Jerry Jones mum on McCarthy’s future, calls wild-card loss to Packers ‘painful’
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones didn’t hide his disappointment with Green Bay’s 48-32 thrashing of Dallas Cowboys Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
In a NFL wild-card game. After three straight 12-win regular seasons.
.
“This seems like the most painful [playoff loss] because we all had such great expectations and we had hope for this team,” Jones said after the game. “And thought that we were aligned and in great shape and it didn’t happen for us and it’s as fresh on me right now as it is on anybody else.”
Jones said he thought the team had a chance to do something special this season.
“I thought we were in position, everybody in this room, thought we were in position to advance this thing in the playoffs and maybe get as far as our dreams might take us,” Jones said.
Instead, the Cowboys trailed 27-7 at halftime and were never in the game against the Packers, who are 6-0 in AT&T Stadium.
That said, following the loss, Jones refused to answer any questions about head coach Mike McCarthy’s job security, saying he hadn’t yet analyzed the game.
“We didn’t do it. I don’t have any thoughts about the reason why or anything to do with the coaching, anything to do about the players. I want to give Green Bay a lot of compliments,” Jones said.
Jones also would not say how quickly he might decide on McCarthy’s future.
Even with the big-name coaches possibly available — such as Bill Belichick, Pete Carroll and Nick Saban — Jones said he doesn’t feel pressure to make a decision.
Jones, however, did say he would put a lot of weight on today’s game and the entire season when making offseason personnel decisions.
The Cowboys gave up a franchise playoff record 48 points in a game the Dallas was favored by 7 points.
The Cowboys had won 16 straight games at AT&T before Sunday, the longest active streak in the NFL.
“Didn’t see that coming at all,” said Jones. “ If you had told me we scored 32 I would’ve thought we won.”
When asked about how his evaluation process would go after the wild-card loss Jones said he would rely on past moments.
“We certainly have a background in what happens after you lose a playoff game,” said Jones, “We have too much experience with that.”
This story was originally published January 14, 2024 at 8:28 PM.
