Unsurprisingly, Dallas owner Jerry Jones didn't criticize the officiating in the Cowboys' bewildering Week 17 victory over the Detroit Lions.
"I can't believe the convoluted way that we ended up winning that game," Jones said Tuesday on KRLD-FM in Dallas, via Clarence Hill Jr. of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "But let me put it like this: The defensive team is supposed to know who the eligible receivers are. Anything you do to fuzzy that up can get fuzzy for you."
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on the controversial ending to Lions game and fuzzy two-point play: "I can't believe the convoluted way that we ended up winning that game. But let me put it like this: The defensive team is supposed to know who the eligible receivers are. Anything you…
— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) January 2, 2024
On Monday , Lions head coach Dan Campbell admitted they sent two offensive linemen to the officials before their ill-fated two-point conversion to catch the Cowboys off guard. Although this may have contributed to the confusion, it's not a valid excuse, and the crew probably made the wrong call.
ESPN just showed another angle. Jared Goff literally sends Taylor Decker and tells him to report as eligible. I mean…. Wow. https://t.co/5rJoI0AcJT pic.twitter.com/vuyQCmnJkY
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) December 31, 2023
Jones' comments shouldn't distract from one of Dallas' main defensive problems: its inability to stop teams in crunch time. Even star linebacker Micah Parsons conceded the defense must improve following the 20-19 victory over Detroit (11-5).
"I don't even feel like we should have been in that position," Parsons said, per Saad Yousuf of The Athletic. "How much we put into two-minute, how we pride ourselves on getting stops in the game, it's definitely some things we got to fix. That's something we've got to look at."
In a 22-20 loss to Miami in Week 16, the Cowboys allowed the Dolphins to engineer a 12-play, 64-yard drive en route to a winning field goal. Despite the late-game mishaps, Dallas defensive coordinator Dan Quinn remains confident.
"This is a group I really trust in that scenario," he told the media Monday. "They've built that trust with me over the last three years. Am I happy with the results over the last two weeks? Hell no. But to say anything different, I would do, of course, maybe a call here or there, but nothing big that would be changed."
The Cowboys (11-5) — who've already clinched a playoff berth — are still in a great spot. If they beat the Washington Commanders (4-12) Sunday, they'll capture the NFC's No. 2 seed.
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