Sports

Cowboys owner and General Manager Jerry Jones was in awe of the way wide receiver George Pickens played on Monday night.

Pickens had nine catches for 144 yards and a touchdown as the Cowboys beat the Raiders 33-16, and Jones said what Pickens did was a work of artistry.

"Pickens was — I've never seen a performance like that. It was poetic the way that he was making those moves out there. It was like he was in an opera or something out there. A ballet," Jones said.

Pickens is in the final year of his contract and becomes an unrestricted free agent in March, and every positive word Jones says about him is adding to his leverage in negotiating a new deal. Jones sounds like he's going to be willing to open up the checkbook for Pickens, although if Jones talks bigger than he acts when it comes to player contracts, it wouldn't be the first time.

At the start of the game, both Pickens and the Cowboys' other top receiver, CeeDee Lamb, were on the sideline. Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer hinted that it was a benching for missing a meeting or practice but did not give any details. Jones said he was proud of both Pickens and Lamb for the way they responded.

Raiders quarterback Geno Smith said the issue during Monday night's 33-16 loss to the Cowboys wasn't Chip Kelly's play calling, but Smith's own execution.

"I don't think there was any issue with the play calling. The plays were there, guys were open," Smith said when asked about play calling after the game.

Smith then said the blame should always be on him, although he said it in a way that suggests he thinks reporters often blame him even when it's not his fault.

"You guys watch the film, I know we've got a lot of Monday morning quarterbacks who like to watch film and take screenshots and see where guys were open, so I'm sure you guys will see where the guys were open," Smith said. "I've just got to play better. I keep saying this. If something don't look right out there, blame it on me. If it don't look right, blame it on me. That's all you can do, blame it on me. If your kids mess up at school, blame it on me. Car break down on the way to work? Blame it on me."

There's plenty of blame to go around for the Raiders' 2-8 record, but Smith definitely deserves a lot of it. There's been no indication that head coach Pete Carroll is considering benching Smith for backup Kenny Pickett, but something has to change in Las Vegas, and Smith acknowledges he's a big part of it.

Raiders coach Pete Carroll didn't have a lot of answers for what went wrong in his team's 33-16 loss to the Cowboys on Monday night.

"This was a rough night," Carroll said. "We were excited about the chance to go after these guys and go get 'em."

Carroll said he was expecting his defense to play better and was dismayed by a stretch of four consecutive possessions on which the Cowboys scored touchdowns.

"I was really disappointed we couldn't stop them more," Carroll said. "It was a very difficult night for us. Sorry about it. I feel bad."

After Carroll has emphasized establishing the run this season, Las Vegas had 236 passing yards and just 27 rushing yards. But Carroll said he's not worried about a balanced offense right now.

"I don't really care about pleasing people with our run-pass mix. I just want to move the football," Carroll said.

Asked by reporters about prioritizing developing young players over the remainder of the season, Carroll said he focuses only on getting better each day.

"That's your guys way of thinking. Our thinking is we're trying to win games," Carroll said.

That's something the 2-8 Raiders haven't done enough of during Carroll's first season as their head coach.