Jerry Jones, the Dallas Cowboys owner was particularly happy after Thursday’s match against the New Orleans Saints.
Jones even went so far to compare Cowboys interim head coaches/defensive coordinator Dan Quinn with Hall-of-Fame coach Tom Landry.
Jones stated that after winning the game I told him that he was right there with Tom Landry in his postgame with reporters via Jori Epstein, USA Today. “He can now say he’s head-coached the Cowboys.” That must have been the Big Easy talking.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on @1053thefan talking about how much he loves New Orleans: “When you see me, you’re only seeing 80 percent. … Because I’ve left the other 20 percent on Bourbon Street. It’s some kind of place. And there are Cowboys fans here.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) December 3, 2021
Just saw Cowboys owner Jerry Jones on Bourbon. He jokingly said he was coaching tonight and wanted to know what he should call on the first play. I said send Amari Cooper on a go route to test his conditioning.
He offered me a drink. I turned it down. I have to work.— Clarence Hill Jr (@clarencehilljr) December 2, 2021
The 51 year-old head coach did an admirable job replacing Dallas HC Mike McCarthy who had been diagnosed with COVID-19 and was forced to stay in a hotel. Other COVID protocol sidelined several other assistants, including Joe Philbin, the offensive line coach.
The Cowboys’ defense played its third game in 12 days and recovered from last week’s Thanksgiving loss. They had four interceptions of Saints quarterback Taysom Hills — none greater than Carlos Watkins’ pick-six — on their way to victory at the Superdome, 27-17.
Dallas held Hill to less that 200 passing yards. If you take away his 11 carries of 101 yards, most of which were designed runs, New Orleans’ top rusher was Mark Ingram, who ran 28 yards on 10 totes.
The Cowboys defeated their NFC foe (35.7%) and recorded nine pass deflections. Six QB hits were also recorded.
“I just wanted to make sure I delivered for him and for the guys,” Quinn said in his postgame press conference, via the official team website. “I didn’t want to have to go back and say, ‘Here’s your car keys, man. Sorry I screwed it up.’”
McCarthy addressed Dallas media by phone and expressed his satisfaction that his team won their eighth game of the season. This was after losing three of their four previous games. The Cowboys are now at 8-4 and have increased their playoff hopes.
McCarthy was honest despite not being happy. He offered an honest assessment of it. McCarthy said that it was difficult, but he wasn’t going to lie to reporters via ESPN’s Todd Archer. “I’m proud to the guys and how it all turned, but I don’t want to do it again.”
He added: “Adversity win, ugly win, however, you want to define it, you have to have these wins especially when you get to later in the year … This is a great experience for us. Let’s face it this is today’s NFL. You’ve got to be able to win with change.”