, despite missing three games with an ankle injury. The two combined for 38 of the Cowboys’ 56 receptions of 20 or more yards.
Dak Prescott told his teammates not to flinch after the game.
Stephen Jones On Compartmentalizing The Loss
Jones’ first question of the interview was whether an opening loss reads as a loss or as a signal about the season.
“I think it’s the former,” Jones said. “I think at the end of the day, don’t get me wrong, that was a tough pill to swallow last night. I’m not going to kid anybody.”
Jones added: “It takes a day. I’m sure everybody’s waking up with the proverbial hangover from last night because it wasn’t what we expected. I mean, we felt really good coming into the opening week that we could go out and play really good football and do some things to really, really feel good. But obviously, anyone who watches the game sees that we’ve got a lot of work to do, not just on the defensive side of the ball, but offensively we’ve got to be better too.”
Jones said: “We really like our football team. We’re convinced that we’ve got the right group together. We’ll be better.”
Dallas finished 7-9-1 last season and second in the NFC East. The Cowboys ranked seventh in the NFL in scoring and last in scoring defense.
Dallas hosts the Washington Commanders on Sunday at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is 3:25 p.m. CT on FOX.
