The Cincinnati Bengals bested the Dallas Cowboys in Week 14, 27-20. It was Dallas' first lost to Cincinnati since 2004. A full 20 years.
After the game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones appeared to be on a crash-out mission. From running up on coaches in the locker room to addressing rumors about who the Cowboys’ next head coach could be. But there is a reason that this loss stings a bit more than the others beyond the fashion in which the Cowboys lost.
Dallas is 5-8. They lost seven games before being bested by the Bengals on Monday night. Their -98-point differential suggests they are not a good team and have not been all season. For perspective, Cincinnati has the same record but has a point differential of +2. Dallas’ divisional rival, the New York Giants, has a -99 point differential. Nevertheless, this one will hurt Jones more than the other losses this season.
Looking at Jerry Jones’ *interesting* post-game reaction
In a media scrum after the game, which most team owners eschew, Jones talked about not blocking a punt so that their returner would get a chance at a return. Jones blamed the coaching and suggested blocking a punt was not a good idea.
Not wanting to block a punt is unusual. This peculiarity caught the attention of national pundits, including Stephen A. Smith.
Smith noted, “Listening to Jerry Jones talk after the game was utter embarrassment… Making absolutely no sense whatsoever. Basically encouraging them not to block the damn punt.” After the game, reports state that Jones confronted special teams coach John Fassel about what happened on the blocked punt that led to the eventual game-winning touchdown from Ja’Marr Chase.
According to Jerry Trotta of Fansided’s The Landry Hat, Jones backed off the suggestion that the Cowboys should not have blocked the punt “after the dust had settled.” It also appears Jones' ire towards John Fassel has subsided.
But, why did Jones have those thoughts to begin with? The Bengals. That’s why. Particularly, one person: Mike Brown.
Jerry Jones doesn't like the Bengals’ organization
Jones’ apparent contempt for Bengals owner Mike Brown makes it so that he can’t think straight after losing to the Bengals.
Jones’ beef with Brown and the Bengals is analogous to Drake’s beef with Universal Music Group and Spotify. In the same way that Drake can’t believe that Kendrick Lamar’s album is more popular than his amid the rap superstars’ back and forth, Jones has a difficult time accepting that his team lost to that team with that owner.
Ohio State is in the college football playoffs while the Michigan Wolverines are not. But that does not matter to most Buckeye fans who cannot abide by their favorite college football team losing to their biggest rival. Anything short of a National Championship will not appease a rabid fanbase that saw Michigan defeat the Buckeyes.
In this scenario, Jerry Jones is Ohio State, and John Fassel is Ohio State’s head coach, Ryan Day. However, Jones sees the Bengals organization as less-than, inferior, and unworthy of a literal seat at the NFL owners’ meeting table. He does not even respect the Bengals organization as a potential rival.
In fairness to Jones, frustrations have been mounting this season for a plethora of reasons. However, the way that they lost combined with who they lost to, it is expected that Jones is more frustrated than usual.
Jones recently eluded to the Bengals being cheap for not wanting to do a naming rights deal for what is now referred to as Paycor Stadium. Amid the Sunday Ticket trial earlier this year, Mike Florio suggested that Brown and Jones have a “longstanding feud regarding revenue sharing.”
During the trial, Jones stated, “I am convinced I would make a lot more money than the Bengals” when discussing TV rights for individual teams rather than how the NFL does it now, which is negotiating as a league.
Jones’ internal and external annoyance with how the Bengals go about their business likely fueled his post-game reaction. According to NFL reporter Ed Werder, “Jones describes the loss as a shame and termed it 'depressing.'" We can assume that is principally due to who they lost to.
So, as Stephen A. Smith and other talking heads question why Jones didn't make much sense after the game, it's probably because his team lost to Mike Brown and the Bengals. So, until the next time the two teams meet, Jones is stuck with the knowledge that his Cowboys lost to the team and owner who he arguably respects the least.