'Extraordinarily Disappointing,' Jerry Jones Reacts to Cowboys Loss to Jalon Daniels, Bucs on TNF

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones provided blunt and honest assessments on Thursday evening to describe his team's 24-16 home loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who started undrafted rookie quarterback Jalon Daniels for the second straight week in place of injured QB1 Baker Mayfield.

A calm and poised Daniels performed very well, completing 19-of-25 passes for 189 yards and one touchdown while adding 23 rushing yards against a Dallas defense that allowed an NFL-high 6.4 yards per play through the first four weeks. The Cowboys also allowed Tampa Bay to amass 241 rushing yards and two scores, including 165 yards and a TD to running back Bucky Irving.

Despite the team's defensive performance, the Cowboys still had a shot to tie the game in the final minutes and had a 2nd-and-1 from the Tampa Bay 24-yard line with 1:22 remaining.

However, Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott's pass deflected off tight end Jake Ferguson and ended up in diving Bucs linebacker Alex Anzalone's possession for an interception.

Understandably, Jones was not happy watching Dallas' final drive end.

This has been a disappointing season for the 2-3 Cowboys, especially on defense.

They opened the season with a 28-20 road loss to the New York Giants, who possessed the ball for nearly 37 minutes and outgained Dallas 394-244.

Dallas rebounded with a 37-20 home win over the Washington Commanders. However, the Cowboys then lost a back-and-forth 34-31 thriller in Brazil to the Baltimore Ravens.

Dallas had a 1st-and-goal from the Baltimore two-yard line, down 31-28 with 23 seconds left, but lost in regulation after being held to a field goal and then allowing a 56-yard field goal by Ravens kicker Tyler Loop with no time remaining.

The Cowboys needed to overcome a 23-13 third-quarter deficit to win 34-30 against the winless Houston Texans last Sunday.

On paper, they looked like the clear favorites against Tampa Bay. Both sides of the ball struggled, though. Tampa Bay possessed the ball for 39 minutes and 21 seconds. The Bucs outgained Dallas 419-366. The Cowboys committed three turnovers, while Tampa Bay committed none. Tampa Bay also committed twice as many penalties (14 to seven) and still won by eight on the road with a backup, largely untested QB (albeit one who clearly showed his talent tonight).

The saving graces for the Cowboys right now are (a) the offense is good enough for the team to at least remain competitive, (b) Brandon Aubrey is still one of the best kickers in football, (c) the NFC East might be up for grabs this year given the Philadelphia Eagles' rough start and (d) six of Dallas' next seven opponents are at .500 or worse right now.

However, the defense continues to struggle despite an influx of talent still from last offseason, and it's unclear how it can be fixed through five weeks.

The trade acquisition of ex-Pittsburgh Steelers cornerback Joey Porter Jr., who was out Thursday with an illness , should help, but the problems here go deeper than one player.

Dallas needs to figure something out, though, and hope no one else in the NFC East (perhaps the 3-1 Giants, who have the head-to-head tiebreaker on the Cowboys) runs away with the division before it's too late.