The Dallas Cowboys had everything lined up Thursday night: a home game in prime time against a winless Tampa Bay team on a short week, starting an undrafted rookie at quarterback. They lost 24-16, and it wasn’t really that close.
Afterward, Jerry Jones said he was “extraordinarily, extraordinarily disappointed.” Dak Prescott got heckled in the tunnel on his way to the locker room. And the Cowboys fell to 2-3.
How did the Cowboys lose to the winless Buccaneers?
The defense got run over. Tampa Bay put up 419 yards, a season high, including 241 on the ground, NFL.com reported. Bucky Irving ran for a career-high 165 yards and scored twice, including a 72-yard run on the first play of the second half. Rookie Jalon Daniels, an undrafted free agent making his second start in place of the injured Baker Mayfield, went 19 of 25 for 189 yards and a touchdown. He’s only the second undrafted quarterback to start and beat the Cowboys, after Washington replacement player Ed Rubbert in 1987.
The offense wasn’t much better. Dallas scored on its first drive and then managed three points on its next seven. Prescott completed just 52.2% of his passes and threw two interceptions, both off his receivers’ hands. CeeDee Lamb had one catch for 4 yards in the first half and left with a quad injury. The Cowboys ran the ball only 13 times for 50 yards, Bleacher Report noted. A 99-yard touchdown drive late made it a one-score game, but the two-point try failed and Alex Anzalone picked off a tipped pass to end it.
What did Jerry Jones say?
“You really do need to get it done when it’s there to take,” Jones said, according to the team’s website. “I thought both their fronts, was really surprised at how well they ran the ball, how they ran it between the tackles.” He added: “Boy, I’ve been so disappointed before with losses, but this was disappointing.” CBS Sports reported Jones was seen slamming the table in his suite as the loss became clear.
Who yelled ’embarrassing’ at Dak Prescott?
Video of Prescott walking up the tunnel shows a man off to the side calling out “Embarrassing.” Prescott turned, said something back and pointed him out to a team staffer. Some captions online called the man a Cowboys employee, but Cowboys PR said he wasn’t a stadium or team employee; he worked for a third-party company, The Dallas Morning News reported.
Prescott said the comment wasn’t what bothered him. “If you’re saying it’s embarrassing, say it’s embarrassing. If you’re saying it to me, then say it to me. Don’t go back on it,” he said. Asked whether the man was wrong, Prescott said, “Not that they’re wrong.”
The BeezLoop Take
Prescott’s right about one thing: the guy in the tunnel wasn’t wrong. Losing at home to an 0-4 team with an undrafted rookie quarterback is embarrassing, and the problem isn’t one bad night. Dallas came in giving up 389.5 yards and 28 points a game, among the worst in the league, and its rebuilt defense still can’t stop the run.
Jones keeps saying he sees “potential growth.” He’s the general manager. He built this roster, and the same defensive problems that sank last season are sinking this one. At some point disappointment has to turn into changes he makes, not just things he says.
The open question: is this team good enough to get back above .500 before the season slips away?
Also on BeezLoop: the defending champs lost and Jameis Winston won a game 12-7, and our Week 2 recap.
Sources: NFL.com · DallasCowboys.com · The Dallas Morning News · Bleacher Report · CBS Sports · NFL (video)
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