Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones faced questions on the future of head coach Mike McCarthy after a 47–9 beatdown by the Detroit Lions on Sunday at AT&T Stadium.
“Oh, I haven’t even considered that,” Jones told reporters afterward. “I’m not considering that. Just so you’re clear, I’m not considering that.”
It was the Cowboys’ worst home loss since 1988, before Jones owned the team and built a dynasty in the 1990s. The owner since 1989, Jones hasn’t seen his team get past the Divisional Round of the playoffs since their last Super Bowl win in 1995, and “America’s Team” just hit another low.
Only it’s not all that new. Going back to the Cowboys’ 48–32 blowout playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers last season, Dallas (3–3) has lost four straight at home by combined scores of 167–85. Dallas’s three road wins, meanwhile, came against teams that aren’t serious playoff contenders, and two of those wins were by less than a touchdown.
Despite the concerning trends, Jones didn’t suggest any significant personnel changes though the fan base has done the converse on social media in the wake of the latest blowout. Jones only expressed his concerns.
“I felt bad because of all of our great fans, especially the ones in the stadium and certainly the ones that know all about the Cowboys,” Jones said. “We’ve got a lot of work to do.”
Detroit (4–1), a team that reached the NFC Championship Game last season, owned the Cowboys in all three phases on Sunday. Dallas had five turnovers, allowed 492 yards, and gave up four field goals.
Cowboys $240 million quarterback Dak Prescott went 17–33 for 178 yards and two interceptions. Prescott has been subpar throughout the young season with 1,602 yards for eight touchdowns versus six interceptions amid his 63.4 percent completion rate—his lowest since 2017.
Meanwhile, $136 million wide receiver CeeDee Lamb had seven catches for 89 yards on Sunday, but his overall production hasn’t met his price tag. Lamb has 32 catches for 467 yards and two touchdowns in six games.
Dallas’s running game remains in neutral as both running backs Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott have yet to crack 100 yards in a game this season. Elliott was a No. 4 pick in 2016, but his days as one of the league’s leading rushers are behind him. Dowdle has never had more than 361 yards in a whole season.
Dallas’s offensive line surrendered four sacks and five tackles for loss. The Cowboys once had one of the stronger offensive lines in the league, even during the leaner years of the 2000s and 2010s.
Defensively, the Cowboys lost for the first time without star linebacker Micah Parsons, arguably the next big star to get paid after Prescott and Lamb. Parsons suffered an ankle injury in Week 4 against the New York Giants (2–4), and the Cowboys made due in close wins against the Giants and Pittsburgh Steelers (4–2) the following week.
Dallas’s defense had no answers for the Lions without Parsons amid just three sacks, four tackles for loss, and no takeaways. However, the Cowboys’ defense has seen issues all season, even with Parsons on the field.
The Cowboys allow 28 points per game and allow 143.2 yards rushing per game. Dallas has 12 takeaways but loses the time of possession battle of 32:20 minutes per game by the opponent, and the Cowboys struggle to end drives on third down amid a 32.86 percent clip.
First-year defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer hasn’t been able to elevate the defense despite prior successful stints with the Minnesota Vikings and Cincinnati Bengals. Zimmer’s job could be on the line, but Jones, again, hasn’t committed to any major personnel changes.
“I’m glad we’ve got this bye week coming up here and give everybody an opportunity to get at it and actually ... practice what it is that takes you to be more successful in a game like this,” Jones said.
Dallas will face another opponent like the Lions in Week 8 after the bye: the defending NFC champion San Francisco 49ers (3–3).
