NFC Notes: Saquon Barkley, Jerry Jones, Mike McCarthy, Cowboys, Eagles

Cowboys

When appearing on 105.3TheFan, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said HC Mike McCarthy isn’t under increased pressure following their Week 2 loss to the Saints. 

“I don’t think where he is with his contract has anything to do with [the season-opening win at] Cleveland, where we were giving accolades out to him and [Mike] Zimmer or how we played Sunday,” Jones said. “We’re trying to get this team ready and in place to really make a run at the playoffs. On any given Sunday you can have a bad day in the NFL, and you can certainly lose a game in the NFL. And the NFL is one that you can lose several games, and if you’re playing well at the end of the year you can win the Super Bowl. And so that’s just what we’ve got.”

In the end, Jones would rather Dallas be ready for the postseason than be overly successful during the regular season. 

“If we’ve got any albatross around our neck, it’s that we’ve been a good-to-very-good team during the season over the last four to five years with Mike, and we haven’t done well in the playoffs. So let’s trade some challenges during the season for doing well in the playoffs, if you want to look at it that way.”

• Jones on getting RB Dalvin Cook involved: “I don’t necessarily see a change that would involve Cook this week.” (Todd Archer)

Cowboys

Cowboys QB Dak Prescott said the team isn’t comparing this year’s blowout loss to the Saints to last year’s wildcard loss against the Packers.

“I’m not comparing last year to this year,” Prescott said, via ESPN. “We’re talking two completely different teams, honestly … There’s no way to even go back and compare that. Maybe because we got beat, got away from us fast and we were here at home. But completely different and separate and I wouldn’t waste my time if I was y’all trying to compare those two.”

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy said the team placed a focus on stopping the run this offseason, which did not show up on the field this weekend.

“I don’t think the last time we played here has anything to do with it,” McCarthy said. “I understand the convenience of the criticism, and obviously I’m on the other side of it. We’ve had changes on defense. You know, some of the changes we’ve made, was to put the emphasis on the run defense. It was not evident today.”

Cowboys DE Micah Parsons didn’t sugarcoat the result, saying the team simply got outplayed in all three phases.

“At the end of the day, I just believe we got outplayed,” Parsons said. “Whoever played on that field, everyone didn’t play to 100%. That’s just me being accountable and saying the truth. We all got to play better.”

Eagles

Eagles DE Bryce Huff said their edge rushing department as a whole must improve after the team has recorded just three sacks through the opening two weeks.  

“I think we’ve got to do better,” Huff said, via Brooks Kubena of The Athletic. “Starting with myself. I’ve got to do a better job.”

Against the Falcons in Week 2, Philadelphia elected to kick a field goal on 4th-and-3 to make a 21-15 lead. When asked about deciding against going for the first down, HC Nick Sirianni felt a six-point lead would be enough. 

“I thought with them not having any timeouts, I wanted them to be down a touchdown and see if they could drive the field,” Sirianni said. “And they did.”

As for Saquon Barkley‘s critical drop on 3rd-and-3 prior to the Eagles’ field goal, S C.J. Gardner-Johnson isn’t blaming the running back for their loss. 

“It’s football, bro. S— happens,” Gardner-Johnson said. “You can’t fault a guy for making one mistake. I mean, it’s other things that led to a loss, but you can’t fault one guy and put one game, one thing on somebody’s shoulders for the whole game.”

• Eagles DT Jalen Carter didn’t play in the first defensive series because he was late to a team-related event, per Jeff McLane of The Inquirer. 
• The Eagles hosted LB David Anenih for a workout, per Aaron Wilson.