Cowboys news: Jerry Jones doesn’t sound like he’ll be firing Jason Garrett anytime soon

Jerry Jones said this after the game:

That doesn’t sound like any major changes will be made.

Media calls out Dallas Cowboys for quitting in loss to Bears -Stefan Stevenson- Fort Worth Star-Telegram
The Cowboys don't resemble a team that enjoys football right now and some believe they have finally quit on Jason Garrett.

The Cowboys have lost three consecutive games for the second time this season and dropped to 6-7. They remain atop the NFC East a game and a half above the Philadelphia Eagles.

Hall of Famer Troy Aikman and FOX analyst wondered who, if anyone, on the Cowboys’ coaching staff would be capable of taking over for Garrett if Jerry Jones improbably fired him before their next game.

“Who on that staff has earned the right to be an interim head coach?” Aikman pondered during the telecast. “I can’t think of one guy … that you would put in that seat … I don’t envision anything happening, but you never know. This has been a real eye-opener once again.”

Aikman harshly criticized the coaching staff while in the booth for the Cowboys’ loss to the New England Patriots three weeks ago.

Cowboys fall to Bears for 3rd consecutive loss, 6-7 record on season - Todd Archer- ESPN
The Dallas Cowboys lost their third straight game on Thursday night, falling 31-24 to the Chicago Bears. Dallas' record drops to 6-7 on the season.

Like the loss to the Bills in which the defense allowed 26 straight points, they were scorched again, giving up 24 unanswered points to the Bears.

The Cowboys’ defense had a first-possession interception, its first takeaway in 263 snaps, but then gave up touchdowns on three of the next four possessions to close out the first half. The defense contributed mightily as well with three third-down penalties that kept Chicago’s touchdown drives alive.

The offense wasn’t much better. After opening with a season-long 17-play drive that covered 75 yards and ended on an Ezekiel Elliott touchdown run, the offense went six straight possessions without a score and gained just 57 yards.

Cowboys’ loss to Bears: Defense is in shambles; Dak Prescott’s struggles continue - Calvin Watkins-Sportsday DFW
The Cowboys third straight loss was a continuance of a defense in free-fall.

The defense is in shambles

Missed tackles, not containing the edge of the defensive line, lack of pressure and maybe even effort, are the biggest problem areas for this defense. Mitchell Trubisky’s 23-yard touchdown run that made the score 31-14 in the fourth quarter sealed this game and was probably another example of how bad this defense has been. There was also a 30-yard screen to tight end J.P. Holtz; a completed pass between two defenders; and Jaylon Smith trying to intercept a pass in the end zone, but the problem was Allen Robinson II had the ball, too. When two players catch the ball at the same time, it goes to the offense. This was just a poor performance by the defense. After a Jourdan Lewis interception, it gave up scores on the next four possessions.

Bears pick on Cowboys defense and drop Dallas below .500 - Mark Maske-The Washington Post
Dallas surrendered 24 straight points after an opening touchdown, and all four teams in the NFC East now have losing records.

Beleaguered Bears quarterback Mitchell Trubisky had a big night, with three touchdown passes and a touchdown run, to add to the Dallas woes. The division-leading but downward-spiraling Cowboys had their losing streak extended to three games. Their record dropped to 6-7 but they remained a half-game ahead of the second-place Philadelphia Eagles, who are 5-7. The two teams play Dec. 22, in Philadelphia.

Someone must win this ever-more-pitiable division. NFL rules pretty much require it. And not only that; the NFC East winner will host a first-round playoff game, most likely against the loser of the NFC West duel between the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers, a pair of 10-2 teams.

The Cowboys continue to do all they can to hand away a division they probably should be winning handily. They began Thursday’s game with a magnificent 17-play touchdown drive against Chicago’s still-formidable defense. Then the Cowboys surrendered 24 straight points. It was reminiscent of their Thanksgiving defeat at home to the Buffalo Bills, in which they got an opening touchdown and then yielded 26 straight points.

Dallas Cowboys continue to prove they are a terrible team in 31-24 loss to Bears - Tom Ryle- Blogging The Boys
Just when you think it couldn’t get any worse...it does.

This Cowboys team didn’t just get beaten. It is beaten. Prescott was off on just about all his throws, even when he completed them. Nothing really worked offensively once they got past the opening script. The defense made another shaky quarterback look like an All-Pro. And the special teams let the Bears improve their field position on punts while doing little to help when the ball was coming to them, with Brett Maher contributing both the missed field goal and putting the kickoff after the Cowboys’ second touchdown out of bounds to help the Bears.

This Cowboys team didn’t just get beaten. It is beaten. Prescott was off on just about all his throws, even when he completed them. Nothing really worked offensively once they got past the opening script. The defense made another shaky quarterback look like an All-Pro. And the special teams let the Bears improve their field position on punts while doing little to help when the ball was coming to them, with Brett Maher contributing both the missed field goal and putting the kickoff after the Cowboys’ second touchdown out of bounds to help the Bears.

