Cowboys' Jerry Jones Calls Out 'Mind-Boggling' Defense After Loss to Jalon Daniels, Bucs

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones discussed the team's continued defensive struggles during a 24-16 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and quarterback Jalon Daniels on Thursday night.

"Surprising isn't even a big enough word," Jones said Friday on 105.3 The Fan, per Jon Machota of The Athletic. "It's mind boggling looking at the stats of our last five games."

He isn't looking to make any staff changes yet, though.

"(That) is just not in the best interest of our team," Jones said, per Machota. "We played five games. We have 12 more regular season games and hopefully playoff games to go."

The Cowboys allowed 419 yards to a Buccaneers offense led by Daniels, an undrafted rookie who opened the regular season as the team's backup quarterback.

He finished 19-of-25 for 189 yards and one touchdown without committing a turnover. Daniels also rushed for 23 yards.

It marked the second start of his career.

Tampa Bay was able to control the clock throughout the contest, as it had the ball for over 39 minutes of game time. Meanwhile, Dallas had possession for just under 21 minutes.

The Buccaneers consistently moved the chains during the game, averaging 6.4 yards per play while converting seven of their 13 opportunities on third down.

▶️ Full Buccaneers-Cowboys Recap

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For the Cowboys, the loss represented another disappointing performance for a defense that was looking to take a step forward after allowing a league-worst 30.1 points per game during their 2025 campaign.

Dallas added pass-rusher Rashan Gary in an offseason trade with the Green Bay Packers before bolstering its secondary by signing safety Jalen Thompson and cornerback Cobie Durant in free agency.

The Cowboys picked safety Caleb Downs with the No. 11 overall selection in the 2026 NFL draft as well.

While it's worth noting that players such as Thompson and Durant have missed time due to injuries, Dallas' defense hasn't been able to meet expectations through five games.

The Cowboys are allowing 27.2 points and 395.4 total yards per game, with the latter ranking No. 31 among all teams.

With Thursday's defeat, Dallas fell to 2-3 to start the 2026 season.