National Football League

Jerry Jones talks 49ers loss, trade deadline, Cowboys in the 'upper echelon'

Updated Oct. 24, 2023 3:35 p.m. ET

Jerry Jones' Cowboys return from their bye week with a winning record, but the game that seems to stick with him the most in the early part of the season is one of Dallas' two losses.

The Cowboys owner's biggest takeaway from his team's 4-2 start was how they played against the 49ers in Week 5, when they lost, 42-10. Jones expressed disappointment in that particular result when asked how to assess his team's performance so far this season in an interview with 105.3 The Fan, especially after the Vikings' win over the 49ers on Monday.

"I would've liked to have played better against the 49ers," Jones said. "I, of course, watched with interest in this entire weekend's games, but certainly that one last night. You see a team step up and play like Minnesota did, and their quarterback did, they can be had, the 49ers. Then, you also see a Minnesota team that needs to be reckoned with down the road."

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That loss marked the Cowboys' second shortcoming in a three-week span, losing 28-16 to the Cardinals in Week 3, which remains Arizona's only win so far this season. Even though the Cowboys had a 38-3 rout of the Patriots sandwiched between those losses, that stretch seemed to dampen the thought of Dallas being a Super Bowl contender.

The Cowboys were able to get back on the right track ahead of their bye week, defeating the Chargers, 20-17. As the Cowboys come out of their bye week, they're tied for fourth in the NFC standings, looking up at the 49ers, Eagles and Lions.

When asked if he felt his team was still in the "upper echelon," Jones believed that still to be the case, while also recognizing that his team still has to prove it.

"Well, we belong in the upper echelons," Jones said. "I'm not going to say we belong on the field with San Fran, and we haven't played Philly, but we've anticipated Philadelphia being what they look like. I don't wanna go that far, but we're in the upper echelon."

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The Cowboys' last chance to get some outside help to close any perceived gap between them and the other teams in that upper echelon is fast approaching. The trade deadline is one week away, and the Eagles made a notable move on Monday to add Titans safety Kevin Byard. The 49ers traded for Randy Gregory earlier this month and memorably traded for Christian McCaffrey ahead of the deadline last season, helping them get past the Cowboys in the NFC Divisional Round.

While Jones is open to moves, he said that the ball isn't necessarily in his court to make a trade happen.

"They'll have to come our way," Jones said of trade talks. "I don't want to preclude it in any way, but it always does. You have a lot of machinations that you're working with every day. But the initiation of the opportunity to make a trade at this time that would help us principally has to start on the other end. That's not showing a lack of aggressiveness, that's just where it starts."

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A big positive for the Cowboys coming out of the bye is that Dak Prescott is coming off his best performance of the season. The Cowboys quarterback threw for 272 yards and a touchdown, while rushing for 40 more yards and a score in the win over the Chargers.

Jones thinks that his quarterback can still perform even better though, pointing toward the offensive line needing to step up their performance in order to help the unit out.

"I think Dak can elevate his play with his supporting cast," Jones said. "It's trite even almost to say that, but it will elevate his play as we have better execution on the offensive line. We've got some things to work on from last week on the offensive line. His play will elevate as we have less breakdown and more success there."

And that's how Jones feels about the Cowboys as a whole as they resume play on Sunday when they take on the Rams before battling the Eagles in Week 9.

"I look at where we are, 4-2, I will take it, for sure," Jones said. "But we have better football ahead of us. I don't doubt that at all. No one should doubt that. We're getting better. Consequently, we've given our team several things to improve in. But we're going to get better. We can get better when we get in the red zone. We can do some things on big plays. Big plays have been a demon, a nemesis for us in a serious way. I think we can eliminate some of those big plays.

"Boy, do we have a tough schedule ahead of us. So, it's going to be week-to-week."