Stephen Jones Reacts to Cowboys Fans Throwing Trash at Officials
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An ugly Cowboys loss devolved into an uglier scene at AT&T Stadium on Sunday. As the game's officials ran into the tunnel after the 23–17 49ers win, fans near the tunnel threw garbage at them.
Stephen Jones, Dallas's executive vice president and the son of owner Jerry Jones, appeared on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas on Monday. He was not happy with what he saw from some of his team's fans at Sunday's game.
“That's just unfortunate. That's not the way I see our fans,” Jones said. “I think we're class acts. I just think there's no place for things like that. I understand being frustrated, but I don't understand throwing things onto the field where people can get injured. There's just no place for that.”
Jones's comments are odds with quarterback Dak Prescott's surprising takeaway from Sunday's incident. After the loss, when informed that fans were throwing items at the officials and not Cowboys players, Prescott threw support behind them.
“Credit to them, then,” he said. “The fans felt the same way as us. I guess that’s why the refs took off and got out of there so fast. I think everybody is upset with the way this thing played out.”
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The officials drew the ire of the Dallas faithful after a wild final sequence. With just 14 seconds left, Prescott ran a designed quarterback draw up the middle with no timeouts left. While he picked up a big chunk of yardage and reached the San Francisco 24-yard line, the play ultimately kept his team from getting a final shot at the end zone.
As the clock ran, Prescott never got the ball to an official to spot it, something that must happen ahead of each play. The official in question bumped into Prescott and the Cowboys offensive line attempting to reach the ball, and ultimately the clock ran out before Prescott could spike it.
After the game, coach Mike McCarthy said that he was told that time would likely be added to the clock after Prescott's run. McCarthy added he'd never seen a referee run into the quarterback between plays before.
McCarthy's job was called into question following the game, though during the radio interview, Jones appeared to shut down that speculation, saying that he is “very confident” McCarthy will be back for a third season with the Cowboys in 2022.
More NFL Coverage:
- Cowboy Maven: McCarthy Responds to Firing Rumors After Cowboys Playoff Loss
- MMQB: Shanahan Leans Into 49ers-Cowboys History
- NFL World Reacts to Dak Prescott's Stunning Post-Game Comments
- Drew Brees Had a Rough Playoff Debut for NBC
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