Recap: In Repeat Performance, The Cowboys Falls 31-24 In Chicago- Kurt Daniels- Dallas Cowboys
Almost a carbon copy of the week before, the Dallas Cowboys get off to a fast start, but poor play, particularly on defense, leads to a 31-24 loss to the Chicago Bears.

In a troubling trend that has only seemed to worsen, the Cowboys defense was anything but good, even though it managed to record two takeaways. Chicago quarterback Mitchell Trubisky, who came into the game ranked 26th in the league in passing yards (2,196) and tied for 23rd in touchdown throws (13) with a lackluster passer rating of 84.4, simply picked apart the Dallas secondary. He completed 74.2 percent of his passes for 244 yards with three touchdown tosses for a rating of 115.5.

Trubisky also added 63 yards and another score on the ground, helping the team rush for 151 yards overall on the night, the Bears’ highest total since Week 8. Behind his effort, Chicago put up 382 yards of total offense, converted 58 percent of its third downs and dominated the time of possession, 32:18 to 27:42.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ball, the Cowboys looked good on the stat sheet, totaling 408 yards of total offense, but they were empty stats, much of them coming after the game was decided. Dak Prescott was able to rack up 334 passing yards, but he completed just 55.1 percent of his passes and finished with a passer rating of 83.2.

Troy Aikman rips Dallas front office, says organization does Jason Garrett no favors- Todd Brock - CowboysWire
Troy Aikman says the Cowboys have organizational issues that make Jason Garrett's job more difficult.

Troy Aikman thinks his former quarterback understudy Jason Garrett has “the hardest job in football” as head coach of the Cowboys and says he’s “done a really nice job” in that capacity over the past decade. But the Hall of Famer admits that sometimes a change at the top is needed. If the team doesn’t go on a late run and find postseason success, that change could be coming soon to Dallas.

Aikman even had some harsh words for his former boss and went on to talk about the unique front office situation that a prospective new coach would be walking into.

“It’s not run, traditionally, the way most organizations are. I think that’s to the detriment of the Cowboys. I don’t think you can look at three playoff wins in the last 25 years and surmise that all of the problems over that time have been a result of coaching.”

What we learned from Bears' victory over Cowboys - Grant Gordon-NFL.com
The Cowboys epic failures are just perplexing and there are seemingly no answers left.

It was an odyssey of an opening drive, as the Cowboys began the game and marched methodically for 17 plays, 75 yards and eight minutes and 57 seconds. Dallas converted four third downs, Prescott had four completions for 41 yards and Ezekiel Elliott had 33 yards in eight carries, culminating the opening slog with a two-yard touchdown run. It had all the makings of setting an ominous tone for the Bears and a victorious one for the Cowboys. Instead, the Cowboys offense went silent through the remainder of the first half, waking only after the game was too far from reach, done and gone.

Prescott was 4-for-6 for 41 yards on the opening drive, but completed just two of his next seven passes to end the first half. When all had concluded, Prescott’s line of 27-for-49 for 334 yards and a score looked fine and dandy. However, the true tale of the night was that the Cowboys offense was shut down by the Bears defense following a first drive that could have marked the beginning of an emphatic and much-needed Dallas W. Unbelievable as it may be, the Cowboys will end Week 14 no worse than tied for first in the NFC East with the Eagles (5-7 entering Monday night against the Giants). But the calls to end Jason Garrett’s days as the Cowboys’ head coach will carry on. In many ways, Thursday night was emblematic of this season for the Cowboys. It was a promising start after that march to begin things, but when all was concluded there were more questions than answers and no certainties available for Dallas.

Mitch Trubisky stays hot, Chicago Bears roll over Cowboys in deja vu from Thanksgiving - Jordan Dajani- CBSSports.com
The Cowboys looked like they brought the same performance from Thanksgiving with them as they get embarrassed by the Bears.

Thanksgiving’s troubles followed the Dallas Cowboys into Week 14, as Dak Prescott and Co. fell to the Chicago Bears, 31-24.

It was deja vu of the Cowboys’ 26-15 loss to the Buffalo Bills last week. Dallas embarked on a 75-yard touchdown drive on its opening possession, and then everything fell apart. It was just about as bad of a night as you could have offensively for the Cowboys. Despite coming into this game with the highest third-down conversion rate in the NFL, the Cowboys converted just 6 of 15 third downs on Thursday night. They lost the time of possession battle, turned the ball over twice and went three-and-out five times. The Cowboys also averaged less than four yards per carry and Prescott didn’t throw a touchdown pass until garbage time in the fourth quarter.

The Bears’ offense has been much maligned all season, but Mitchell Trubisky went off for 244 yards, three touchdowns, and one interception. He came into this game with 80 rushing yards on the season, but he rushed 10 times for a total of 63 yards and a touchdown on Thursday night. David Montgomery also contributed to the winning cause, as he rushed for 86 yards on 20 carries.

BTB Podcast

Here is our postgame episode of The Ocho. These are tough times.

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