A few short days after the Dallas Cowboys were trounced in a 38-point loss at home, Jerry Jones pulled out his magician’s hat.
In the span of a minute or two on a Dallas-area radio station, Jones made everyone forget all about the worst home loss in team history. He did it by doing what he does best.
Making everything all about him.
So instead of us talking about the Cowboys having a week off to stew in that beat down last Sunday, or just how bad the Cowboys really are, we’ve spent the week talking about Jones being a bully.
Which he is. But it’s a bullet he’ll happily take because it keeps the focus off of just how bad a General Manager he has been.
As well as the mirage that is a 3-3 start to the 2024 season for Dallas.
And all of that avoids a deeper dive into just how bad he has been as the owner over the last 28 seasons.
Just What Has He Done Right?
During the contentious interview, in which he threatened to have two radio show hosts fired for **checks notes** being radio show hosts and asking questions, Jones asked two questions.
The first being: “Do I look like an idiot?” Well, frankly Mr. Jones, yes, you kind of do as a matter of fact, in this writer’s humble opinion.
The second question was more of a complaint about not being asked what he got right as opposed to being peppered with questions about what he’s gotten wrong.
As my colleague, Cody Warren, pointed out here: Jerry Jones Smokescreen: Words vs. Action, there isn’t a whole lot Jones has actually gotten right that he can take credit for.
He bought the Cowboys from Bum Bright, who woefully mismanaged the organization in the span of a few short years. He then hired Jimmy Johnson as head coach and de facto General Manager.
Then he sat back and let Johnson build a Super Bowl dynasty while he wrote the checks. That would have been more than enough to let Jones be a beloved owner by the Cowboys’ fanbase.
This despite firing Tom Landry in the ham-handed way that he did and then getting his feelings hurt and firing Johnson barely five years later.
Those fiascoes top the rather lengthy list of what Jones has gotten wrong since.
A Ponderous List Of Blunders
Jones has managed to lose three head coaches that won Super Bowls for the Cowboys – although to be fair, Barry Switzer won his with Johnson’s players.
The first head coach tasked to win with players mostly drafted by Jones and signed without Johnson’s input was Chan Gailey. Gailey had a few Johnson leftovers to work with and made the playoffs in his two seasons as head coach.
Dave Campo’s 5-11 trifecta are the Dark Ages of Cowboys’ history.
Bill Parcells got the Cowboys to the playoffs twice in his four years but, like Gailey, lost both wild card round games.
In 3.5 years, Wade Phillips lost two divisional round playoff games. Jason Garrett, in nine-plus seasons, went 0-3 in the divisional round.
In his four-plus years, Mike McCarthy has also failed to get to a conference title game.
In short, Jones’ can’t seem to hire a coach capable of pushing his players to the top like Johnson did. Then again, Jones hasn’t exactly filled his rosters to overflowing with the best talent.
Yes, he’s hit a few draft picks and some free agent signings. Even a broken clock is right twice a day.
But overall? A General Manager with his track record would have been fired two decades ago.
The Owner Is Worse Than The GM
That’s the biggest issue with Jones serving both roles. He does not have the unbiased objectivity needed to see that his General Manager is failing his organization.
Jones has said on numerous occasions that he can’t see anyone being able to come in and do a better job in that role than himself.
Owner Jones is raking in the cash. There is no need for him to worry about winning games or not.
He managed to erase Texas Stadium, where the Cowboys played in five Super Bowl winning seasons, in addition to three more Super Bowl appearances.
He replaced it with a self-aggrandizing palace. I’m surprised they haven’t named it Jerry Jones Stadium to be honest.
The place is sold out every week. It is used for multiple events throughout the year.
It has served as the site of one Super Bowl already.
In short, it is bringing in even more cash to the Jones’ bank accounts.
But more often than not, there are more fans for the opposing team in those seats. That is something you never saw at the Cotton Bowl or at Texas Stadium, even in the down years.
The biggest non-personnel mistake Jones made was not having the Cowboys play two seasons at the Cotton Bowl while Texas Stadium was torn down. A new, modern Texas Stadium could have been built to replace it.
It could have looked the same, only bigger, and still would have attracted a Super Bowl. Instead of the massive traffic headaches associated with the Arlington location you would still have a stadium with instant access to three freeways in Irving.
But Jones, as always, was thinking of himself first, and not his organization or its fan base.
And that is the biggest thing Jones has gotten wrong all of his 35 years as the Cowboys’ owner.
Prediction Update
In my preseason prediction post, I had Dallas finishing with an overall record of 8-9. I also had them at 2-4 going into the bye week.
Which means the Cowboys are a game ahead of the pace.
I had them going 2-3 over the next five games. Frankly, there’s a good chance this team could go 0-5 over this next stretch of the schedule.
The next opponent on the schedule, the 49ers, appear to be getting back on track, while the Cowboys’ season appears to be going off the rails. Then Dallas takes on an Atlanta team that is no easy mark.
Games against Philadelphia, Houston, and the currently division-leading Commanders follow.
By the end of that stretch, my prediction was Dallas at 4-7. We’ll see how that holds up by the time the Cowboys take the field for Thanksgiving Day against the Giants.
Week 7 By The Numbers
The Cowboys are 32-28 all-time in Week 7 contests with one game scratched by the 1982 strike and four byes. All four of the Week 7 byes have come since the 2016 season.
When Dallas plays at home in the seventh week, they are 21-5 but a dismal 11-23 away from home.
The Cowboys have won their last two Week 7 home games while losing their last two Week 7 road games.
Dallas has faced their NFC East rivals 24 times in Week 7 contests and are just 10-14 against them. Their 6-5 record against the Eagles is their only winning record.
Dallas is 3-4 against the Giants. They are 1-5 against the Commanders with the lone win, 38-20, coming at home in 1999.
There are some notable Week 7 streaks, starting with a run between 1984-1990, when the Cowboys played seven straight Week 7 games on the road. Three of those came in consecutive years (1985-1987) at Philadelphia.
The Cowboys only win during this stretch came in 1986 against the Eagles.
Between 1970 and 2001, the Cowboys played 14 of their 32 Week 7 games at home. They won all 14 of them.
Good Bye-Brations
Although the sample size is small – and the Week 7 byes have all fallen within the last nine seasons – there is one positive trend.
The previous three Week 7 byes were in 2016, 2021, and again in 2023. The Cowboys made the playoffs in all three of those years.
Unfortunately, they lost all three of their playoff games, at home no less, in those years.
However, they are 3-0 in games following a Week 7 bye. A stat that will be put to the test in next week’s game at San Francisco. Dallas is 24-11 all-time in games played the week following a bye.
ALL-TIME WEEK 7 RECORDS VS. OPPONENTS
(Sorted by total games played)
- Eagles (6-5)
- Giants (3-4)
- Cardinals (4-2)
- Commanders (1-5)
- Rams (3-2)
- Lions (4-0)
- Bears (1-3)
- 49ers (2-0)
- Chiefs (1-1)
- Browns (0-2)
- Packers (0-2)
- Steelers (0-2)
- Bengals (1-0)
- Chargers (1-0)
- Falcons (1-0)
- Panthers (1-0)
- Vikings (1-0)
- Buccaneers (0-1)
- Seahawks (0-1)