National Football League

Jerry Jones says it's 'very fair' for Cowboys fans to blame him for 1-2 start

Published Sep. 24, 2024 3:08 p.m. ET

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The majority of Dallas Cowboys fans are blaming Jerry Jones for the team's 1-2 start to the season. The team owner is willing to take it. 

Jones said it is "very fair" to blame him for the Cowboys' slow start after 78% of fans in a poll conducted by WFAA-TV in Dallas said they are doing just that.

"It's well known that no decision is ultimately made here for what I either have acquiesced [to] or approved it," Jones said when asked about the poll on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. "That's very fair. How could you think otherwise, whether it be who's out there coaching, whether it be who's out there playing, whether it be the stadium you're walking into? Whatever it is here, that's the way it is.

"Now, let me just say this. Do I have a huge amount of input in making those decisions? When they've done their homework, they're very influential input to me, and we've got a lot of people in the Dallas Cowboys that have done their input."

Jones, who has doubled as the Cowboys' general manager since he bought the franchise in 1989, was widely criticized for how he managed Dallas over the offseason following the team's blowout upset loss at home to the Green Bay Packers in the wild card round of the playoffs. 

Jones opted to keep head coach Mike McCarthy, but not extend him. He said early on in the offseason that the Cowboys were "all in" for 2024, but they didn't make any major acquisitions via free agency or trade. Instead, Dallas made low-investment additions at running back after letting starter Tony Pollard walk, signing Ezekiel Elliott and Dalvin Cook. They also waited until the final weeks before the season began to extend wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and quarterback Dak Prescott.

[Related: Cowboys 'couldn't afford Derrick Henry,' says Jerry Jones after Ravens loss]

Jones defended his approach to last offseason when he was asked if he misjudged any area on the roster.

"I like where we are at all positions," Jones said.

However, those moves, or lack thereof, have caused the Cowboys to rank largely toward the bottom of the league in several stats. While they're ninth in yards (343.3 per game) and sixth in scoring (25.7 points per game), they rank 30th in rushing (73.7 yards per game) and 29th in yards per carry (3.6).

Dallas' poor run game is only part of the reason why the Cowboys had to play catch-up in their home losses to the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens over the last two weeks. Dallas's defense is 28th in yards allowed (372.7 per game) and 30th in scoring (29.7 per game). And those numbers include the Cowboys' Week 1 win when they allowed 230 yards and 17 points against the Cleveland Browns.

Jones admitted that the team is "absolutely not" satisfied through the first three weeks. But Jones expressed optimism that things will turn around in Dallas, citing the stat that no team had more wins than the Cowboys in the previous three seasons than the two-time defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs.

"You will never have a game out there that you're totally satisfied, that you've got it all covered," Jones said. "There's always a lot to work on. We have a lot to work on to get better, but we've got some good players now, and they can play better than we've been playing."

Regardless of how the season goes, though, Jones is willing to accept whatever blame is thrown  to him by the fans. 

Jerry Jones is willing to take the heat from Cowboys fans after the team's 1-2 start to the season. (Photo by Nick Cammett/Diamond Images via Getty Images)

"I guess I got baptized when I first came to Dallas and bought the Cowboys and we won one football game," Jones said. "We had made changes, changed out the only coach for 29 years [Tom Landry], and we got huge criticism and the kind that would make what you're seeing now child's play.

"I'm aware that you can have a lot of criticism. I was born of that here with the Cowboys. You can have a lot of criticism, and you can end up trolling those trophies high. And that's what this is about."

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