FRISCO, Texas – After a 33-16 win over the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, the Cowboys have moved to 4-5-1 on the season. Next? Three games in 12 days, two of which are against the two teams in the Super Bowl last year with the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones understands the difficult road that lies ahead of the team, and discussed that on his weekly radio show on 105.3 The Fan following the victory.
More on that and some of the other notable things that Jones had to say on Tuesday morning:
What happened with George Pickens and CeeDee Lamb?
On the Cowboys' opening drive on offensive, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens were both notably not in the lineup and stayed on the sidelines with their helmets on. Jones said that the pair "had a late problem" that had to do with "meeting type discipline," and would not elaborate further saying those were "in house issues."
The two would return for the Cowboys on their second possession, and "jump started" the offense in the words of head coach Brian Schottenheimer, as they combined for 210 yards and two touchdowns, Pickens contributing 144 of those yards. Jones is beyond happy to have Pickens as a part of the Dallas offense.
"I'm so proud for us that we've got him," Jones said. "I don't know when I've seen a guy on a steady basis play as inspirational as he's playing."
After this season, Pickens becomes an unrestricted free agent. The way he's performing, there'll be a high price required to sign him. With the Cowboys already paying CeeDee Lamb at the top of the market, and three defensive tackles around $60 million next season, is it still feasible for Jones to keep Pickens?
"Yes, yes." Jones said.
On Cowboys' performance in first game following Kneeland tragedy
Just 12 days removed from the loss of Marshawn Kneeland, the Cowboys came to Las Vegas with heavy hearts and no one on the outside really knew what to expect of how Dallas would play.
Internally though, the team knew they had an opportunity to honor Kneeland with their performance by playing like he would, and they took pride in that, as did Jones for his players.
"They worked hard when they got back to practice this week," Jones said. "You can say what you want about football, the hard work that's involved, physical work, and then if you will physical contact. It can in it's own way have a therapeutic aspect to it, and that's what you saw… I will tell you it's probably across the board our best performance of the year."
On Quinnen Williams' Cowboys debut
The Cowboys made a big splash at the NFL trade deadline a few weeks ago, making a move to acquire Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to further bolster their defensive line.
So far, so good for Williams, who surpasses his season total up heading into the game in sacks on Monday night alone with one and a half to go along with five QB hits and five pressures while being double teamed on 50% of his snaps. Jones was caught on the television broadcast with a large grin on his face following Williams' first sack, and it's clear he's happy to have him.
"I was zeroed in on him early, and I wanted to see how the Raiders offensive line was handling him. It kind of caused you to sit back in your seat and smile a little bit. He was so dominant…" Jones said. "I'm telling you, if we can get those kinds of plays, and people have to adjust their blocking schemes for him, then you obviously get some advantages in other parts of your defense. We just haven't had pressure like that, pass pressure."
What Brian Schottenheimer has shown as a leader
When referencing his appreciate for coaches in the past, Jones has said that he wants to be around guys he would be in the foxhole with.
His head coach Brian Schottenheimer is one of them, and Jones commended the way he's navigated leading the team through the last week in a situation where no coach can ever have a playbook on how to handle it.
"He's had years and years and years of wanting to have the opportunity that he's got. And he wears that on his sleeve," Jones said. "He's very appreciative of the opportunity to coach the Cowboys, and it shows in every way he addresses every challenge that comes up… I sure was proud for him, proud of him relative to how the week turned out here."
Can the win vs. Las Vegas serve as a catapult to get to the playoffs?
In the 2018 season, the Cowboys entered the bye week at 3-4 with the trade deadline looming after a disappointing loss to Washington. Hours later, they traded for WR Amari Cooper and would go on to win seven of their next nine games to earn a spot in the Wild Card.
Does Jones see the win over Las Vegas on Monday night as a potential springboard for the Cowboys to go on a run to end the season and reach the playoffs?
"You look at these numbers, they're daunting as we look ahead for a playoff [run,] but we don't want to look any farther past than this weekend with Philadelphia…" Jones said. "The bottom line is that I'm excited about playing Philadelphia, and it'll be a good out for the makeup of our team right now. I'm anxious to see the game."
