The Cowboys have not enjoyed the year they would have liked, but that didn’t stop Jerry Jones from spreading some cheer before the team’s Christmas Day Game.
Jones, 83, revealed that he dressed up as Santa Claus and personally delivered gifts to the players at their hotel Wednesday night.
Perhaps inspired by their owner’s act, Dallas secured a 30-23 win over the rival Commanders on Christmas Day to sweep the season series.
“I know this (team) got so much out of it, I’ll never forget it,” Jones told 105.3 The Fan, as transcribed by The Athletic. “A lot of fun.”
This Cowboys season has not gone as the team’s owners nor the players expected, with Dallas (7-8-1) being eliminated from playoff contention in Week 16.
Dallas had high hopes after moving on from Mike McCarthy and hiring Brian Schottenheimer, but a leaky defense doomed the team throughout the season.
Jones acknowledged that his team did not live up to its standards after the blowout 34-17 home loss to the Chargers last week.
“Yes,” Jones said of the team underachieving, “from what we expected, what we thought, absolutley we did. We all underachieved, really. The fact we’re not in the playoffs says that for you.
“I thought we’ve done some things out there that we can forward with us, as is always the case, there are some positive things. The question is, can we make some changes where we need to? That’d be pretty thorough and a lot of multiplication there with the way we played this year.”
The offense stood out as one of the positives for Dallas this year and quarterback Dak Prescott led another strong showing Thursday.
Prescott completed 19 of 37 passes for 307 yards with two touchdowns, including an 86-yard strike to KaVontae Turpin that gave Dallas a 21-3 lead in the second quarter.
That faulty defense, though, allowed a Washington offense led by third-stringer Josh Johnson to keep things close before Dallas ultimately prevailed.
The Cowboys end the season in the Meadowlands against the Giants in Week 18 in a game that will directly affect the top of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Early indications are Dallas will approach the game like any other.
“I love this game, I love any opportunity to play it,” Prescott said. “In my mind, any conversations to Schotty or anybody about it would be that I’m playing.”
