PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Jerry Jones didn’t just have to watch his Cowboys get roughed up by Philadelphia in yet another loss in a season that will end without a trip to the playoffs.
He heard to hear from Philly fans, too.
Not even his suite could protect Jones from fans who turned toward the glass and snapped selfies of the glum Cowboys owner and general manager each time Philadelphia scored a touchdown.
Five times, actually.
Eagles fans chanted “Dallas sucks!” throughout the game and generally harassed Jones as voraciously as they could from start to finish in a 41-7 victory for the home team that clinched the NFC East title on Sunday.
Wearing sunglasses, Jones seemingly took the jabs in stride when he was on the field during pregame warmups.
“Jerry, you’re doing a great job this year, man. Keep it going,” one fan shouted as others sarcastically clapped toward Jones. “Great job. Keep doing what you’re doing, Jerry. We love you in Philly. ”
The Cowboys entered having won four of five. But they were doomed from the start when Cooper Rush had a pass intercepted by C.J. Gardner-Johnson and returned 69 yards for a touchdown on the opening drive.
Rush threw for 147 yards and was picked off twice by Gardner-Johnson.
The Cowboys also played without CeeDee Lamb, who was shut down with two games remaining after their 2023 All-Pro receiver spent the second half of the season dealing with a sprained right shoulder.
That dropped the Cowboys to 7-9 under coach Mike McCarthy, whose contract expires after the season.
Rico Dowdle was the lone highlight, running for 104 yards to top 1,000 yards on the season and become the team’s first undrafted free agent to reach that milestone.
The rest? It was mostly unwatchable for Dallas.
“Those giveaways were avoidable. It’s just like every positive play, every negative play. You evaluate it, because that’s the only way you truly have a true evaluation,” McCarthy said. “The result is what matters and that’s why we’re sitting here with the record that we have. But at the end of the day, you’re going to have those types of plays go against you, but they can’t be self-inflicted. Those giveaways are self-inflicted.”
Rush, who is a free agent after the season, had one of his worst games since he replaced the injured Dak Prescott.
“For whatever reason this stadium, I don’t know, maybe I don’t subconsciously like green, I don’t know, something,” Rush said. “It’s frustrating, especially when we’ve been playing well. We haven’t been turning it over, giving our defense what they need. And you do that versus a good football team, it’s very challenging.”
After three consecutive playoff appearances, the Cowboys were out of contention for a postseason berth with three games to play — the earliest they have been knocked out since 2015. All that’s left is the regular-season finale at home against Washington.
Prescott could only watch, a bystander following surgery for his torn hamstring.
“I’m supporting the teammates, obviously seeing the game from a different view up there in the booth,” Prescott said. “Getting a little bit of the coaches’ information the way they talk throughout the game, just a different view of it.”
It’s the second time in five years that the 31-year-old Prescott will miss more than half of a season because of an injury. He broke an ankle in Week 5 in 2020, when Dallas finished 6-10.
“I’m starting to build up around it, I’m starting to gain some strength in it, start to use it a little bit,” Prescott said on his way to the team bus. “I’m probably a few weeks, maybe a month away from really running-running, but I got on the bike and I’m definitely doing some things moving on.”
Prescott wasn’t having a great year before he got hurt. He had 11 touchdowns and eight interceptions for an offense that was in the middle of the pack in the NFL after being among the league’s best as he and McCarthy led Dallas to three straight 12-5 seasons.
“Nobody plays to have a losing season, to be in this position,” Prescott said. “You expect playoffs every year, you expect to win this division, you expect to be in this place or whether it’s at home playing this team usually for the division.”
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