Getty Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.
Difficult as it was, Jerry Jones set aside his unhappiness with the officiating in Thursday’s overtime thriller between the Dallas Cowboys and Las Vegas Raiders, compartmentalizing frayed emotions to espouse optimism over his 7-4 squad, losers of consecutive games.
There are two ways of assessing the state of the franchise, and the Cowboys’ owner views his proverbial glass as half full.
“I’m very disappointed that these last four ball games have evolved the way they have,” Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan, via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “On the other hand, I’m going directly to how things look as we get into the last six games, and hopefully into the playoffs. Yesterday is as dead as Napoleon. It’s gone. So we have to look at how to improve. The sky is not falling. When you look at the six games ahead that we have, the cavalry is coming. We’ve got to take a deep breath and remember that this time of year is normally when you’re dealing with attrition. You’re normally dealing with a depleted situation in your personnel. Here we come with fresh legs and a healthy Randy Gregory, DeMarcus Lawrence, to go along with Micah Parsons, to create some problems for the offenses we’re going to play. They’re coming in quickly. We got (defensive lineman Neville) Gallimore that should possibly have been a starter from Day 1 for us that we got coming in on the defense now. We’ve had a lot of young guys play. I’m not just trying to arm-wave. They have played and got a lot of reps in. They’ll be a lot better for it as we get on into the last six games. So I do see the ingredients for improvement.”
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Dallas Sticking with Greg The Leg
Lost amid the Cowboys’ three-point home defeat to Vegas were the four points left on the field by kicker Greg Zuerlein, who missed a long field goal attempt — from 59 yards — and blew an extra-point try.
Once upon a time a Pro Bowler, Zuerlein is now 19-of-24 on FGs and 22-of-25 on XPs across 10 appearances this season. There’s a collective clenching within Cowboys Nation whenever he’s forced into action, a far cry from the Dan Bailey years. But despite his inconsistencies, the club is standing by “Greg The Leg” as its primary specialist.
“I’m not concerned about Greg Zuerlein,” head coach Mike McCarthy said in his postgame press conference, via Cowboys Wire. “He is a professional who has spent a lot of time in this league. We’ll take a look at it. He’s got to make those kicks; we understand that. Especially in this game. It came down to tight points. We’re definitely moving forward with him.”
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D-Law Nearing Return
To Jones’ point, the Cowboys have done battle in 2021 without $105 million pass-rusher DeMarcus Lawrence, who suffered a broken bone in his foot during a mid-September practice. He’s since been stashed on injured reserve, though his designation is about to change.
Lawrence had his 21-day IR activation window opened, and he’s participated in recent practices under the watchful eye of the training staff. According to beat reporters, there’s a “good chance” Lawrence plays next Thursday against the New Orleans Saints, a projection echoed by Dallas defensive boss Dan Quinn.
“He’s hit all of the markers that you want to hit in terms of the healing and training and getting ready,” Quinn said Friday, November 26, via the Dallas Morning News. “We are definitely looking forward to getting him back.”