Jerry Jones gave the Cowboys a win Sunday, then handed everyone a line that sounded like it came with a little extra smoke.
After Dallas rolled past the Washington Commanders 37-20 at home to move to 1-1, the Cowboys owner and general manager made a cryptic comment that immediately got people wondering whether he has something bigger brewing before the Nov. 10 trade deadline.
“Nothing more dangerous than an old man with money,” Jones told a group of reporters, per Nick Harris of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. “Y'all hear? That's my quote of the day.”
That kind of quote tends to travel fast, especially with the Cowboys still looking at ways to strengthen a roster that Jones spent the offseason trying to fortify on defense. Dak Prescott made the urgency plain in August, saying, “this is as urgent as I’ve ever felt Jerry” when discussing Dallas’ push toward a Super Bowl run.
The franchise still hasn’t reached an NFC Championship Game since winning the Super Bowl in January 1996.
There was at least some evidence Sunday that the defense Jones wanted to improve is trending in the right direction. After the Cowboys opened the year with a 28-20 loss to the New York Giants on Sept.
13, Jones had already voiced frustration with the communication issues he saw. Following the win over Washington, he said, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic, that “we’re better than we’ve been the last two years on defense.”
Brian Schottenheimer echoed that sense of progress while also making it clear Dallas isn’t close to finished.
“Overall, I thought the communication was better,” the second-year head coach said. “There’s certainly things to clean up.
We certainly did a poor job of containing [Commanders quarterback Jayden Daniels], but he can do that. He does that to a lot of people.
That’s really where the rush yards got away.”
Daniels ran for 69 yards before leaving late in the first half with a dislocated left elbow.
“... We got some things to improve on third down,” Schottenheimer continued.
“I thought we really rushed the passer well. I don’t know what the pressure numbers were.
I know we didn’t get any sacks, but (Daniels) and [Commanders backup quarterback Marcus Mariota] were both moved off the spot quite a bit. So, I felt good about that.
But there’s always things to clean up. We certainly have not arrived.
We got a lot of work to do.”
Dallas may still be shopping for help, especially in the secondary and on the edge. The Cowboys have been linked to Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., though Pittsburgh reportedly does not want to deal him. Maxx Crosby has also been part of the rumor mill, but there’s no indication the 2-0 Las Vegas Raiders plan to move him.
For now, the Cowboys turn to a Sept. 27 meeting with the 1-1 Baltimore Ravens in Rio De Janeiro, Brazil. DraftKings Sportsbook listed Dallas as a three-point underdog as of Monday morning.
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