'Shocker' has Cowboys at crossroads as Jerry Jones says he isn't considering a coaching change

FRISCO, Texas (AP) — Jerry Jones says he isn't considering a coaching change.

There's no question the owner of the Dallas Cowboys has had happier birthdays than his 82nd.

Yet another puzzling blowout loss at home — this one on Jones' birthday — has the Cowboys at a crossroads going into their open week before a visit to San Francisco, where they played dreadfully a year ago.

The bright side for Dallas (3-3) is a 3-0 road record and just a one-game deficit in the division for the defending NFC East champion.

There was no talk of bright sides following a 47-9 loss to Detroit.

It was the worst home loss of the Jones era, which started in 1989, and the worst at AT&T Stadium, which opened in 2009.

The Cowboys had won 16 consecutive games under their retractable roof before the current four-game skid — all lopsided losses — that started with a wild-card stinker against Green Bay last January.

“This was a shocker,” Jones said. “So, don’t have a lot of answers. What are you going to do about it? We’re going to go to work.”

And that will be under Mike McCarthy, if Jones' immediate reaction to the question of his coach's future doesn't change.

Things got testy when Jones was reminded that he had made one midseason coaching change.

“That would be a hypothetical,” Jones shot back. “In that matter, do you think I’m an idiot? Do you? OK. Well, I’m not going to (be) hypothetical with you about would I consider a coaching change in light of the timing we’re sitting here with. I’m not. At all.”

To Jones' point, the comparisons aren't close. The billionaire businessman fired Wade Phillips in 2010 when the Cowboys were 1-7 and looked like they had quit the night before in a nationally televised 45-7 loss at Green Bay.

It's easy to question the effort for a team that has been outscored 110-35 combined in the first halves of its past four home games. But quarterback Dak Prescott had strong words of support for his coach.

“I’ll go to war for that guy, with that guy, every single day,” Prescott said after throwing two interceptions and finishing with the second-worst passer rating of his career (42.2). “And I’m not the only one in that locker room. I feel like everybody feels that. I know he said it to you guys, he said it in there, he’s looking in the mirror, as we all should.”

KaVontae Turpin’s value in the return game is growing. He had a career-long kickoff return of 79 yards that allowed Dallas to get a field goal in the final seconds of the first half. Turpin averaged 48.5 yards on four kickoff returns, a franchise best.

The Dallas defense simply hasn't been able to stop anything at home. Opponents have scored on 20 of 30 possessions, not counting the kneel-downs that ended all three games. The Cowboys are giving up an average of 460 yards, by far the most in franchise history through the first three home games. That number was more than 400 just one other time (2013).

Damone Clark had a hand in a sack for the first time in his career, sharing one of two sacks of Jared Goff with Chauncey Golston. The third-year linebacker also saved the Cowboys the ignominy of giving up a receiving touchdown to an offensive tackle on another embarrassing day for the defense. Clark broke up a pass to Taylor Decker on a tackle-eligible play from the 2-yard line.

Prescott has five turnovers in the past two games. The Cowboys overcame two interceptions and a lost fumble by their quarterback in a 20-17 victory at Pittsburgh. They never had a chance against the Lions. After Prescott threw an interception in the Detroit end zone trailing 7-3 in the first quarter, Dallas didn't get another first down until the Lions led 34-6.

There weren't any immediate reports of injuries to Dallas players against Detroit. The Cowboys hope to get three defensive starters back after the open week in All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons (high ankle sprain), linebacker Eric Kendricks (calf/shoulder) and cornerback DaRon Bland (surgery for stress fracture in foot). It would be the season debut for Bland, who set an NFL record with five interception returns for touchdowns in 2023.

2015-16 — That's the last time the Cowboys had a home losing streak longer than the current four-game skid. It was an eight-game losing streak back then — the final seven games of the 2015 season and the 2016 opener. There are only two other times the storied franchise had home losing streaks longer than four games.

It'll be a while before the Cowboys can try to stop the home skid. After the open week, Dallas is at the 49ers and Atlanta. The next home game is also the next division game, against Philadelphia on Nov. 10.

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Dallas Cowboys wide receiver KaVontae Turpin (9) returns a punt in the first half of an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Detroit Lions wide receiver Tim Patrick (17) catches a long pass in front of Dallas Cowboys cornerback Amani Oruwariye (27) in the first half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Detroit Lions cornerback Terrion Arnold (0) recovers a fumble by Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy (80) in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Jerome Miron)

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott takes questions from reporters as a fly buzzes past during a news conference after an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Dallas Cowboys team owner Jerry Jones stands on the field during warmups before an NFL football game against the Detroit Lions in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/Gareth Patterson)

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, left, and quarterback Dak Prescott (4) watch play against the Detroit Lions in the second half of an NFL football game in Arlington, Texas, Sunday, Oct. 13, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero)

TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — A rocket fired from Yemen hit an area of Tel Aviv overnight, leaving 16 people slightly injured by shattered glass, the Israeli military said Saturday, days after Israeli airstrikes hit Houthi rebels who have been launching missiles in solidarity with Palestinians.

