Cowboys owner Jones not happy with offense
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is disappointed, but he’s not offering excuses after the team’s lopsided 34-18 loss to the Chicago Bears on Monday night.
“It’s very disappointing, here at home in front of our fans. We thought a lot was at stake here,” Jones said. “We’ve got a long ways to go and got guys here who know how to do it. … We all know when you don’t take care of the ball, we all know what happens.”
Jones watched quarterback Tony Romo tie a career high with five interceptions. And the offense gained only 41 rushing yards. “They took care of the ball. They made plays with the ball. We didn’t,” Jones said. “We got beat soundly. That’s all there is to it.”
“You have to get over it,” Romo said. “It’s going to suck for a few days now. Obviously it’s going to sit there in your stomach and just eat at you. … I can’t try to do too much. Going forward, I’m just going to have to do my job. And I will.”
Despite a career-high 105 receiving yards, wide receiver Dez Bryant dropped two passes and misread a defensive coverage, which led to an interception returned for a touchdown. “Very, very, very, very, very, very average,” Bryant said of his own performance.
“This has to be a wakeup call for us. I don’t say that nonchalantly. It has to be,” Cowboys tight end Jason Witten said. “You can’t bounce back and forth like this and try to compete come December-time. You can’t do it. We have been in that situation before. You cannot do it.”
After scoring 24 points in the season-opening victory against the Giants, the Cowboys have scored just 28 points in the past 12 quarters.
Raiders
Wide receiver Darrius Heyward-Bey practiced for the first time since being hospitalized by a helmet-to-helmet hit as Oakland worked on fixing its problems during its off week. Heyward-Bey took part in individual drills as the Raiders (1-3) held their first of two practices this week before getting four days off for open week. He ran some routes and caught some passes in his first step back.
Saints
With Drew Brees in position to break Hall of Fame quarterback Johnny Unitas’ record for consecutive games with a touchdown pass, Unitas’ son sent words of encouragement to the quarterback. A letter from Joe Unitas, which the Saints posted on a team website, congratulates Brees for tying the record of 47 consecutive games last weekend in Green Bay. Unitas said he is a big fan of Brees and wishes him the best on Sunday night against San Diego. Unitas said he knows his father, who set the record between 1956 and 1960, would want Brees to break it.
Panthers
Free safety Haruki Nakamura allowed Atlanta wideout Roddy White to get behind him in the final minute Sunday, which he said cost the Panthers a victory. Now the player behind Nakamura on the depth chart is slated to get more practice reps this week, which might cost Nakamura his starting job. Panthers coach Ron Rivera said backup safety Sherrod Martin will see more action. He left open the possibility that Martin could replace him as the starter after Nakamura’s nightmare day. Nakamura had four big miscues — three on touchdown plays that led to Matt Bryant’s winning field goal with five seconds left.
Lions
Louis Delmas hasn’t practiced in almost two months, but the fourth-year safety could be back soon. Lions president Tom Lewand mentioned Delmas during a breakfast speech in response to a fan’s suggestion that the team has ordinary talent outside of quarterback Matthew Stafford and receiver Calvin Johnson. Lewand said he believes “we’ve got more than those two guys,” and pointed to defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, linebacker DeAndre Levy and Delmas among his examples.
Dolphins
Receiver Jabar Gaffney signed with Miami after it terminated the contract of receiver Legedu Naanee. Gaffney, 31, had the best season of his career last year with Washington, then signed with New England and was released at the end of training camp this season. Gaffney, who is in his 11th season, had 68 catches for 947 yards and five scores last year.
Browns
Although the Browns have won only 18 games since the start of the 2008 season, they’ve managed to establish a tradition of stunning reigning champions during the same span. Three of those 18 victories, or 17 percent, were against defending Super Bowl champions. The Browns have prevailed in their past three meetings against those top-flight teams, and coach Pat Shurmur will get his first chance to extend the streak when the Browns meet the Giants on Sunday at MetLife Stadium.