ARLINGTON, Texas \u2014 Jerry Jones knows this season\u2019s failures are ultimately on him. As Dallas Cowboys owner and general manager, he is most responsible for a second consecutive non-winning season and missing the playoffs for the fourth time in the last seven years.<\/p>\n
\u201cFrom what we expected and what we thought, absolutely (we underachieved this season),\u201d Jones said following Dallas\u2019 latest loss, 34-17 to the Los Angeles Chargers at AT&T Stadium on Sunday. \u201cWe all underachieved, really. And the fact we\u2019re not in the playoffs says that for you. But I thought we\u2019ve done some things out there that, frankly, we can carry forward with us. It\u2019s always the case that there\u2019s some positive things.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe question is: Can we make some changes where we need to? That\u2019s pretty thorough and a lot of multiplication there with the way we played this year.\u201d<\/p>\n
It\u2019s becoming more and more likely that one of those changes will be at defensive coordinator. The Cowboys again struggled to get pressure on the opposing quarterback. Justin Herbert entered the game tied for the league lead with 49 sacks. The Cowboys didn\u2019t bring down the Chargers QB once.<\/p>\n
Los Angeles also amassed a season-high 452 yards of offense, scoring touchdowns on all three of its first-half possessions. When the Dallas defense stepped up in the second half, holding the Chargers to two field goals and a punt on their first three possessions, the Cowboys offense that hummed in the first half completely stalled.<\/p>\n
But the offense has been one of the NFL\u2019s best all season. The defense has consistently been among the league\u2019s worst. The last time Dallas was this bad defensively was 2020, Mike McCarthy\u2019s first year as head coach. Defensive coordinator Mike Nolan was fired after that season, his only one in Dallas.<\/p>\n
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer met with Matt Eberflus last week and determined that it would be best for him to move off the sideline and into the coaching box<\/a>, which he did Sunday.<\/p>\n \u201cI thought it was OK,\u201d Schottenheimer said. \u201cI thought it was fine. Again, I think we\u2019ll watch the film and see how everything went. I know we need to get more pressure on (Herbert) and didn\u2019t do a great job getting pressure on him.<\/p>\n \u201c\u2026 Absolutely, we need to affect the passer. Especially when you\u2019re playing tight man-to-man and there\u2019s guys running across the field. You got to affect him and make him make some off-target throws. And we didn\u2019t do a very good job of that today.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones told reporters after the game that he would not make a defensive coordinator change with two games remaining. He will evaluate everything after the season. He also noted that he doesn\u2019t necessarily consider it a \u201cdifficult\u201d decision.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s certainly something that we have to do,\u201d Jones said, \u201cand that is look at the entire year and look at what our options are and how to correct not being here at the same time next year.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, that\u2019s not uncommon to evaluate at this time of the year your entire coaching staff. And obviously the target\u2019s on (Eberflus) because of our statistical as well as actual play on the defensive side of the ball. But that goes with it. That\u2019s the life that the guys have chosen, and they know that you\u2019re under the gun almost every game, much less for a full season as a coach. That goes with the profession.\u201d<\/p>\n Jones said it\u2019s completely fair to point the finger at him because he\u2019s the one who hired Eberflus. In regards to potential future defensive coordinator candidates, if they decide to move in another direction, Jones said they have \u201caccessibility to the greatest choices that you could have regarding coaches.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThat doesn\u2019t mean you can get them all, because they may be committed in other ways,\u201d he added. \u201cBut one of the great things about where we are and what we got is we can get good coaches. That\u2019s not crossed my mind, as far as the inability to effectively do something different if that\u2019s what we decide.<\/p>\n \u201cWe\u2019ve got a team that has a top future as far as next year\u2019s concerned, when you look at starting with the offense, starting with Dak (Prescott) as we stand here today. And I think we got the bones of a heck of a defense out there as well.\u201d<\/p>\n The Cowboys arrived at AT&T Stadium on Sunday morning already eliminated from playoff contention<\/a>. That was decided on Saturday when the Philadelphia Eagles defeated the Washington Commanders to secure their second consecutive NFC East title.<\/p>\n That result also meant the Cowboys\u2019 Super Bowl drought has officially extended to 30 years. Dallas hasn\u2019t even advanced beyond the divisional round during that stretch. Certainly not something Jones would have expected when the Cowboys won three Super Bowls in his first seven years as the team\u2019s owner and general manager.<\/p>\n Cowboys owner Jerry Jones: \u201cAbsolutely\u201d we underachieved this season. \u201cWe all underachieved.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/OvFzggpN3L<\/a><\/p>\n\n