Jones Faults Late-Game Execution in Cowboys' Defeat to Ravens
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said mistakes in the closing seconds of a 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens cost his team the game, pointing to breakdowns in game management and defense down the stretch. Speaking Tuesday on his radio show, Jones was pressed on why the Cowboys left enough time on the clock after a tying field goal for Baltimore to answer with a winning kick.
"There is no explanation you're satisfied with. None," Jones said. "They [coaches] don't have one that they're satisfied with. We made mistakes during that time. There's no question about it. So there is no explanation. But there's an evaluation of how not to make the same mistakes again." Trailing 31-28, Dallas had a first down at the Baltimore 2-yard line with 23 seconds left when quarterback Dak Prescott threw incomplete into the end zone. A false-start penalty on tight end Luke Schoonmaker pushed the Cowboys back before Prescott scrambled to the Baltimore 5, and head coach Brian Schottenheimer used his final timeout with 14 seconds remaining. Schottenheimer, who also calls plays, had Prescott throw the ball away rather than risk a turnover, a decision that used just four seconds. Brandon Aubrey's field goal tied the game with seven seconds left, but the Dallas defense left a gap that allowed Lamar Jackson to complete a 27-yard pass to Zay Flowers, setting up Tyler Loop's 56-yard game-winning field goal. netball bet online
Schottenheimer is in his second season as an NFL head coach after 25 years as an assistant, and Dallas is 8-11-1 under his direction. Defensive coordinator Christian Parker, 34, is in his first season calling that side of the ball. Both face mounting scrutiny after the sequence, which Jones acknowledged will be examined closely. "We will be better from this experience that we had with Baltimore and what happened to us at the end of the game," Jones said. "A win would have given you another way of couching it as far as having growth and enthusiasm for having won a game like that, because we did come back, and we came back in an impressive way."
The Cowboys sit at 1-2 but received a boost in the NFC East race when two-time defending division champion Philadelphia lost to the Chicago Bears and backup quarterback Case Keenum on Monday night. The New York Giants, who will be without quarterback Jaxson Dart for the rest of the regular season because of a knee injury, are tied with the Eagles atop the division at 2-1. Dallas travels to face the winless Houston Texans (0-3) on Sunday.
"We are very much in the hunt, and I say that principally based upon the way I feel about our team, as much or more than what's happening with the other teams," Jones said. "Philadelphia has things that they want to work on just as the Giants do, just as we do. It makes you see how health is a factor. Availability is a factor. And we're just getting started."
