Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones can’t catch a break.
America’s Team have seen their starting quarterback injured, top wideout foiled by their stadium, and playoff dreams crushed.
But somehow there was time for the season to hit a new low in Week 18.
Brandon Aubrey attempted to pin the Washington Commanders back by bouncing a kickoff into touch via the landing zone.
But the second-year kicker put too much heat on his effort and it went straight out of bounds for a 15-yard penalty.
As if that wasn’t enough, a desperate cameraman was unable to get a touch on the ball as it sailed over him and hurtled toward the cheerleaders.
It caught one of them square on the back of the head and knocked her to the turf.
“Made her eyes water. Damn,” wrote one fan on X.
“Kids, let me tell you the story of how I met your mother,” joked another.
“Cheerleading can be dangerous,” added a third.
“This is probably the best thing that can happen to her. Pat McAfee and Good Morning America on line one,” a fourth suggested.
“The Cowboys season in a nutshell: errant play that leaves you either laughing or crying. Laughing’s better,” said a fifth.
Commanders punter Tress Way went straight to the cheerleader to check if she was okay.
The cameras later panned to her and showed that the incident left her eyes watering.
But she showed plenty of spirit to hold a hand up and say she was okay and spare Aubrey an awkward conversation in Cowboys HQ.
Head coach Mike McCarthy turned to Trey Lance at quarterback over Cooper Rush, presumably so the Cowboys could evaluate the former No. 3 pick for the San Francisco 49ers.
Whether McCarthy is there to reap the rewards of the decision is up in the air as his contract expires this month.
“I do appreciate the opportunity to speak on it,” he said ahead of the game.
“I’ve answered this question the same for however many months now, so I think the focus, I need to make sure I’m doing exactly what I’m asking everyone else to do.
“We need to finish the race. It’s been a challenging year, based on our contract situation for coaches.
“It’s stating the obvious, but we’ll have time to talk about that next week.”
Jones is a big fan of McCarthy but will be sorely disappointed at seeing a roster he felt was capable of winning a Super Bowl enter Week 18 with a 7-9 record.
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talkSPORT will bring you live coverage across Week 18 with a double header featuring the Minnesota Vikings @ Detroit Lions.