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If you’ve spent any amount of time watching the NFL, you probably know Jerry Jones. For better or worse, the Dallas Cowboys owner is a celebrity in his own right. Come Sunday, you can almost guarantee that Jones will find his way in front of a camera or microphone at some point; if nothing else, he’s never shy about sharing his opinions.

One of Jerry Jones‘ latest takes, however, doesn’t exactly hold water. In fact, he sounds like he’s in denial about the fate of the 2020 Dallas Cowboys campaign.

Jerry Jones will want to forget the 2020 Dallas Cowboys season

Coming into the NFL season, the Dallas Cowboys seemed to be in a fairly comfortable position; even if there had been some bumps on the way, Dak Prescott was still on the roster, and someone other than Jason Garrett was coaching the team. Once the games began, though, things took a turn for the worst.

During the early days of the season, Jerry Jones’ team was a model of inconsistency. While the offense seemed capable of filling the box score every weekend, the defense couldn’t get a stop; that led to a 1-3 record through the first four games of the campaign.

Although things already seemed pretty dire, the Cowboys still managed to find themselves in an even worse situation. During Week 5’s win over the New York Giants, Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending ankle injury. He was replaced by Andy Dalton and, at various points, Ben DiNucci and Garrett Gilbert.

While things have stabilized a bit, the Cowboys are still suffering through a season to forget. They currently sit at 4-9 and, despite the overall weakness of the NFC East, don’t seem to be going anywhere fast.

The Dallas Cowboys recently paid the price for their struggles

While every game on the schedule counts equally regardless of the time slot, there’s something special about playing a primetime game. The Dallas Cowboys, however, won’t get that opportunity come Week 15.

When the schedule was created, the Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers were penciled into the Week 15 Sunday Night Football. The league has since called an audible, though, flexing the New York Giants and the Cleveland Browns into primetime instead.

Unfortunately for those in Dallas and San Francisco, the move makes sense. Both the Cowboys and the 49ers have struggled this season and sit outside the playoff picture; the Browns, however, have played some pretty good football and, while the Giants might not be world-beaters, they’re still fighting for a playoff berth.

Jerry Jones still believes his team is a television gold

When the Dallas Cowboys were flexed out of the Sunday Night Football spot, the move was immediately framed as an indication of how far America’s Team had fallen. Jerry Jones, however, viewed the move a bit differently.

“[M]ake no mistake about it,” Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan, according to ProFootballTalk. “I can tell you firsthand the Cowboys are the premier draw there is out here in television, period.”

The Cowboys owner also suggested that, by shifting his team to an earlier and, in theory, less attractive time slot, the NFL could score an overall win for the entire league.

“[T]his is to the Cowboys’ advantage and will be because over the years we’ve had such huge television audience that the ability to flex us and move us around can make a lot of difference,” Jones continued. “I’ll be very candid with you. Some of the biggest ratings we’ve ever had have been on Sunday afternoon. And, so, that’s not a bad strategy to put the Cowboys in a potentially lesser slot, i.e. prime time, and have more eyeballs watch the NFL.”

To some extent, Jones is right; the Dallas Cowboys do have a massive fan base, and, by virtue of that, they will always attract plenty of viewers. With that being said, though, no one is going to get fired up to watch a 4-9 team, playing without their starting quarterback, take the field. Fans may live or die with their team, but neutrals want to see good football. The Dallas Cowboys, quite simply, haven’t been providing that in 2020.

Based on his time in the business world, Jerry Jones should be familiar with the concept of depreciating assets. While the Dallas Cowboys value is still going strong, at least from a financial perspective, they’ve certainly lost some of their cachet in recent years. Like it or not, they’re not “the premier draw there is out here in television” anymore.

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Senior Writer, Programmer

Joe Kozlowski

Joe Kozlowski began his career as a sports journalist in 2013 and joined Sportscasting in 2019. He covers the NBA and soccer for Sportscasting, with specialties in legacy NBA players such as Michael Jordan and Premier League club Arsenal. Off the clock, he’s a Kansas City Chiefs fan and a hockey goalie.

Growing up loving Shaquille O’Neal and reading everything he could about the great big men throughout NBA history — likely because he was still tall enough, at least relative to his peers, to play center — he’s continued to love learning about and exploring the historical and story-based sides of the basketball archives.

As for Arsenal, Joe spent a year living in London and latched onto the local support of the club. He’s barely missed a match since, loving Arsene Wenger, enduring the Banter Era, and following along through rebuilds. The Premier League interest developed into a passionate following of the Champions League, Europe’s big five league, and international soccer as a whole when played at the highest level.

Regardless of the sport, Joe is captivated by the stories of athletes beyond the box scores and how they push the envelope — both in terms of what we think a human is capable of accomplishing and how they find new competitive tactics to win.