“Extraordinarily, extraordinarily disappointed” JONES

“Extraordinarily, extraordinarily disappointed,” Jerry Jones said after the Dallas Cowboys lost 24–16 to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday. “You really do need to get it done when it’s there to take.”

The Cowboys’ owner and general manager spoke to reporters after Dallas fell to 2–3 at AT&T Stadium. Tampa Bay entered winless and gained 241 rushing yards on its way to its first victory of the season.

“And they basically were very physical, I thought, both their fronts,” Jones said. “Was really surprised how well they ran the ball, how they ran it between the tackles. That was surprising.”

Bucky Irving carried 21 times for 165 yards and a rushing touchdown, adding a five-yard touchdown reception. His 72-yard run after halftime set up Emeka Egbuka’s 14-yard touchdown on a jet sweep. Tampa Bay scored 17 points in the third quarter to move ahead 24–10.

Jones said Dallas had expected a different shape to Tampa Bay’s running game and wanted to make its quarterback carry the offense.

“And we thought if they were gonna run it, they’d do it outside, and thought we’d put it on the quarterback’s shoulders,” he said.

Rookie Jalon Daniels completed 19 of 25 passes for 189 yards and a touchdown. Dallas threatened late after Dak Prescott found George Pickens for a touchdown, but Alex Anzalone intercepted a pass that deflected off Jake Ferguson’s hands with 1:16 remaining.

“Their staff, their quarterback, all their players got a great victory here tonight,” Jones said. “And it was a tough loss for us.”

Sources: Jerry Jones interview, Cowboys Fan Club; Tampa Bay’s official game report.

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