Jerry Jones 'Proud' of Dak Prescott, Cowboys for Performance in Loss to Eagles

Jerry Jones is encouraged by the effort he saw from the Dallas Cowboys in their 24-20 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Thursday night in the 2025 NFL season opener.

Speaking Friday morning, Jones said he was "proud" of the Cowboys for how they played and believes they have a "chance to be a good team" if that continues going forward.

Jones also specifically praised the way Dak Prescott performed: "I thought Dak may have played one of the best games I've ever seen him play."

Given how chaotic things seemed to be for the Cowboys, particularly over the last week after the Micah Parsons trade went down, this game had all the makings of a potential blowout win for Philadelphia.

The Eagles were playing at home, on the night they raised the Super Bowl 59 banner and they dominated the Cowboys by a combined score of 75-13 in two matchups last season.

Prescott didn't appear in either of their 2024 matchups because a hamstring injury ended his season in Week 9, so that certainly helps explain why those games were so heavily skewed toward Philadelphia.

Instead of being intimidated by the moment, the Cowboys took the fight to the Eagles out of the gate. They scored on each of their four possessions in the first half, including touchdowns on the first two drives.

Philadelphia's defense settled in after halftime by pitching a shutout in the second half. The Cowboys helped out with some self-inflicted wounds, including Miles Sanders losing a fumble near the Eagles' 10-yard line in the third quarter and two drops by CeeDee Lamb that would have gone for big gains.

Lamb's final drop was on fourth-and-3 coming out of the two-minute warning when the Cowboys were trying to get the go-ahead touchdown. They turned the ball over on downs, and the Eagles picked up a first down to run out the clock.

Even though Jones' defense of the Parsons trade about improving the run defense was roundly mocked, the Cowboys did a good job containing Saquon Barkley. He only had 60 yards on 18 carries. That would have been his second-lowest yardage total from any game during the 2024 season.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys couldn't contain Jalen Hurts when he escaped the pocket. The Eagles quarterback ran for 62 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries.

As disappointing as the loss was, there were plenty of encouraging things for the Cowboys to take away from it. Assuming drops aren't going to suddenly be a long-term issue for Lamb, their offense has the potential to be very dangerous for opposing teams to go up against.

The Cowboys will look to bounce back in Week 2 when they host the New York Giants.