Jerry Jones sounds alarm on Cowboys defense after another quarterback breakout

Entering Week 15, the Dallas Cowboys were favored to win against the Minnesota Vikings.

One of the main reasons was the inconsistent play from quarterback J.J. McCarthy. The second-year player went into Sunday with more interceptions than touchdowns and the Vikings were just 3-4 with him as the starter.

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Dallas fans still feared he could have a breakout game against them, which tends to happen against this defense. That’s exactly how things unfolded as McCarthy had his best game of the season while making it look easy against Dallas.

On Tuesday, Jerry Jones admitted that he’s seen the same issue, calling it “telling” that quarterbacks tend to go off on them.

While speaking about J. J. McCarthy's strong performance against the #DallasCowboys, Jerry Jones said, "It seems like we're always saying that about these QBs, some of them that haven't played as well, but when they play us, they play better. I think that's telling." pic.twitter.com/lt25kfSUid
— 105.3 The FAN (@1053thefan) December 16, 2025

“In the case of Minnesota, we let their quarterback have a big day on us. That wasn't the plan. Could have used more pressure without a question at different times. And the result was that we let him make some pretty significant plays out there," Jones said. "Plus, he played pretty well. But it seems like we're always saying that about these quarterbacks, some of them that haven't played as well. But when they play us, they play better. I think that's telling, too.”

“So, candidly, to just be very upfront about it, I think if we could have gotten this defense in better shape earlier, that we could be sitting here with the kind of wins that would have not had us in this tight spot.”

McCarthy isn’t the only middle tier signal-caller Dallas surprisingly struggled with as Russell Wilson and Jacoby Brissett also had their way with this defense.

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Jerry Jones refuses to back Matt Eberflus

Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus watches from the sidelines against the Los Angeles Rams at SoFi Stadium. | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

The discussion on quarterbacks success turned to defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus, and Jones didn’t exactly throw his support behind the coach. Instead, he stated these final three games will be crucial for his future.

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“Well, I think that should be a big criteria because these three games are vital to us. They're important to us. We don't play a game that's not important to us.”

Dallas has a lot of work to do this offseason, and it seems as though finding a better fit at defensive coordinator should top the list.

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