The Dallas Cowboys committed a brutal special teams mistake on Sunday that they are fortunate did not cost them a win, and one member of the coaching staff has since defended the decision that led to the blunder. Jerry Jones views the play differently.
The Cowboys had 4th-and-20 on their 46-yard line late in the first half of their game against the Los Angeles Chargers. They should have gotten the ball back with a chance to build on their 14-11 lead, but they instead roughed the punter. On Monday, special teams coach John Fassel said he was giving Cowboys fans what they wanted by trying to block the punt.
“I think Cowboys fans aren’t the play-it-safe type. So I was going to give them what they wanted, come after their a– on the punt rush,” Fassel said, per ESPN’s Todd Archer. “So I hope they’re happy with it. We came after him.”
Fans certainly were not pleased with the result. Neither was Jones, who made it clear on Tuesday that he disagreed with the play call.
Jerry Jones on @1053thefan on the Cowboys coming after the punt late in the first half Sunday: “I’m a little more conservative. I do believe the bad plays in the kicking game are the equivalent to turnovers. I really like to choose my spots on taking those kind of risks.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) September 21, 2021
The Cowboys won 20-17 on a last-second field goal from Greg Zuerlein, so all is forgiven. They also benefitted from a brutal call that went against the Chargers late in the second half. Had they lost, the roughing the kicker penalty would have been a much bigger topic of conversation.
