Jerry Jones, Dak Prescott admit truth about Cowboys' situation after 'MNF' loss to Cardinals

Shortly before the Dallas Cowboys hosted the Arizona Cardinals for a "Monday Night Football" showdown, Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones teased that he could make multiple acquisitions before the trade deadline arrives at 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday afternoon. 

The Cowboys then fell to 3-5-1 on the season via an ugly 27-17 loss to an Arizona team that was without injured starting quarterback Kyler Murray. Following the defeat, Jones acknowledged he was "being very realistic" about the state of his club. 

Jerry Jones "can add" amid Cowboys' woes

"We’ve won three ballgames," Jones said while speaking with reporters, per Jon Machota of The Athletic. "And here we are at this juncture. So I do know how to add. I mean, I’m not trying to be trite, but I can add it up and look at the number of games we’ve got left and what potential combinations of records could get you in the playoffs. We have all that down real good." 

Cowboys legend and ESPN personality Troy Aikman is among the those who believe Dallas isn't one defensive player away from becoming a contender. According to ESPN stats, the Cowboys are entering their Week 10 bye ranked 31st in the league in points allowed per game (30.8) and in total yards surrendered per contest (397.4). 

On Tuesday morning, NFL Media's Ian Rapoport revealed that Dallas was acquiring linebacker Logan Wilson from the Cincinnati Bengals. Wilson previously requested a trade. 

Dak Prescott knows postseason truly starts for Cowboys in Week 11

"Every game is a must-win going forward," quarterback Dak Prescott said following Monday's loss, per ESPN's Todd Archer. "You say that, and you feel that in the NFL, and you should feel that. But when you put yourself in a position or behind like we have, it's even more so that's the case. ...Having all those games to play, you can catch a hot streak and be right in the mix. That's great. But you got to get a streak going, and if you don't get a streak going, you're just putting yourself more and more behind the 8-ball, so it's now or never."

The Cowboys will be back in prime time coming off their bye when they face the struggling Las Vegas Raiders on Nov. 17. 2-6 Las Vegas plays at the rival Denver Broncos (7-2) this coming Thursday night. 

Jones understands his team is now up against it as it pertains to remaining in postseason conversations through the second half of the campaign. 

"You've got a lot of ground to make up. I'll grant anybody that," Jones added. "Can we get there with better play, less mistakes? Can we get there with that? Are we going to have some personnel? We're going to have the opportunity to have some different personnel than the first part of this season, either buying through a trade or players that we've had coming [back from injury]."

One can't help but believe that Jones may spend at least a part of Tuesday thinking about how the Dallas defense would be better had he simply paid star pass-rusher Micah Parsons this past spring.