Jerry Jones: Dallas Cowboys overconfident, questions Dak Prescott being in game late
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn’t directly call out coach Mike McCarthy for Sunday’s 30-16 debacle against the Denver Broncos.
But he did have some choice words on his radio show on KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan, saying the Cowboys’ performance did not reflect well on McCarthy or his team’s preparation.
He said the Cowboys were “internally overconfident” and it showed in their body language when they lost the momentum, which resulted in the end of their six-game winning streak.
“I don’t think any of us thought we’d come out of there without a victory Sunday,” Jones said.
Asked about the Cowboys having a bad practice earlier in the week, Jones initially tried to support McCarthy by explaining his history of taking teams to the playoffs when he was the head coach of the Green Bay Packers.
But Jones’ words were hard to ignore.
Jones said the “Cowboys were not ready” for the Broncos game.
“That’s as flat as any team I’ve seen,” Jones said. “We basically played what seemed to be lackadaisical.”
And he also second-guessed the decision to have quarterback Dak Prescott on the field in the fourth quarter of a blowout one week after he sat out because of a calf strain.
Jones didn’t like Prescott running in a 2-point conversion with 55 seconds left in the game following a meaningless touchdown.
He said Prescott is going to play all out as long as he is on the field. It’s the coaches’ job to take that decision out of his hands.
“We were very careful for the long range of not playing Dak last week,” Jones. “We were very careful. It was a long-range thought. When he is in the game don’t think he is not going to make every play like it’s a Super Bowl play so if you have got concern about the fact of what would it do for your season if he had another injury that is the time to be concerned about it.”
Kicker Greg Zuerlein placed on COVID-19 list
The Dallas Cowboys are in desperate need of a kicker for Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons.
Kicker Greg Zuerlein was placed on the NFL’s Reserve/COVID-19 list Tuesday and the Cowboys don’t have a backup kicker on the roster.
Per a source, they are bringing in former Cowboys kicker Brett Maher and Lirim Hajrullahu for tryouts on Wednesday.
It’s unclear at this time if Zuerlein can return in time for Sunday’s game. He must pass two COVID tests 24 hours apart to be eligible.
In eight games this season, Zuerlein has made 14 of 18 field goals (77.8%) and 21 of 23 extra points.
The Cowboys have had 13 players placed in COVID-19 protocols since Aug. 21. The team had at least one player ruled out for the first three games this season.
Now a total of six players might miss games this season to COVID.
This story was originally published November 9, 2021 at 10:06 AM.
