Jerry Jones sounds off on Dallas Cowboys lackluster effort vs. Broncos

Sunday was not a good performance from the Dallas Cowboys. Despite getting quarterback Dak Prescott back, the Cowboys were completely shut down by the Denver Broncos. The Broncos won the game 30-16. Following the loss, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has given a strong statement on his disappointment with the team’s performance.

“That’s as flat as any team I’ve seen,” Jones said via Pro Football Talk’s Josh Alper. “We basically played what seemed to be lackadaisical.”

Jones also said that the Cowboys were “internally overconfident” which led the team to not be ready. The loss was the Cowboys’ second of the season, dropping them to 6-2 on the season. Denver improved to 5-4 with their victory.

Prescott looked rusty in his return to the field, and the Cowboys were shut out in the first three quarters. Prescott completed 19 of his 39 pass attempts for 232 yards, two touchdowns, and one interception. Running back Ezekiel Elliott rushed for 51 yards on 10 carries, and the Cowboys had to commit to throwing the ball with the early deficit. The Broncos led 16-0 at halftime and 19-0 after the third quarter.

Jones’ frustration comes right after the Cowboys were emerging as a serious NFC contender

The loss was shocking from the Cowboys. Jones hasn’t been disappointed until now because the Cowboys had won six games in a row, emerging as a serious Super Bowl contender out of the NFC.

After the game, Broncos head coach Vic Fangio seemed to be patting himself on the back with his postgame comments. He credited himself for a strong game plan, saying that teams haven’t played the Cowboys “the right way.”

“I just felt we had the right stuff to give ourselves a chance,” Fangio said after the game. “We just have to do it the right way, call it the right way, which I’m in charge of so you know that that’s going to be taken care of, and I just felt OK about it. I want to say good about it. Teams just haven’t played them the right way.”

Fangio’s comments prompted a response from Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.

“This is a copycat league,” McCarthy said. “I just told the team, so get ready. I hope they do, too. Vic played us very aggressive. That’s good to hear him beating his own drum. Their linebacker depth, their linebackers are three yards, the safeties were up. In that case, you make their corners tackle. They played us aggressive. They went for it. I think you want that from the other team.”

The Cowboys are now 6-2 on the season, still with a three game cushion atop the NFC East. Next up for Dallas is a home game against the Atlanta Falcons on Sunday.