Monday night's NFC East showcase between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Redskins turned out to be a slop-fest only a winner could love.
Sometimes even the winner sees the warts.
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones took a measured approach when discussing the 19-16 victory, which kept his 4-8 team in the playoff hunt.
"We won on will out there tonight and not on tactical mastery," owner Jerry Jones said, per the Dallas Morning News. "That's not a criticism, but that's where we are as a team."
Jones lamented his struggling offense and the three turnovers, but harped on the overwhelming performance his defense displayed -- and linebacker Sean Lee in particular.
The owner didn't directly question the play calling at the end of the game, but hinted that scoring with 1:14 left on the clock after recovering a DeSean Jackson fumble in field-goal range wasn't the best game management. After Darren McFadden's touchdown, the Redskins raced down the field to tie the game.
"It didn't surprise me at all to see them hit Jackson deep, with how much time we had left," Jones said, via the team's official website.
After a big kick return, several quick passes and a clutch Dan Bailey 54-yard field goal, the Cowboys' playoff hopes remain alive.
Jones, however, isn't dusting off his party hat quite yet.
"I look at it as 4-8," he said when asked how he views his team's spot in the division. "And won't look at it any differently as we move up the ladder, until something really special happens. I'd like to see us get on the north side of some turnovers one time. If we saw that happen, with the kind of effort our team is giving, then you could get excited about this thing."
Jones knows that his playoff odds remain long, especially with an offense that can't move the ball.
"I would have never dreamed this," Jones said. "You can say it speaks to parity and I guess it does. We are fortunate and we've got to get better. We play (the Redskins) again. We've got some tough road games ahead of us. So we have a lot of work to do if we want to keep our head up. This sure was a good feeling."
