FRISCO – If Dallas Cowboys coach Jason Garrett wasn’t on the hot seat when owner Jerry Jones refused to give him a contract extension prior to the start of this season, he sure is right now.
Jones was absolutely furious after the Cowboys committed a plethora of blunders during Sunday’s 13-9 road loss to the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots. So much so that he either directly or indirectly admitted that Garrett was out-coached by Patriots coach Bill Belichick
“I really think it speaks for itself,” Jones said when asked if Belichick out-coached Garrett. “I think we just look at what happened on special teams.
“I think you’re going to get out-coached during this era when you come into New England.”
The loss dropped the Cowboys to 6-5 on the season. But they still remain in first place in the NFC East and maintain a one-game lead over the Philadelphia Eagles, who lost a home game to Seattle this past Sunday.
Garrett is in his 10th season as the Cowboys head coach – his ninth season as the team’s full-time head coach – and Jones simply believes his franchise should be farther along. Mainly put, the Cowboys don’t have any wins this season against a team that currently has a winning record, and that’s upsetting to an owner who has Super Bowl aspirations.
“The staff, him, they’re bringing it with what they’ve got right now,” Jones said of Garrett. “An accumulation of what they were supposed to have gotten after 10 years.
“And they’re bringing it to the table with all of their education, experience, and everything. They’re bringing it right out here right now.”
Of course, Garrett would not publicly comment on what Jones told the media. He has already turned the page on the loss to the Patriots and is looking ahead to Thursday’s 3:30 p.m. kickoff at AT&T Stadium in Arlington against the Buffalo Bills.
“Again, we just got to focus on coaching as well as we can and playing as well as we can,” Garrett said. “There certainly was some things in the game that we have to get better at, and we’re going to work on that as a staff and as a football team.
“But again, our eyes are forward on Buffalo.”
All 13 of New England’s points came following Cowboys’ miscues. That includes when the Patriots blocked a Chris Jones punt and recovered it at the Dallas 12 to set up the game’s only touchdown.
“When you’re on a sloppy field, special teams can rule the day and they’ve got a coach who knows how to play this game and did a good job of that and my hat’s off to him,” Jones said. “The point is that I’m just really frustrated.
“I thought we could come up here and really put together a better effort in all three phases.”
Linebacker Jaylon Smith tried to deflect some of the heat off Garrett and put it on himself and his teammates.
“We’re the ones that makes the mistakes or make the plays,” Smith said of the players. “So, for us, it’s about looking in the mirror. For us, it’s about looking in the mirror individually and collectively to see how we can continue to grow. We’re so close, but talk is cheap. We can produce, (but) we’ve got to show up on game day.”
Quarterback Dak Prescott also defended Garrett.
“I’m not going to sit here and dwell on our record,” Prescott said. “We’re a talented team, we’ve got confidence in ourselves.
“For sure, (the game against New England was) a missed opportunity for the whole team, and then for myself and this offense.”
What also infuriated many is that the Cowboys were facing a fourth-and-7 from the Patriots’ 11-yard line with over six minutes remaining in the game while behind by seven points. But instead of trying to at least get a first down and extend the drive, Garrett chose to send Brett Maher out to kick a field goal.
“You consider all options, obviously, in that situation,” Garrett said. “When it went to fourth-and -7, it became a little bit more not quite as manageable as you like it to be in that situation to go for it.”
Meanwhile, the only time Jones has parted ways with a coach while the season was in progress occurred on Nov. 8, 2010, when he fired Wade Phillips following a 1-7 start and made Garrett – he was the team’s offensive coordinator at the time – the interim head coach. Garrett led the Cowboys to a 5-3 record the rest of that season and was officially named the head coach on Jan. 6, 2011.
But that was then, and this is now. And after what transpired in New England on Sunday, the outspoken Jones spoke his mind.
“It’s a significant setback for our team,” Jones said. “We needed this win.
“We needed to win against an opponent like this. We haven’t had ‘em, and consequently, we’re very aware of that.”
Jones is also aware that the Cowboys’ schedule over the final five games is much tougher than the Eagles’ schedule. That also is likely a part of Jones’ frustration going into the game against the 8-3 Bills.
“Make no mistake about it, this was a bigger game for us than it was for the Patriots on the win column,” Jones said. “And we had a chance to really establish something.
“We had an opportunity here to do some things against a really outstanding organization, an outstanding team in a rough situation, and we just didn’t get there. And that’s disappointing and I’m reflecting it.”
