{"id":606672,"date":"2025-12-17T03:31:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-17T03:31:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/606672\/"},"modified":"2025-12-17T03:31:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-17T03:31:14","slug":"jerry-jones-puts-pressure-on-cowboys-dc-matt-eberflus-ahead-of-seasons-final-three-games","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/606672\/","title":{"rendered":"Jerry Jones puts pressure on Cowboys DC Matt Eberflus ahead of season\u2019s final three games"},"content":{"rendered":"

Maybe it happened when Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy did the Griddy dance while walking into the end zone for an easy touchdown. Or maybe it happened when McCarthy fired his second touchdown pass of the day to Jalen Nailor early in the fourth quarter, all but ending the Cowboys\u2019 playoff hopes<\/a>. But at some point on Sunday night, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had the realization that McCarthy \u2014 much-maligned during his first season as a starting quarterback \u2014 was playing well against Dallas. Really well. <\/p>\n

Jones shared that realization Tuesday morning while speaking on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM)<\/a>. He then, quickly, shared another realization. <\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems like we\u2019re always saying that about these quarterbacks,\u201d Jones said. \u201cSome of them that haven\u2019t played as well, but when they play us, they play better<\/a>. I think that\u2019s telling.\u201d<\/p>\n

And it could be illuminating about one of the biggest storylines for the final three games of the season. For the first time, it feels like there\u2019s pressure on Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus to get the defense going<\/a>, or potentially go home. <\/p>\n

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Jerry and Stephen Jones have both mentioned multiple times this season the importance of continuity when it comes to their defense. They\u2019ve had three defensive coordinators the last three seasons with three varying defensive schemes. Dan Quinn left to become the head coach of the Washington Commanders after the 2023 season. The Cowboys then turned to former NFL head coach Mike Zimmer to be the defensive play-caller, but he didn\u2019t return after the Cowboys parted ways with former head coach Mike McCarthy. <\/p>\n

Dallas then turned to Eberflus \u2014 a choice that came with optimism and, seemingly, a decently-sized leash. There was patience built in, considering the circumstances. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve had three different defensive coordinators in three years,\u201d Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on The Fan on Halloween. \u201cAnd so while change creates a freshness, or new ideas, you also pay the price of giving up continuity.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you have a world like we have where we sign players for long-term agreements \u2014 long term being three, four, five years in a row \u2014 and you change the way they\u2019re coached or the philosophy of how they go play a certain position, then you see what you get into.”<\/p>\n

So far, even with that built-in patience in mind, the play of the Cowboys\u2019 defense has surprised Jones. The Cowboys are 31st in the NFL in points per game allowed (30). Dallas is on pace to be the eighth team in NFL history to allow 500 points in a season, though three of those teams accomplished that lowly feat after the NFL expanded to a 17-game schedule in 2021.<\/p>\n

All while the Cowboys have an offense that\u2019s averaged 29.1 points per game, placing them fourth in the NFL.<\/p>\n

\u201cBottom line, I\u2019d say we\u2019ve been pretty off-balance because of the way our defense has presented and the issues regarding our defense,\u201d Jones said on Tuesday, \u201cwhich I didn\u2019t expect.\u201d<\/p>\n

The issues have been vast. Jones pointed to a \u201chodgepodge\u201d of injuries on the defensive side that ultimately affected communication, which he deemed an essential part of Eberflus\u2019 defense. He pointed to the play of the secondary and the linebacking group, which he called a struggle this year, to his surprise. Jones, when asked specifically, said that the players on the Cowboys\u2019 defense do fit Eberflus\u2019 scheme \u2014 and yet, the struggles have persisted. <\/p>\n

One struggle that was evident in the last two games \u2014 two games in which the Cowboys allowed a combined 78 points \u2014 was Dallas\u2019 willingness to blitz early but then abandon it. The Cowboys, for example, forced the game\u2019s only turnover on Sunday on the opening drive when Donovan Wilson blitzed and tipped a McCarthy pass that landed in the arms of defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. <\/p>\n

McCarthy has completed just more than 47% of his passes this season when under pressure, compared to 61.4% when he\u2019s been kept clean, according to Pro Football Focus. The Cowboys had zero sacks on McCarthy and only had one quarterback hit.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe biggest thing for us is we got to affect the quarterback,\u201d Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer said. \u201cThere\u2019s different ways to do it. You guys have seen our ability to do it with our defensive line in four man rushes. We have the five man line. But at the end of the day, we just didn\u2019t get home. Were there enough blitzes? Eh, maybe, maybe not. But certainly didn\u2019t affect the guy.\u201d<\/p>\n

Multiple times during his twice weekly hit on The Fan , Jones acknowledged he\u2019s been surprised by the play. It\u2019s made the possibility of whether the Cowboys would face the cost of continuity, once again, in the service of finding a new defensive coordinator after this season. <\/p>\n

Jones was asked if the next three games could determine whether Eberflus returns or not. <\/p>\n

\u201cI think that should be a big criteria because these three games … are important to us,\u201d Jones said.<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/a>How to watch Cowboys-Chargers: Start time, TV\/streaming info and more<\/a><\/p>\n

It\u2019s a must-win for the Cowboys\u2019 playoff hopes, and they need a little help, too.<\/p>\n

\"Dallas<\/a>Jerry Jones reveals why Cowboys have yet to activate CB Trevon Diggs<\/a><\/p>\n

The former All-Pro cornerback was held out of Sunday\u2019s loss against the Vikings, and has missed the last eight games with a head and leg injury.<\/p>\n

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Maybe it happened when Minnesota Vikings quarterback J.J. McCarthy did the Griddy dance while walking into the end…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":488021,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2066],"tags":[2009,230,229,257,2461,7,2883,6],"class_list":{"0":"post-606672","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas-cowboys","8":"tag-brief","9":"tag-cowboys","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-cowboys","12":"tag-dallascowboys","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-jerry-jones","15":"tag-nfl"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115732800452186509","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=606672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/606672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/488021"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=606672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=606672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=606672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}