A further 14 people sustained minor injuries as they rushed to shelters when air raid sirens sounded before the projectile hit just before 4 a.m. Saturday, the military said.

The Houthi rebels issued a statement on the Telegram messaging app saying they had aimed a hypersonic ballistic missile at a military target, which they did not identify.

The attack comes less than two days after a series of Israeli airstrikes on Yemen’s Houthi rebel-held capital, Sanaa, and port city of Hodeida killed at least nine people. The Israeli strikes were in response to a Houthi attack in which a long-range missile hit an Israeli school building. The Houthis also claimed a drone strike targeting an unspecified military target in central Israel on Thursday.

The Israeli military says the Iran-backed Houthis have launched more than 200 missiles and drones during the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The Houthis have also been attacking shipping in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden and say they won’t stop until there is a ceasefire in Gaza.

The Israeli strikes Thursday caused “considerable damage” to the Houthi-controlled Red Sea ports “that will lead to the immediate and significant reduction in port capacity,” U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The port at Hodeida has been key for food shipments into Yemen in its decade-long civil war.

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said both sides’ attacks risk further escalation in the region and undermine U.N. mediation efforts.

In the Gaza Strip on Saturday, mourners held the funerals of 19 people — 12 of them children — killed in Israeli strikes on Friday and overnight.

One of the strikes hit a residential building in the built-up Nuseirat refugee camp in central Gaza, killing at least seven Palestinians, including five children and one woman, and injuring 16 others, health officials said.

In Gaza City, another strike on a house overnight killed 12 people, including seven children and two women, according to Al-Ahli Hospital where the bodies were taken.

Mourners gathered at the hospital in Gaza City Saturday morning. Women comforted each other as they wept over the bodies before they were carried away. One man, stony-faced, cradled a tiny shroud-wrapped body in his arms as he carried it along the funeral procession.

In Al-Aqsa Hospital of Deir al Balah, white body bags containing those killed in Nuseirat were taken from the morgue and loaded onto the back of an open truck to be taken for burial.

Overall, Gaza's Health Ministry said Saturday that 21 people had been killed and 61 were wounded over the past 24 hours.

Israel faces heavy international criticism over the unprecedented levels of civilian casualties in Gaza and questions about whether it has done enough to prevent them.

Israel says it only strikes militants, and blames the Hamas militant group for civilian deaths because its fighters operate in residential areas.

More than 45,200 people have been killed and more than 107,500 wounded in the Gaza Strip since October 2023, when a Hamas attack in Israel killed about 1,200 people and triggered the devastating 14-month war in Gaza. Local health officials do not distinguish between civilians and combatants, but have said more than half of the fatalities are women and children.

The Israeli military organization dealing with humanitarian affairs for Gaza said Saturday it had led a “tactical coordinated operation” delivering thousands of food packages, flour and water to the Beit Hanoun area in the north of the Gaza Strip.

The organization, known by its acronym COGAT, said trucks from the U.N. World Food Program transported 2,000 food packages, 1,680 sacks of flour and thousands of liters of water to distribution centers in the area on Friday.

Aid groups have said previously that military operations and armed gangs have hindered their ability to distribute aid to civilians in need.

Gaza's Health Ministry issued an urgent appeal Saturday for medical and food supplies to be delivered to Kamal Adwan Hospital in Beit Lahia, near Beit Hanoun in northern Gaza, while the hospital director described dire conditions.

The ministry said in a statement that there was continuous gunfire and Israeli shelling near the hospital. “Shells have struck the third floor and the hospital’s entrances, creating a state of panic,” the ministry said.

Hospital Director Dr. Husam Abu Safiyeh said the facility was “facing severe shortages."

“Despite promises, we have not received the necessary supplies to maintain electricity, water, and oxygen systems," Abu Safiyeh said. "Our requests for essential medical supplies and staff have largely gone unmet.”

He said the World Health Organization had delivered 70 units of blood, but that the hospital requires at least 200 units to meet urgent needs. He said 72 wounded people were being treated at the hospital.

The shortages extend beyond medical necessities. “Food is very scarce, and we cannot provide meals for the wounded. We are urgently calling on anyone who can provide supplies to help us,” he said. “The staff is working around the clock, yet we cannot even provide meals for them.”

Shurafa reported from Deir al Balah, Gaza Strip. Associated Press writers Elena Becatoros in Majdal Shams, Golan Heights, contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s war coverage at https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war

Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp are prepared for the funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Men pray over the bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat refugee camp during a funeral prayer outside the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

Bodies of victims of an Israeli airstrike at the Nuseirat arrive at the Al-Aqsa Martyrs hospital before their funeral in Deir al-Balah, Gaza Strip, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Abdel Kareem Hana)

An Israeli soldier observes the site where the missile launched from Yemen landed Jaffa district, in Tel Aviv, Israel, Saturday, Dec. 21, 2024. (AP Photo/Tomer Appelbaum)