In a game of inches, the Dallas Cowboys lost by miles. It was a 44-30 defeat against the Detroit Lions in Week 14, but Executive Vice President Stephen Jones’ post-game comments suggest that head coach Brian Schottenheimer could have done better. For instance, Jones highlighted kicker Brandon Aubrey’s performance and thought the team left points on the field.

“What a performance. He [Aubrey] gave us every opportunity to stay in that game. I just wish he would have had one shot there at the end to win it because I’m sure he would have made it,” Jones said on the Dallas Cowboys’ own YouTube channel.

With that, Jones elevated the kicker and also questioned the choice not to attempt another long field goal, a decision widely attributed to Brian Schottenheimer.

Aubrey’s five-field-goal performance against Detroit was his second such game, and he even added a tackle on a long return. He has become one of the league’s most reliable weapons, and in a game full of mistakes, he was Dallas’ stabilizing force. No wonder Jones wanted the head coach to give him another shot at a long field goal to avoid the loss.

However, that wasn’t possible, as with 1:23 left, the Cowboys were trailing by 14 points, and a field goal wouldn’t have changed the outcome. Ultimately, at the 1:13 mark, Dak Prescott’s short middle pass intended for Ryan Flournoy was intercepted by D.J. Reed, and the game ended.

Still, Jones, in the interview, was quick to point out that the coaching staff has continuously expressed confidence in Aubrey.

“It shows you the confidence coach Schottenheimer and coach Sorensen have in Aubrey, just to throw him in there like you said in the middle of a half, where certainly if you miss the field position goes the other way on you,” he said. “Just shows the confidence that we have in him.”

The EVP was quick to praise the coaches for their past decisions, but it was hard not to note the contrast with the late-game choice. Aubrey earned every bit of that confidence. The kicker made all five of his field goals. He now holds six career field goals from at least 60 yards, the most in league history.

This season, Aubrey is 27-for-29 on field goal tries and 38 extra points made on 39 points attempted. He has also become the second-most accurate kicker ever, converting 90.35% of his attempts, trailing only Cameron Dicker.

Nevertheless, despite the loss, Dallas is not out of the playoff race, and Jerry Jones made sure to remind everyone of that.

Jerry Jones takes on the Cowboys’ playoff chances

The overtime win by the Los Angeles Chargers over the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday night kept Dallas mathematically alive and closed the gap in the NFC East. With Philadelphia now 8-5, the Cowboys sit just one and a half games behind with four weeks to go, and hearing this, Jerry Jones’s mood was one of fresh optimism.

“Real excited. They didn’t have to put any field in the plane, I just flew up here on my own,” he said after the Eagles’ loss. “We’ve got to concentrate on the Minnesota Vikings this weekend. That’s a big game for us. Boy, you see you need to stay in there every play, every play is meaningful right at this particular time, and we’ve sure got a shot at this thing.”

If Dallas wins its final four games, the Cowboys will enter a realistic race for the division, requiring the Eagles to drop at least two of their remaining four.

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Then, there was also Stephen Jones, who spoke out against the recent criticism of wide receiver George Pickens.

“Just so that I’m real clear about it: I don’t have the concern about the debate about what George Pickens did or didn’t do in that game,” he said.

Thus, he drove home the point that any questions about the effort and commitment from Pickens were off the table. The Eagles have struggled against opponents and playoff-caliber teams remaining, with this recent slide offering Dallas at least a sliver of hope.

For now, though, the Cowboys need to clean up the mistakes, protect their quarterback, as Stephen Jones intimated, perhaps lean a little heavier on the most reliable leg in football.