Watching his team lose in Primetime to a previously winless squad starting an undrafted rookie quarterback? Safe to say, Jerry Jones was not a happy camper on Thursday.
After Dak Prescott’s second interception of the game as the Dallas Cowboys were trying to mount a comeback late in the fourth quarter of their shocking 24-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Jones slammed his hand down on the table in his suite in obvious frustration.
The 83-year-old owner called the upset loss “very disappointing.”
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“I, of course, appreciated any chance we might have had there near the end,” Jones told reporters after the game. “But the Buccaneers really took it to us. In my view, they did it inside. That’s where the real damage was done, we’ll see. That’s really surprising to me. That’s what it is, we missed a great opportunity here to build something, but they really all the way, probably most all the phases, they won it tonight.
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Owner Jerry Jones of the Dallas Cowboys looks on before a game against the Washington Commanders at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Sept. 20, 2026. (Stacy Revere/Getty Images)
“We had a chance maybe to pull it out at the end and that didn’t work for us. This is very disappointing, and I know it’s disappointing to our home crowd — it is to me.”
Jones wasn’t the only member of the Cowboys visibly frustrated, as star wide receiver George Pickens slammed his helmet into the turf after Prescott’s late interception.
The Cowboys were down 24-10 with about eight and a half minutes left in the game when they rattled off a 10-play, 99-yard drive in just over three minutes. The drive concluded with Pickens making a leaping grab in the end zone to make it 24-16. The Cowboys went for the two-point conversion but did not convert.
The maligned Cowboys defense then forced the Bucs into a three-and-out on the next possession, setting up the offense with a chance to tie the game.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers middle linebacker Alex Anzalone celebrates after intercepting a pass to end the Dallas Cowboys’ final drive in the final minutes of the fourth quarter of an NFL game in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
Prescott managed to drive the Cowboys into Buccaneers territory, getting to the 24-yard line with 1:30 left.
However, the comeback attempt was thwarted when Prescott’s pass went through tight end Jake Ferguson’s hands and off his helmet high into the Texas air. Buccaneers linebacker Alex Anzalone fell under the ball and snared it before it hit the AT&T Stadium turf.
The Cowboys still had all three timeouts, affording them an opportunity to get the ball back one last time, but Bucs running back Bucky Irving scampered for the game-sealing first down two plays later.
Irving’s run capped an impressive performance, as he ran for 165 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown while also catching two passes for 10 yards and a touchdown. His performance was essential for a team that started Jalon Daniels, an undrafted rookie making his second career start.
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Tampa Bay Buccaneers running back Bucky Irving celebrates after scoring a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, on Thursday, Oct. 8, 2026. (AP Photo/Julio Cortez)
The Cowboys fell to 2-3 with the loss, and Jones wasn’t expecting his squad to be in this position.
“This isn’t fold the tents here. We are 2-3. We didn’t expect to be 2-3,” Jones said. “We didn’t expect this. … We didn’t expect this Tampa team to come in here 0-4, either.”
The Cowboys’ next game will also come in Primetime, as they will look to bounce back when they play the Green Bay Packers next Sunday night.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.