Jerry Jones’ anthem ultimatum could backfire on Cowboys owner

Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said the reason he gave his players an anthem ultimatum this past week was to protect the franchise’s and the NFL’s brands.

That’s probably the truth. Jones, after all, is a businessman first.

But if you’re a Cowboy, would you be OK with your owner quickly backtracking just so his $4 billion franchise doesn’t continue to lose money? What happened to the unity of a few weeks ago when Jones was kneeling with his players before a “Monday Night Football” game against the Cardinals?

Now it’s stand for the flag or go sit on the bench.

Speculation is starting to grow on whether the national anthem controversy could affect the play on the field.

Might players consider some type of strike if the NFL decides to force players to stand for the anthem?

“I don’t think guys are gonna like it,” Buccaneers defensive tackle Gerald McCoy told ESPN. “I think it’s gonna be an uproar if that is to happen, because you’re basically taking away a constitutional right to freedom of speech. If guys wanna have a, I guess you would call it a peaceful protest, I don’t think it’s right to take that away.”

Jones’ actions probably made a few players in the Cowboys’ locker room wonder about their owner’s intentions. Did Jones really want to kneel in the first place? Did he do it to quiet his players and the protests?

If you’re a Cowboy and some type of doubt regarding your owner’s priorities starts creeping up, could that affect your play on the field? Do the 2-3 Cowboys with possibly no Ezekiel Elliott for the next six weeks really want to put their bodies on the line for a fan base and possibly an owner that doesn’t support their cause?

Veteran cornerback Orlando Scandrick was asked Wednesday about Jones’ anthem comments and responded “no comment” multiple times. But he might have thrown a subtle jab at his boss.

When the conversation turned to Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Scandrick said, “We’re allowed to support this.” There was probably more emphasis on the “allowed” part.

Commissioner Roger Goodell recently told NFL Network’s Nate Burleson that there hasn’t been a policy change regarding players standing for the national anthem before games. Goodell said he wanted more dialogue and a better understanding of what the players are protesting.

Getting booed by thousands of fans before a game can’t be fun for players. That could start affecting the play of the game, and the product on the field is a lot more important than the brand.

So hopefully NFL officials are coming up with the perfect game plan to please the players, owners and fans, because these protests aren’t going away.

Game of the week

Rams (3-2) at Jaguars (3-2)

This matchup would have been an afterthought a year ago. But the high-scoring Rams and the smash-mouth Jaguars are playoff contenders.

The Rams were shut down by Seattle’s Legion of Boom last week. But if they’re seriously thinking postseason, they’ll need to bounce back against a rising Jacksonville defense that intercepted five Ben Roethlisberger passes last week at Pittsburgh.

The Leonard Fournette-led Jaguars recorded dominant wins over the Steelers, Texans and Ravens. But they tend to go back to the old Jags with embarrassing losses to the Jets and Titans.

The running back matchup between Todd Gurley and Fournette is must-watch. The Jaguars are running the ball 55.2 percent of the time, the most by any team since the 2009 Jets.

What could have been

The winless Browns passed up on Carson Wentz last season, and that was a big mistake. The Eagles quarterback continues to get better.

For this year’s draft, the Browns said no thanks to Deshaun Watson with multiple first-round picks. The Texans rookie quarterback has been sensational since taking over as Houston’s starter.

Watson and his explosive offense can add more misery to the Browns and their fan base with another five-touchdown performance against Cleveland on Sunday.

Contact Gilbert Manzano at gmanzano@reviewjournal.com. Follow @GManzano24 on Twitter.