Cowboys Today: Jerry Jones' logic on Rowdy and No. 0; Dak Prescott on Mike McCarthy

If you wondered what a Jerry Jones masterpiece in the media looked like, the final question he was asked in his Tuesday appearance on 105.3 The Fan was a prime example.

Jones was asked to clear up the notion that stud linebacker DeMarvion Overshown can’t wear No. 0 — his number at the University of Texas as “Agent Zero,” — because “that’s Rowdy’s number.”

That this was a legitimate question was silly enough. Overshown, the team’s third-round pick in 2023, is a young star who showed promise even as a rookie in training camp before bursting on the scene this season. Rowdy is the team mascot, who doesn’t even technically wear No. 0 and instead wears No. 00. Nonetheless, this is a real topic in Dallas, brought to the forefront again after Micah Parsons said on Thanksgiving that he would advocate to the powers that be to allow Overshown to get his desired jersey number.

Jones gave a nearly three-minute long answer. If you thought he would answer the question, you’d be mistaken. Jones began his answer by saying that his son, Jerry Jr., gets to be rowdy. He went on to say that the question reminded him of when Rowdy — not Jerry Jr., to be clear — was using water guns to squirt fans “in the wrong spot” during a training camp.

“It cooled them off and they laughed about it and thought it was good, but still, it wasn’t the thing to be doing,” Jones said. “I got a hold of him and told him, ‘Man, you’ve got to stop that stuff, you’ll get us both thrown under the jail out here.’ ”

Jones said about a month later (back in Dallas now) that Rowdy’s vehicle was found “sitting in front of the strip club.”

“It just is not the place to have it,” Jones said.

The question came 20 minutes into the interview and was the last one and presumably there wasn’t much time for a follow-up. So, Jones was asked a good question that is of interest to many fans, gave a long answer, never touched the content of the question and exited stage left. A strong performance by the Cowboys’ owner and general manager.

What Dak said about McCarthy

Will Mike McCarthy return next season or will Jones and the Cowboys move on from the coach? A lot of Cowboys fans have opinions on the topic. But they’re not the only ones.

In a conversation with Yahoo! Sports, QB Dak Prescott expressed his support for his head coach and play caller.

“Your coach seems like he’s playing on his last contract and (I’m) almost feeling helpless like I can’t help him in this situation, especially a guy you believe in so much and you believe in being your head coach,” Prescott told Yahoo’s Jori Epstein on Tuesday. “Control what I can control, help and support Mike to every extent that I can. … I don’t want to necessarily get into the nuts and the screws of it all obviously, but I think he definitely deserves a chance — another contract and a chance to coach this team amongst more influence. ‘On his terms’ may be a good way to say it.”

It’s no surprise that Prescott would want McCarthy back as his head coach. The quarterback and coach enjoy a close relationship, personally and professionally. Though Prescott struggled this year before his injury, he enjoyed arguably the best season of his career last year, when he finished as the MVP runner-up in McCarthy’s first season as the offensive play caller.

In his first season on the field, DeMarvion Overshown has been a difference-maker … wearing No. 13. (Andrew Dieb / Imagn Images)

Overshown’s increased workload

Back to Overshown. His interception on Thanksgiving against the New York Giants was one for the highlight reels and a crucial play in the Cowboys’ 27-20 win. Overshown’s unique athleticism has been on display all year, whether it’s been on blitzes — he’s second on the team in sacks behind only Parsons — to open-field tackles to his overall speed and playmaking ability.

All of those things are fair game but what’s been just as impressive is how Overshown has won the trust of defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer. Remember, although Overshown is a second-year player, he’s essentially a rookie. He did not play a single regular-season snap last year due to his torn ACL. It’s also his first year in Zimmer’s system. Overshown began the season playing 58 percent of the defensive snaps in the win over the Cleveland Browns. He made some impressive plays, but he only played 31 percent of the snaps in Week 2 against the New Orleans Saints. It raised immediate questions about what Overshown’s usage would look like this season, especially in certain defensive packages.

In the past eight games, Overshown has played more than 90 percent of the snaps seven times, including four games in which he played every defensive snap. Overshown’s growth, along with Parsons, has given the Cowboys two young, versatile pieces along the defensive front to build on for the future, and both players are already two of the best talents on the unit.

Never too early for draft talk

• The Athletic’s Dane Brugler has his first mock draft ahead of the 2025 NFL Draft. Check it out.

• Jon Machota analyzes Brugler’s pick for the Cowboys: Is it a good fit? Does it make sense? What are their other options?

GO DEEPER

Mike McCarthy’s status, playoff chances, wide receiver depth chart: Cowboys mailbag

A 2016 reflection

As the Cowboys get set to play the Bengals on Monday night, my mind wandered back to a Week 5 game in 2016 between the Cowboys and the Bengals at AT&T Stadium. Dallas doesn’t play AFC teams terribly often, so those games tend to stick out a little more.

Specifically, it got me thinking of two players in particular from that game, Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, and how different the stories for both players have been this season compared to what they were at that time during their rookie seasons.

In that 2016 game, Elliott carried the ball 15 times for 134 yards and two touchdowns, including a blazing 60-yard touchdown right up the middle in which he split two Bengals defenders in the secondary. To this day, that run stands as Elliott’s longest of his NFL career. This season, Elliott’s longest run has been 11 yards and he’s averaging 3.2 yards per carry and 17.2 yards per game.

Prescott was an efficient 18-of-24 for 227 yards and threw one touchdown while running for another. He lost a fumble on a strip-sack, which was notable because it was the first turnover of his NFL career. This season, prior to his injury, turnovers were a significant issue for Prescott, as was his ability to run the ball. After the Bengals game in 2016, Prescott had 61 rushing yards and three rushing touchdowns in five games. Before a 30-yard rushing performance in his final game this season, Prescott had 10 carries for 24 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown in the first seven games of the season.

Different times, indeed.

(Top photo of Rowdy: Tim Heitman / Imagn Images)