For the Cowboys, the number of chances to set things right here in this wildly fluctuating 2025 season is starting to run low. After Week 8’s blowout loss to the Broncos on the road, it seemed that a Week 9 matchup against the Cardinals–2-5 and playing without starting quarterback Kyler Murray–on “Monday Night Football” was the perfect opportunity to pull the Dallas season together and get a second-half run going.
Instead, the Cowboys looked especially bad on defense–which NFL observers have gotten used to–but looked nearly as bad on offense, too. The team couldn’t cover star receiver Marvin Harrison Jr. (seven catches and 96 yards in three quarters) but also couldn’t get much going in its own passing game as star (and recent MVP candidate) Dak Prescott was being outdueled by career backup Jacoby Brissett.
All of this was made worse thanks to a decision by Cowboys owner Jerry Jones to welcome, as his guest in his suite on the evening, Cowboys fan and ardent Jones/Dallas critic Stephen A. Smith of ESPN (and Sirius XM radio), which only brought further scrutiny to a situation that was better off remaining in obscurity.
Cowboys Jerry Jones Left in Lurch
Ideally, the Cowboys would have romped over the Cardinals and the hullaballoo in Jones’ box might have been joyful. Instead, the Cardinals raced to a 10-0 lead early in the game, and pushed it to a 27-10 lead entering the fourth quarter.
But by that point, Smith was long gone. In fact, when the Cowboys had the ball on a third-and-17 from the Cardinals’ 42-yard line–on a third-down play with 6:40 to go in the half–Smith was seen uncomfortably bidding Jones farewell shortly after tight end Jake Ferguson cough up the ball on a fumble.
“MNF” play-by-play man Joe Buck said during the broadcast that the state of the Cowboys was being summed up with Jones’ decision to bring in Smith, and Smith’s hasty exit. Said Buck: “They say a picture is worth one billion words. There it is, all right. Stephen A. is like, ‘All right, good luck. I’m outta here. I’m gonna go post on social media.’”
Stephen A. Smith Not Much Liked Among Cowboys Backers
In the big picture, Jones’ entanglement with Smith didn’t pan out so well, as media members and Cowboys fans were quick to point out the awkwardness of the meeting from the get-go.
Jon Machota of The Athletic sarcastically posted video of the confab to Twitter/X, and captioned it, “How do you feel about this?
At popular aggregator Underdog Sports, Jones was mocked for Smith’s unceremonious departure: “Stephen A. Smith hit Jerry Jones with the ‘aight I’m out’ after that Cowboys fumble.”
And fans were not happy about the whole thing, either. One noted that Buck’s broadcast partner is Cowboys legend Troy Aikman, and Aikman was left speechless by the Jones-Smith scene. “Not a single reaction from Troy Aikman. That tells you everything you need to know about what he thinks of Stephen A. Smith,” the commenter wrote.
Said another: “So ridiculous Steven A hates the Cowboys.”
Another added, “Wild to let someone in your suite that talks about your team any chance he gets, but it’s Jerry so i’m not surprised.”
And more: “Jones is the laughing stock of all sports. Not a chance another owner takes him seriously.”
Another was blunt: “Having that clown in your box is just spitting in the face of Cowboys fans.”
Like Heavy Sports’s content? Be sure to follow us.
This article was originally published on Heavy Sports
The post Cowboys’ Jerry Jones Gets Backlash for What He Did During Week 9 Loss appeared first on Heavy Sports.