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The Dallas Cowboys have gotten off to a shaky 1-2 start to the 2024 season and it appears that the fanbase is already looking for a scapegoat.
After opening the season with a seemingly impressive win over the Cleveland Browns, the Cowboys have lost two straight games at home (to the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens) and gave up a boatload of points in the process, surrendering 44 points and 28 points, respectively.
As for who Cowboys fans believe is responsible, about 70% of them are putting the blame at the feet of owner and general manager Jerry Jones, who waited until the day the 2024 season began to sign starting quarterback Dak Prescott to a record-breaking extension.
“That’s very fair,” Jones said on 105.3 The Fan of a fan poll that put 70% of the blame for the Cowboys’ early-season struggles on him. “It’s well known that no decision is ultimately made here for what I either have acquiesced [to] or approved it. That’s very fair. How could you think otherwise, whether it be who’s out there coaching, whether it be who’s out there playing, whether it be the stadium you’re walking into? Whatever it is here, that’s the way it is.”
“Now, let me just say this. Do I have a huge amount of input in making those decisions? When they’ve done their homework, they’re very influential input to me, and we’ve got a lot of people in the Dallas Cowboys that have done their input.”
Jones’ comments about running back Derrick Henry after the loss to the Ravens particularly raised eyebrows, as Jones claimed that the team “could not afford” the Pro Bowl tailback. Get Up! host Mike Greenberg took massive issue with Jones’ analysis and ripped the longtime Cowboys owner for his management of the team this offseason.
“You made bad financial decisions. And that’s what his team and his leadership have done. Maybe if you had decided to treat the offseason like it began sometime before September 1, you would have been able to make some of these moves,” Greenberg said.
To be fair to Jones, however, regardless of what moves the Cowboys did or did not make during the offseason, the coaching staff doesn’t seem to be doing its job effectively as cornerback Jourdan Lewis blasted the team as being “not detailed in their work,” an unspoken but direct shot at the coaches.
If the Cowboys are going to turn their season around, they’ll need to do so quickly as their schedule is among the most difficult in the league over the next few weeks, as their upcoming Thursday Night Football matchup against the New York Giants is followed by matchups against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Detroit Lions, San Francisco 49ers, Atlanta Falcons, Philadelphia Eagles, and Houston Texans.