Getty Cowboys DC Dan Quinn
Perhaps it was the buzz of Bourbon Street or the natural high of victory, but Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was in a particularly affable mood following Thursday’s game against the New Orleans Saints.
How affable? Jones went so far as to liken Cowboys interim head coach/defensive coordinator Dan Quinn to Hall-of-Fame coach Tom Landry.
Really.
“With the win, I told him he’s right there with Tom Landry,” Jones said in his postgame pow-wow with reporters, via Jori Epstein of USA Today. “He now can say he’s head coached the Cowboys.”
Must’ve been the Big Easy talking …
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on @1053thefan talking about how much he loves New Orleans: “When you see me, you’re only seeing 80 percent. … Because I’ve left the other 20 percent on Bourbon Street. It’s some kind of place. And there are Cowboys fans here.”
Just saw Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Bourbon. He jokingly said he was coaching tonight and wanted to know what he should call on the first play. I said send Amari Cooper on a go route to test his conditioning.
He offered me a drink. I turned it down. I have to work.
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Impressive Interim Effort Nonetheless
Although Quinn’s bust does not appear in Canton, the player-friendly 51-year-old did an admirable job filling in for Dallas HC Mike McCarthy, who was forced to watch from a hotel after testing positive for COVID-19. Several other assistants, including offensive line coach Joe Philbin, were also sidelined in COVID protocol.
Playing its third contest in 12 days, the Cowboys’ defense shook off last week’s Thanksgiving defeat and returned to its playmaking ways, notching four interceptions of Saints quarterback Taysom Hill — none bigger than a pick-six by 300-pound defensive lineman Carlos Watkins — en route to a 27-17 triumph at the Superdome.
“They played their a**** off. Credit this win to them,” Cowboys QB Dak Prescott said of Quinn’s unit, per Epstein.
Take away his 70-yard garbage-time touchdown, and Dallas held Hill to less than 200 passing yards. Take away his 11 carries for 101 yards, much of it on designed runs, and New Orleans’ leading rusher was Mark Ingram with 28 yards on 10 totes.
The Cowboys snuffed their NFC foe on third downs (35.7%) while tallying nine pass deflections, six QB hits, six tackles for loss, and two sacks.
“I just wanted to make sure I delivered for him and for the guys,” Quinn said in his postgame press conference, via the official team website. “I didn’t want to have to go back and say, ‘Here’s your car keys, man. Sorry I screwed it up.'”
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McCarthy Reacts to Win
Addressing Dallas media via phone, McCarthy was pleased that his squad earned their eighth win of the season, righting the ship after dropping three of their previous four games. The Cowboys are now 8-4, playoff aspirations reignited.
But it wasn’t all smiles for McCarthy, who delivered an honest assessment of a tilt that was marred by sloppy offensive football — on both sides — and closer than it probably should have been.
“It was rough, I’m not going to lie,” McCarthy told reporters, via ESPN’s Todd Archer. “I’m proud of the guys and how it all turned out but I don’t ever want to do this again.”
He added: “Adversity win, ugly win, however, you want to define it, you have to have these wins especially when you get to later in the year … This is a great experience for us. Let’s face it this is today’s NFL. You’ve got to be able to win with change.”