WATCH: Jerry Jones addresses Cowboys playoff window following loss
Following the Cowboy’s controversial loss to the San Francisco 49ers Sunday evening, owner Jerry Jones addressed his thoughts on his team moving forward.
“When you get this combination of players together, you need to have success,” Jones said.
The Cowboys finished the regular season 12-5 and won five of their last six games before dropping their wild card matchup against the 49ers 23-17 at home.
The game is surrounded by controversy after quarterback Dak Prescott took a rush up the middle with no timeouts left and minimal time remaining in regulation. The Cowboys hurried to the line, but there was not enough time for Prescott to spike the ball and stop the clock.
By rule, he official must touch the ball before it is snapped by the offense. As Prescott and his line did not give the referee the football, the official fought his way through the linemen and reset the ball’s position himself. As he pushed through the line and forced Prescott and the line to move their feet, the ball was unable to be snapped as the referee was not clear of the play.
The 2021-22 season is the first with at least 12 wins since 2016 when the Cowboys went 13-3 before dropping their divisional round matchup. A 12-win season has only happened two other times in the past decade and three times total since the turn of the century.
If the Cowboys want to win, in Jones’ eyes, it has to happen now.
“We all know how it goes in the NFL, the whole thing is set up to take away from the best and then to the ones that need improvement,” Jones said.
If this year’s Dallas team can stick together, the sky is the limit for the Cowboys. After spending all of last season drafting and signing key pieces to the defense such as Micah Parsons and having one of the more explosive offensive lineups in the NFL this past season, could it really be now or never for the Cowboys?
While Dallas is heading home for the divisional round of the playoffs, their opponents, the 49ers, will set their sights on Green Bay to take on the No. 1 overall seed in the NFC in the Packers. Green Bay has opened as a 5.5 point favorite, according to ESPN.
The wildcard round is set to finish Monday night as the Arizona Cardinals battle the Los Angeles Rams live on ABC and ESPN at 8:15 p.m. ET.