The Dallas Cowboys saw their season come to an end Sunday night, dropping an NFC divisional-round matchup to the San Francisco 49ers at Levi’s Stadium.
Dallas’ season ended on perhaps the most ill-advised play call since the Indianapolis Colts’ fake-punt attempt in 2015, masking what was a fascinatingly close matchup throughout.
Perhaps it’s because he’s used to seeing his team’s seasons end in gut-wrenching fashion, as Dallas has failed to reach the NFC Championship Game in each of the last 27 seasons, but Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was surprisingly rational when speaking to reporters following the 19-12 loss.
When asked whether the final play — or anything before it — would change Jones’ mind about retaining head coach Mike McCarthy moving forward, Jones gave an emphatic “no.”
“No. No. No. Not at all,” Jones said, per video provided by Jon Machota of The Athletic. “Their decision to (play) the kicker was exonerated with his field goal in my mind. I’m proud for him, but this is very sickening to not win tonight.”
Ok, so maybe he wasn’t totally rational.
Calling a divisional-round loss “sickening” may be a bit much depending on who you ask, but the fact that Jones stuck by McCarthy just minutes after the loss was almost surprising. Jones has publicly backed his coach throughout the course of their relationship, but after watching that play, it wouldn’t have been surprising to hear him whistle a different tune.
Perhaps the 80-year-old was feeling good after his pregame pep talk for Cowboys kicker Brett Maher appeared to work, despite a rocky start.
Dallas will enter the offseason with multiple questions as to how it can get over the hump, most notably what to do at the running back position.
