Brian Schottenheimer lost his head-coaching debut as the Dallas Cowboys fell to the Philadelphia Eagles 24-20.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones praised Schottenheimer for having the team well-prepared for the game.
The Cowboys’ offense scored on all four of its first-half possessions but was shut out in the second half.
PHILADELPHIA — The opening night reviews are in. And if Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones is the No. 1 critic for Brian Schottenheimer, then the first-year head coach shouldn’t have much to worry about.
Even if his team came out on the wrong side of a 24-20 decision on the road to the reigning Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles.
‘He had this team ready to play,’ Jones said after the game. ‘He had them prepared on all sides of the ball. He had them mentally ready to play. I’m just sorry that when it got down to it and we needed to make those plays we didn’t get ‘em made. But we all know we played a good team out there tonight.
‘I give Brian, I give his staff all the credit in the world.’
In one respect, the first half of Schottenheimer’s head-coaching career could not have been better. The offense, for which he calls the plays, scored on all four possessions – two touchdowns to start the game, followed by two field goals.
The problem was that his defense, sans Micah Parsons, couldn’t stop the Eagles, who scored touchdowns on three straight drives in the first half and scored the only points of the second half with a field goal.
‘He did everything he could to give us an opportunity, especially one as a head coach in terms of having us prepared,’ Prescott said. ‘With the way we went out there, we were physical and we played together. We’ve just got to play a little bit more complementary.’
Schottenheimer, the son of Hall of Fame coach Marty, has 26 seasons of NFL experience under his belt, including the previous two as the Cowboys’ offensive coordinator under McCarthy. After a search, Jones selected the guy down the hall: Schottenheimer. One reason, Jones cited during Schottenheimer’s introductory news conference, was his relationship with Cowboys players.
‘I still think we can win a Super Bowl,’ he told reporters after the game. ‘That’s the goal.’
Emotions ran high during the national anthem (performed by Boyz II Men), he admitted, but once the tune wrapped it was all business from there. The Cowboys certainly hung with the reigning champs, but that simply isn’t enough for Schottenheimer.
‘I’m proud of how they competed, but I don’t find any moral victories when this team’s built on a culture that’s all about winning,’ he said. ‘You don’t find moral victories in losing.’
As both head coach and a playcaller, Prescott said, Schottenheimer did his job in his first test.
‘He gave us every opportunity and he was dialing it up,’ the quarterback said. ‘So yeah, it sucks that he didn’t get his first win here tonight in game one, but it’s a long season and he’s going to get it.’
Jones went out of his way to note that the Cowboys committed zero pre-snap penalties on offense.
‘That’s coaching,’ Jones said.
A shot at McCarthy? A sincere compliment for Schottenheimer? Perhaps both?
Already, Jones is trying to make his gamble – he’s the one who called Schottenheimer’s hiring ‘a risk’ after all – look like a winner. Even if the debut performance was the opposite.