Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has placed blame on his coaching staff for game management errors that he believes cost the team a Week 3 victory against the Baltimore Ravens.
During his Tuesday radio appearance, Jones addressed the situation where the Cowboys allowed the Ravens enough time to attempt a game-winning field goal after the Cowboys had tied the score with a field goal of their own. "There is no explanation you're satisfied with. None," Jones stated. "They [coaches] don't have one that they're satisfied with. We made mistakes during that time. There's no question about it."
Trailing 31-28, the Cowboys reached the Baltimore 2-yard line with 23 seconds remaining. A subsequent play resulted in a false-start penalty against tight end Luke Schoonmaker, moving the ball back to the 5-yard line. With 14 seconds left, offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer called the team's final timeout. Schottenheimer instructed quarterback Dak Prescott to either throw a quick out to wide receiver George Pickens or throw the ball away, given the limited time on the clock.
Prescott opted to throw the ball away, a play that took only four seconds. Following kicker Brandon Aubrey's successful field goal, seven seconds remained on the clock. The Ravens then executed a play where Lamar Jackson completed a 27-yard pass to Zay Flowers, setting up a timeout and allowing kicker Tyler Loop to make a 56-yard field goal for the win.
Jones indicated that the team would learn from the experience. "We will be better from this experience that we had with Baltimore and what happened to us at the end of the game," he said. "A win would have given you another way of couching it as far as having growth and enthusiasm for having won a game like that, because we did come back, and we came back in an impressive way."
The Cowboys, now 1-2, are in contention in the NFC East. The division picture saw the two-time defending champion Philadelphia Eagles lose to the Chicago Bears. The New York Giants are currently tied with the Eagles at 2-1 atop the division.
Dallas is scheduled to visit the Houston Texans, who are 0-3, on Sunday. Jones expressed confidence in his team's prospects, stating, "We are very much in the hunt, and I say that principally based upon the way I feel about our team, as much or more than what’s happening with the other teams."