The Dallas Cowboys scored six points in their most recent game; they also turned the ball over five times to a hungry and motivated Philadelphia Eagles defense. That sums up what it has been like to watch the Cowboys in 2024.
After winning 12 games and the NFC East title in 2023, Dallas has flatlined in 2024 and now has only a remote chance to return to the playoffs. It probably closes the door on head coach Mike McCarthy‘s tenure with the team, as his contract is up after the season. But more changes are needed in Dallas, a reality laid bare following the Cowboys’ heavy 34-6 loss to the bitter rival Eagles on Sunday.
Is the Jerry Jones era finished?
When Jerry Jones purchased the Cowboys in 1989, few could have predicted that the former University of Arkansas captain would oversee a run of dominance which would deliver three Super Bowl titles to Dallas and see the franchise become the most valuable in the NFL — enriching Jones and his family tremendously.
But it has been nearly three decades since the Cowboys stood on the NFL mountaintop, and Jones‘ personnel decisions have drawn more and more vitriol as Dallas’ 2024 season — which started with so much promise — slips away. Is it time for the 82-year-old Jones to sell the team?
The Cowboys’ awful home record — as well as Jones’ weird comments about the impact of sunlight at AT&T Stadium — is being used as pretext to initiate change. Dallas has been outscored by 94 points in its home games this season, a big reason for its disappointing 3-6 record.
That said, Jones is not responsible for the wave of injuries that has impacted the roster he built. With star quarterback Dak Prescott done for the season, hope rests on the shoulders of backup Cooper Rush — or former top-five pick Trey Lance — to make the offense respectable.
But Ezekiel Elliott‘s fumble into the end zone on Sunday made clear that the issue is not with the quarterback alone. Elliott was signed when the Cowboys could have made an aggressive push for Derrick Henry — who signed with the Baltimore Ravens instead and has rushed for over 1,100 yards.
Jones’ decision to hang onto McCarthy was criticized back in January, and even star edge rusher Micah Parsons is blasting the head coach too. The toxic situation does all point back toward one person — who faces a critical offseason for the Cowboys’ future.
