Dak Prescott, Jerry Jones send conflicting messages ahead of Week 9 showdown vs Eagles

The Dallas Cowboys are on a hot streak but having learned his lesson from the week leading up to the loss to the 49ers, team owner Jerry Jones isn’t making any grand statements before his squad faces the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday. After the win over the Rams in Week 8, Jones told the media he didn’t want to “poke the bear,” or in this case, the eagle.

“Yeah, let’s soak this one up. I don’t want to do anything to poke the bear… I made every mistake talking about it [the Week 5 game at the 49ers] too early or too late that you can make,” Jones said on Sunday. “Yeah, I learned from that one. My problem is I don’t learn from experience.”

Reporters asked Jones after the game if the win against the Rams, a 43-20 drubbing, had him thinking about the Super Bowl again, and the businessman said no.

“Well, no, I think we just need to call it for what it is,” Jones said. “We played a good game today and we got to do it again here next week. 

“I’ve been watching, on the side up there (Eagles vs Commanders) and both those clubs are ahead of us, Washington two times. Philadelphia two times. We got our work cut out for us.”

Dak Prescott: ‘Pour honey on me’

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott had an incredulous reaction to Jones’ attitude about the Eagles game when he was told about the “poke the bear” comment.

“I don’t believe what you just said,” Prescott said. “Pour honey on me,” he continued, “I always say that. If you see me and a bear in a fight, pour honey on me, so you can poke it. It’s part of the National Football League. Whether we talk or not, we know what’s ahead of us. Great opponent. Excited for it.

“… Down the road this game will mean something as we get further down the line in the season. Trust me, the guys in the locker room, myself, we know what this game means.”

During his Tuesday appearance on 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday, Jones got real about how important a win against Philadelphia would be on Sunday.

“This is serious sh** that we’re dealing with up here Sunday, man,” Jones said. “We’ve got to really have our game face on. Philadelphia is a tough place to get your momentum going, but, to me, this is all about just what the NFL can be.”

The NFC East rivals kick off at 4:25 p.m. ET on Sunday from Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field.