Up in his VIP suite, Jerry Jones might have regretted coming to AT&T Stadium to watch his Dallas Cowboys take on the Arizona Cardinals. On paper, this should have been a win, and it was looking to be so even after the third quarter. But things changed drastically, and the Cardinals beat the Cowboys 33-30 in overtime.
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A frustrated Jones slammed his hand on the ledge in frustration at one point in the game. He’s got questions to answer now, as the once hyped Cowboys are now 3-5, and their playoff chances are in a precarious position. However, Jones still doesn’t think the situation warrants a coaching change.
“That’s not in my mind at this time,” Jones said when asked about the matter per Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Nick Harris.
Brian Schottenheimer’s record is now 10-14-1 after the loss to the Cardinals, which could have been prevented.
The Dallas defense had a good time getting the better of Arizona QB Jacoby Brissett, who was sacked four times, intercepted once, and completed only 10 of 23 passes. But the Cardinals benched him midway, and out came backup Gardner Minshew. The latter came out swinging and threw three touchdowns in the contest. The Cardinals scored 20 points in the fourth quarter alone!
Dallas was restricted to only 261 total offensive yards, of which 168 were through the air, and 93 were rushing yards. The Cardinals, on the other hand, had 467 total yards, of which 202 were on the ground, thanks to backup running back Tyler Allgeier leading the charge.
Both sides of the ball faltered for Dallas.
“Well, I will say that a lot of people let Brian (Schottenheimer) down today,” Jones also said. “And so, for whatever criticism we’re going to have of Brian, we can all get in line. And that was a total, to use a cliché, that was a total team effort out there for us. And we have to be, for our fans, we have to be better than that when we’ve got our hands on the win and then drop the ball.”
Should Jerry Jones perhaps reconsider?
Brian Schottenheimer has a roster and assistants who should be able to convert these games into wins. In the offseason, Jones went all-in on reenergizing the abysmal defense from last year. He gave Schottenheimer a debutant defensive coordinator in Christian Parker. Dallas already had offensive playmakers in Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb, George Pickens, and Javonte Williams.
And yet, this new-look Dallas Cowboys is 3-5 in the season. Dallas has lost its last five games against Arizona, a concerning losing streak.
Before Schottenheimer, Mike McCarthy lasted five seasons, and Jason Garrett led the Cowboys for nine-and-a-half seasons (Garrett was interim head coach in 2010). But then again, neither of these coaches was in Schottenheimer’s position. They were able to contend for the playoffs, but under Schottenheimer, the wheels seem to have fallen off.
Historically, Jones has really fired one coach midway through the season, Wade Phillips. He was 1-7 in 2010 before being shown the door. Chan Gailey had the shortest tenure as a head coach in Dallas Cowboys history, lasting only two seasons. But Jones went the full distance with him too in each of those years.
When it comes to his team’s current reality, Jones doesn’t believe things are that alarming.
“I made a change and I don’t want to mention it because I’m not proud of it,” he said. “But I made a change with Wade Phillips there in the middle of the season and I don’t see that here.”
How long will it be until Jones’ patience runs thin? We will have to wait and watch.
Dak Prescott rallies behind Brian Schottenheimer
Prescott finished with 195 passing yards, while Arizona’s patchwork offense piled up close to 500. That is why the quarterback had plenty to say when he got a question about the coach.
“It’s all of us. Don’t put the blame on one person. I think that’s weak. I think that’s cowardly,” Prescott said. “This game is about all 11 of us that touch the field and every person that has a part in it, coaches and support staff. It’s never just one person’s fault.”
He also had a message for the people looking for an easy target.
“Don’t take the easy and cheap way out. This is about us and backing him up and one another up.”
When the Cowboys were upset by the Buccaneers earlier in the season, Prescott echoed his head coach’s thoughts and said that they should be winning the games they should. Tampa Bay was one of them. Arizona was another. Upcoming Indianapolis and Tennessee are part of this slate too. But with Dallas losing both games in an embarrassing manner, it’s tough to project how the team will fare against the Colts and the Titans.
The Cowboys now have to regroup quickly. Jones may have shut down the idea of a change for the moment, but another loss like this could change that conversation fast.