FRISCO, Texas – For the 15th straight year, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones will make his weekly in-season appearances on 105.3 The Fan to provide his reaction to each game and thoughts on the team.
Following the Cowboys' 24-20 opening week loss to Philadelphia last Thursday, Jones had a lot to cover on Tuesday morning.
From watching NFL RedZone to catch all the action around the NFL to discussing who will be inactive and active against the Giants, here are some of the notable takeaways from Jones' interview on 105.3 The Fan:
Overall thoughts on Cowboys' 24-20 loss to the Eagles
The word that Jones used the most to describe Dallas' 2025 season opener was "pleased." Evidently, he takes no consolation in losing the game, but was happy with some of the things that came from it.
"I thought that in particular, I thought that Dak had one of the best games that I've seen him play…" Jones said. "I felt really, really, really good about the way our offensive line played. I think that bodes well for as we start down this season."
Later on, Jones would say that Prescott and new defensive tackle Kenny Clark graded out as the team's highest rated players based on their internal grading system from Thursday night.
What stood out from Brian Schottenheimer's debut?
It's not easy to handle both offensive play calling and head coaching duties. A lot of times, coaches simply just aren't cut out for it. In Brian Schottenheimer's debut, that did not seem to be the case, and Jones liked how his team fared under him.
"I thought he had the team ready, prepared. We didn't see anything there that got us disjointed as a team. I thought he gave us a chance, the plan, the preparation gave us a chance to win that game. That's what we asked for, be in it at the end and get a chance to win it at the end. I thought he did a great job."
The next step of course is not to be in it at the end, but to be ahead when the clock runs out. That said, Schottenheimer got "an A" from Jones with how he called the offense and managed the game.
CeeDee Lamb's crucial drops down the stretch
As the Cowboys made a push in the second half to get down field and ahead on the scoreboard, All-Pro wide receiver had three crucial drops that could have put Dallas into scoring position. Jones isn't worried about there being any sort of lingering effect from it on Lamb.
"I just look at each play on its own rather than look at a group of plays because nothing in his background or any place suggests that he can't catch the football," Jones said. "And so I just look at each one of them and, without getting any way here, they just haven't ever made a receiver that doesn't have a drop."
"He just got two or three there at the wrong time and succession there. So that doesn't concern me generally about whether CeeDee Lamb can catch the ball."
That said, Jones did recognize what things could have looked like on offense had Lamb made some of those catches, which he deemed "unfortunate."
Will Mazi Smith, Jaydon Blue be active vs. Giants?
Former first round pick Mazi Smith and rookie fifth round pick Jaydon Blue were both inactive in Week 1. Will that be the case again come Sunday?
"I suspect we got out of there pretty clean. My guess would be that it would look pretty similar to last weekend." Jones said of the inactives list.
In Smith's case, Brian Schottenheimer has made clear that they need to see consistency from him in order to be on the field. Up to this point, he hasn't, so he isn't playing. As far as Blue goes, Jones mentioned injuries keeping him in and out of practice but said he still "needs to crack that lineup."
Watching Micah Parsons' debut with the Packers
What's one thing Jerry Jones, Brian Schottenheimer and most NFL fans have in common? They watch NFL RedZone on Sundays to try and catch all the happenings from around the league. That was the case for Jones this past week, but he also moved off of it at times to watch one specific game: The Lions against the Packers, as Micah Parsons made his debut.
"We were all interested in that game and how Micah played," Jones said. "Not one thing unexpected for me as to how he played. He's gotten on a good team up there in Green Bay. We're going to get to have him right here and we'll get a firsthand look at the entire team, not just Micah."
"From what I saw of him, I thought he was able to get in there and play without having any influence from his back. And I say that with the straight face, I do. And having said that, wish him well."
In his first action with the Packers, Parsons finished with a sack and three quarterback pressures on 29 defensive snaps.
No counteroffer to an Eagles trade proposition for Parsons
In the end, the Cowboys traded Micah Parsons to the Packers in exchange for Kenny Clark and two future first-round picks. In the time leading up to the trade, Jones said the team was looking to garner interest in a trade partner. One of the teams involved ended up being the Philadelphia Eagles, who offered a package for Parsons but Jones and the Cowboys were not interested.
"No counteroffer," Jones said when asked if there was a flat-out no or a counteroffer to the Eagles' offer. "To the interest, the thought all along was to see where the interest level was. That was very important. And from the get-go, that was an effort on our part to chum up interest."
"That's a part of what was going on during those months that we were talking about Micah. As it would happen, as it always happens, once that interest started really peaking, then you started having that phone ring and that's exactly what the plan was."
Cowboys want to get deal done with Tyler Smith
With Jake Ferguson, DaRon Bland and Hunter Luepke all signed to extensions with the Cowboys, one glaring name still remains in front of them: Tyler Smith. That's a name that Jones and Dallas are wanting to get inked long-term as well.
"I think it's fair to say we'd like to get Tyler signed, but I wouldn't necessarily say, and maybe I should use the word exclusively on Tyler, but in general, we're constantly looking at areas that we might do some work on the roster extending those contracts." Jones said.
There's still work to be done in that department, but conversations between both sides have already been had. As COO/co-owner Stephen Jones said on 105.3 The Fan yesterday, the team has no issue with getting a contract signed during the season if the other side wants to get it done too.
