DETROIT – Jerry Jones was not talking about moral victories after Sunday's surprising 31-30 loss to the Lions.
Standing in the visitors' locker room at Ford Field, the Cowboys owner and general manager said although it felt like the Cowboys were going to win, he fully understood what was capable of happening with a dynamic player like Detroit's Calvin Johnson on the field.
"When you step back from it, it probably shouldn't just shock you that they were able to make three big plays and score," Jones said. "You kind of felt like they were ready to have that kind of drive or that kind of possession all day long. But certainly it's a real tough one for everyone involved. You get that close, even though we want to give them credit, they overcame their turnovers and they played through their turnovers and they were able to take home a great victory for them. This was an important victory and it was a very disappointing loss for us."
The Cowboys had the ball and a 27-24 lead with 1:24 remaining. Instead of trying to use the passing game to score a touchdown, the Cowboys went conservative, running three times and setting up Dan Bailey for a 44-yard field goal.
After Bailey converted, the Lions were left with one minute and two seconds to go 80 yards.
"A lot of people might take issue with [the choice to kick the field goal]," Jones said. "But we felt like we would put them in a must situation on scoring a touchdown."
The Lions got that touchdown six plays later.
