Jerry Jones has overseen his fair share of seasons that have fallen short of, met or exceeded expectations. But, the Cowboys' ongoing 2024 campaign was not something he expected.
The Cowboys will enter Week 12 with just three wins under their belt. After Dallas dropped a fifth consecutive game on Monday night, the longtime Cowboys owner and general manager reflected on his first year of ownership.
"We won one game my first year," Jones said after the Houston Texans' 34-10 victory over the Cowboys. "One. And so have we had rough seasons? Yes. Yeah, I've been around. Certainly we have. And we've had other tough years. And this one, we didn't anticipate the record. And the way we're playing right now, we wouldn't have anticipated that. But, not, this isn't – y'all have heard me tell these old stories until you're sick – but not, you stay in this league long enough, you'll have times like this."
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The Cowboys will likely have a long list of questions to answer and issues to address after the season.
But, owning a 3-7 record does put the Cowboys in position for a top-10 draft pick. Head coach Mike McCarthy is in the last year of his contract, and it remains unclear whether Jones would opt to bring him or any members of the current coaching staff back.
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Nevertheless, the uncertainty of McCarthy's future has not spilled over to the locker room, according to Jones.
"That losing the team stuff, that's so overblown," Jones said. "These guys are so, first of all, they're natural competitors. Secondly, they're so proud of the fact that they are professional and disappointed in maybe the way they executed the play, but that's not anything that's brother or first cousin to give up.... Everybody's certainly disappointed, but that's a big difference in not knowing that you got to put the foot in front of the other to go."
The Cowboys are not just losing, they've often been dominated in games. Teams visiting AT&T Stadium have outscored Dallas by an eye-popping 118 points this season.
McCarthy expressed his frustration with the five-game skid, which matches the longest losing streak he's experienced as an NFL coach.
"Explain it? I think it's very frustrating. It's frustrating for everybody. Frustrating for the players, frustrating for the coaches. I know it's disappointing for the fans," McCarthy said. "But we just, we have a lot of moving parts going on, and we just have to be cleaner and more detailed in certain spots. We're not playing well enough, not executing well enough, coaching well enough to overcome some of the mistakes we're making in critical times of the game."
Dak Prescott was officially placed on injured reserve earlier this week, but he was in attendance for the Cowboys-Texans game. McCarthy acknowledged the rash of injuries the Cowboys have battled this season, but also said he remains steadfast in his belief in the locker room.
"I feel in times of adversity, the confirmation comes into what you know from your past experiences but also just trust the people in the room, the people that are doing the work. And I do," McCarthy said. "I believe in this locker room. Our leadership, most of it has been injured. There is good coming out of this.
"You don't see it because we're not winning games, but there's young men that are getting an opportunity to do more. And I do believe that will pay forward. It needs to hurry the hell up because we need it in six days. But this is just the reality of what we're going through. I do believe because not only what they do for the organization but the energy and the effort they give me. I have every reason to believe that we can play better."
The Washington Commanders will host the Cowboys on Sunday, before Dallas returns home for its annual Thanksgiving Day game.
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