Texas — Mike McCarthy exhaled during his news conference Monday and tried his best to move the narrative of the Dallas Cowboys’ season forward.
“What needed to be said has been said,” the Cowboys coach told a crowd of reporters one day after Dallas suffered its second straight loss at home. “We’re onto the Giants.”
Surely, the Cowboys (1-2) have aimed to shift their focus to Thursday night’s game at the New York Giants (1-2), which will send one team careening to the bottom of the NFC East standings. But, publicly, discussion remains centered on the signs of turmoil that appeared over the past 10 days.
When McCarthy woke up Sept. 15, his team was 1-0 and positioned as one of the favorites in the NFC. By the time the team departed for the New York area Wednesday, talk show hosts were speculating about whether the season had descended into disarray and fans had begun a petition asking owner Jerry Jones to step away from his role as the team’s general manager.
NFL seasons rarely follow a linear arc. They ebb and flow. The Cowboys have time to recover and turn the recent stretch into an insignificant blip, but for now, the indicators of frustration that materialized over the past week and a half have captured the football world’s attention. Here’s a review of the events.
Sunday, Sept. 15
- The Cowboys’ defense collapsed during a 44-19 blowout loss to the New Orleans Saints. The Saints scored touchdowns on their first six possessions as Dallas’ defensive front failed to generate push at the line of scrimmage. Quarterback Dak Prescott threw two interceptions in the loss.
- Players in the locker room — particularly defensive veterans — questioned the team’s resilience and effort.
Monday, Sept. 16
- Defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer took blame for Dallas’ poor performance against New Orleans and vowed to oversee an improved unit.
Wednesday, Sept. 18
- After a poor showing from the Cowboys’ defensive line three days earlier, the Cowboys placed defensive tackle Jordan Phillips on injured reserve and signed Carlos Watkins off the Commanders’ practice squad to replace him. But in the locker room that day, Phillips said his wrist felt fine and he was unsure why the team moved him to injured reserve.
Saturday, Sept. 21
- A years-old video appeared on social media in which Jones, the Cowboys’ 81-year-old executive, makes a joke about a player’s private parts to actor and musician Jamie Foxx.
Sunday, Sept. 22
- The Cowboys lost to the Ravens, 28-25. Though a late comeback sparked optimism, Dallas failed to stop the run and fell behind by more than 20 points before the start of the fourth quarter in the second straight game. Baltimore running back Derrick Henry, a free agent many Cowboys fans hoped the team would sign, ran for 151 yards and two touchdowns.
- Walking into the locker room after the game, Prescott said “jump off if you want” in reference to fans who do not believe in the team.
- In postgame interviews and a news conference, players again expressed frustration. Prescott said the team needed to be more professional, while defensive end Micah Parsons said the team was not playing in unison.
- All-Pro wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, who committed the game’s only turnover with a fumble and finished with four catches, was demonstrably upset on the sideline during the game. He did not speak with reporters in the locker room.
Monday, Sept. 23
- Cornerback Jourdan Lewis used expletives in the locker room to express his displeasure with his team’s preparation. “There’s no excuse not to do your job,” he said. “It’s OK (if) you get beat, but to not be detailed in your work, miss assignments and shit like that. That shit shouldn’t happen, man.”
- McCarthy said a reporter from the Fort Worth Star-Telegram was being “very dramatic” after the reporter reference remarks from players about professionalism. The next day, McCarthy apologized.
Tuesday, Sept. 24
- Lamb spoke to reporters for the first time since Sunday’s game and took accountability for his struggles and body language. “Quite honestly, I failed myself,” Lamb said. “And obviously, I failed the team just as far as producing and being that game-breaker player for the team and, obviously, the guy that they can lean on.”
- Prescott did not speak with on-site reporters during either media availability of the week, which breaks with NFL norms for starting quarterbacks and policies regarding access. A public relations representative said the team did not ask Prescott to speak and took ownership of the decision.
- Jones said during a radio interview on 105.3 The Fan that it was “very fair” for fans to blame him for the team’s struggles. “How could you think otherwise?” Jones asked.