Jerry Jones Defends Cowboys' Blocked Punt vs. Bengals After Questioning Decision

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones had some conflicting thoughts about his team's blocked punt, which ultimately led to a new set of downs for the Cincinnati Bengals in their 27-20 win over the Cowboys on Monday night.

With two minutes remaining in the game, Cowboys linebacker Nick Vigil got a piece of a Cincinnati punt, which should have set Dallas up inside Bengals territory with a chance to take the lead. However, Cowboys cornerback Amani Oruwariye touched the ball and the Bengals recovered it:

While speaking to reporters after the game, Jones initially questioned whether it was the right decision to go for the block in that situation:

"I'm sure that there's low odds of the ball bouncing into one of our players after we touch the ball on a block. There's low odds, but I don't know if those odds are more positive than if we'd have taken the kick and gotten the ball and got within field goal range and kicked the ball."

Jones changed his tune during an appearance on 105.3 The Fan (h/t ESPN's Todd Archer) on Tuesday, though, saying: "Frankly, when I reviewed it after the dust settled, it was not a bad call. It was executed on the front end very effectively."

After Oruwariye's mistake gave the Bengals a first down, they made good on the opportunity afforded to them.

With 1:01 remaining in the game, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow hit wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase for a 40-yard touchdown to give Cincinnati a 27-20 lead:

The Cowboys got the ball back with three timeouts, but Cincinnati forced a turnover on downs and essentially saved its season by improving to 5-8.

Dallas fell to 5-8 on the year, putting its already dim playoff hopes on life support, as the Cowboys will likely need to win out in order to have a shot at the postseason.

While head coach Mike McCarthy and special teams coordinator John Fassel took a risk by calling a punt block late in a tie game, the Cowboys would have been in an ideal position to win if not for Oruwariye's miscue.

Dallas would have had the ball in Cincinnati territory with less than two minutes remaining, and one first down would have been enough to run the clock all the way down.

Also, the Cowboys would have already been in field goal range for big-legged kicker Brandon Aubrey, who has made two field goals this season from 60 yards or longer.

The Cowboys entered Monday's game on a two-game winning streak despite star quarterback Dak Prescott being out for the season due to injury, and a win over the Bengals would have given them real life in the NFC playoff race.

Little was expected of Dallas once Prescott went down, so the Cowboys were playing with house money to some degree, which likely explains the decision to go for the block.

Ultimately, it was likely the right call, but it went awry because of an untimely error, which has been the story of the Cowboys' 2024 season in many respects.