Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took an optimistic tone about his team’s 23-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday night. During his weekly interview on Dallas’ 105.3 The Fan, he said that he felt the team played better in general despite the final result of the game.
It wouldn’t be a Jerry interview without some brutal honesty, though, and he saved some of it for rookie quarterback Ben DiNucci. The 2020 draft pick, who was pressed into service following Dak Prescott’s injury and Andy Dalton’s concussion, made his NFL debut against the Eagles on Sunday. Jones didn’t mince words when he was asked for his thoughts on DiNucci’s first game.
“Well, I think it was a lot for him,” Jones said. “I think we certainly, as a team, paid the price to have him come in under those circumstances, and that’s almost trite. It was, frankly, more than he could handle. I don’t know what you could have expected for somebody to come in under those circumstances.”
Cowboys QB Ben DiNucci fumbled twice and was sacked four times in his first career start in the NFL. (Eric Hartline-USA TODAY Sports)
DiNucci’s first start was rough
Jones’ words might not be the most encouraging, but they’re true. DiNucci’s first career start did not go well. He completed 21 of 40 passes for 180 yards on Sunday night, and didn’t throw a touchdown. He somehow managed to avoid throwing an interception (a miracle considering how close he came several times), but he fumbled twice and got sacked four times.
As far as the circumstances surrounding DiNucci’s first start, it’s not like the expectations for the Cowboys are particularly high right now. Prescott is out, Dalton is still in the concussion protocol, running back Ezekiel Elliott is struggling, and the defense leaks like a sieve. Even against the hapless, struggling Eagles, the Cowboys were merely expected to not embarrass themselves.
It doesn’t seem like they accomplished that, though. And it’s not going to get any easier in Week 9 when they face an actually competent football team, the 7-0 Pittsburgh Steelers. Considering his comments about DiNucci, Jones is probably crossing his fingers that the veteran Dalton is out of concussion protocol and ready to play on Sunday.
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