The Dallas Cowboys are picking up the pieces after their playoff odds plummeted with a 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night.
That includes longtime owner and general manager Jerry Jones. But even though playoff simulators now give the Cowboys less than a 10 percent chance of advancing, Jones remains confident in his team and in wide receiver George Pickens, who was heavily criticized for throwing for just 37 yards against an injury-riddled Lions secondary.
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“We have a better team than we played last night. We really do. Detroit is a good team, but we have a better team,” Jones said Friday on 105.3 The FAN in Dallas. “So can we actually win? Of course we can win. Is it going to be hard? Double of course it’s a win. A lot of crazy stuff happens.”
The Cowboys are 6-6-1 with games against the Minnesota Vikings, Los Angeles Chargers, Washington Commanders and New York Giants still on the schedule. They currently trail the 7-6 Carolina Panthers and 8-5 Lions, both of whom are looking up to the 9-4 San Francisco 49ers. San Francisco currently occupies the NFC’s third and final wild-card spot.
However, with a win in Detroit on Thursday, the Cowboys’ odds of making the playoffs jump to 39 percent, according to Next Gen Stats. Dallas will put tremendous pressure on the 8-4 Eagles, who are clinging to the NFC East lead after losing consecutive games.
Despite always being bullish on the Cowboys, Jones was still looking for reasons for the team’s midweek setback when he joined 105.3 The FAN on Friday.
Jones: ‘I understand the fans’ frustration’
Entering Ford Field, the Cowboys had held fewer than 365 yards of total offense in four straight games. They then allowed 408 yards passing to a Lions team that has had Jekyll and Hyde on that side of the ball this season.
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Dallas’ offensive line was overwhelmed by Detroit’s aggressive defense, which held Detroit quarterback Dak Prescott sacked five times after totaling four sacks in the past four games. The revamped Dallas defense also encountered difficulties in the interior. The Cowboys allowed over 100 rushing yards for the second straight game and held a pressure rate of just 25.7 percent (Dallas’ third-lowest of the season, per Next Gen Stats) against a Lions offensive line that has struggled at times this season.
“We had a tough game in the trenches last night,” Jones said on 105.3 The FAN, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic. “It was not what I expected. To me, it was a really puzzling thing.”
According to Maggiota, Jones also noted that Dallas should be more efficient, especially considering the Lions aren’t “full steam ahead” while the Cowboys are relatively healthy.
“I’ll tell you right now,” Jones told Marjota, “when we kicked off last night, I didn’t think I’d be sitting here explaining why we didn’t play better. I understand the fans’ frustration.”
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“But stay tuned.”
Jones not worried about Pickens after receiver’s performance dips against Lions
Pickens had five catches on nine targets against the Lions, who ultimately dropped to the fourth and fifth safety positions after Thomas Harper suffered a concussion and Brian Branch suffered an ankle injury (reportedly a torn Achilles tendon).
Pickens’ 37 receiving yards ranked fourth on the team against the Lions, and it came without four-time Pro Bowl receiver Sheedy Lamb on the field for much of the second half.
Lamb was strong in the first two quarters and had 121 receiving yards on six grabs, but he left the game with a concussion after trying to make an acrobatic catch in the end zone early in the third quarter.
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Pickens, who set career highs with 78 catches, 1,179 receiving yards and eight receiving touchdowns in his first season with the Cowboys, received criticism after the game, most notably from former five-time Pro Bowl cornerback and current Amazon Prime NFL analyst Richard Sherman.
Sherman took shots at Pickens’ effort level, including on the first play of the second-half scrimmage when one of his shots deflected and was intercepted.
“The big news here is George Pickens,” Sherman said. “George Pickens looked like he wasn’t interested in playing the football the whole game, especially late in the game. That’s something you can’t have. If you want to be a superstar, if you want to be the best receiver in the NFL, you can never let up. Whether the game goes your way or not, it doesn’t matter. You can’t disappear in these games or you’re not going to have an impact…”
Sherman added: “You can’t be that guy who quits halfway. I’m sorry. That’s unacceptable. If you’re the Dallas Cowboys and you look at him and you want to pay him what a big-name receiver is… you have to look at this tape and say, ‘Hey, this is a guy that we can trust to pay $40 million to show up no matter what the situation is?’ I don’t know.”
Pickens took issue with Sherman’s comments and shared his thoughts on social media, emphasizing that “this is a team game” and “stop being an analyst and talking about a player when he’s in a team game,” among other things.
Pickens’ immaturity was reportedly a factor in the Pittsburgh Steelers trading him to Dallas this offseason, but Jones has been vocal about his desire to re-sign the 2022 second-round pick after his breakout season with the Cowboys.
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Jones was asked by The Fan on 105.3 on Friday if he thought Pickens had an effort issue against the Lions.
“He didn’t play the game he’s been playing,” Jones said. “But effort, I’m going to be very careful about where he goes. This guy, he has an explosive temper, and I say that in a positive way. So I don’t think it’s effort, but I don’t necessarily have a good explanation for why he’s not showing up more, especially in the context of where they’re limited in the secondary.”
“… I was expecting it to be ‘Pickens Central.’ I’m not disappointed, other than the fact that it could have helped us win that ballgame. But no, I’m not worried about the future of Pickens at all.”
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Pickens and the Cowboys will have a chance to get back on track next week against the Vikings. Right now, the talk of the town is their missed opportunities in Detroit and their talented but unpredictable perimeter.
