While the 2025 season won’t include a playoff appearance, one Dallas Cowboys icon offered a positive outlook on the team’s future.
Emmitt Smith, the NFL’s all-time leading rusher, appeared on the Netflix broadcast of Thursday’s Cowboys-Commanders game, where he spoke about the current state of his former team. According to Smith, the Cowboys (7-8-1) are making some positive progress.
“For the first time in a long time, for me, I feel like we’re heading in the right direction,” Smith said during an in-game interview on Christmas Day.
So, what did Jerry Jones have to say about Smith’s comments? The Cowboys owner/general manager responded during his Friday appearance on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM).
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Jones’ response notably focused on what he can do for Cowboys fans moving forward.
“I know what our fans want, and it’s just a question of — I happen to have the responsibility or happen to have the wheel on trying to get what the fans want out there. Our fans fall in line when you play good football. We came out of that game yesterday, and that was fun to win that ball game. It felt good. It isn’t any fun, at all on any basis, to come out of a game and not win it,” Jones said. “So, I’ve got a good feel for that. It’s important to me. Cowboy fans and sports fans are the most important things to me in the world. That’s why I do all the things that I do, and do what I can do to get their attention and get their interest. That’s my makeup. It’s what I do.”
Jones had a few positive things to say about the Cowboys after their 30-23 win over Washington. When asked if he thought the team was close to contending, he emphasized the importance of fixing some of its defensive miscues.
Jones particularly said he was surprised by Dallas’ loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 14 since he thought the Cowboys had “turned a corner, defensively.” The Cowboys owner said fixing issues in the secondary and at linebacker will be a priority.
“When we started this year, I thought our strength could quite possibly be that secondary. We had to shuffle that around and it’s been probably the most telling thing, in my mind. That and linebacking inconsistency out there,” Jones said. “Those things are a work in progress to get addressed. If we can get that addressed and keep advancing the ball, so to speak — figuratively speaking, on the offensive side of the ball, we’re going to be a heck of a team.”
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