Dallas Cowboys receiver CeeDee Lamb is among those remaining upbeat after the 47-9 beatdown from the Detroit Lions. But Jerry Jones and Mike McCarthy are feeling the heat.

ARLINGTON – You will be hard-pressed to find anyone in the Dallas Cowboys organization who has something positive to take out of the 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions; not even the great salesman Jerry Jones is trying to spin this that way.

But we did find someone in the losing locker room at AT&T Stadium on Sunday who is trying to keep it together.

Receiver CeeDee Lamb, who started the game brightly and, like the rest of his teammates, slowly faded into the background on his way to a misleading seven-catch, 89-yard performance, isn’t about to throw the baby out with the bath water.

Not many of Cowboys Nation will echo Lamb’s thoughts, but the All-Pro receiver knows there’s still a lot of football left to be played in 2024.

“The season don’t end in six weeks,” Lamb said. “This bye week, we got to use it to be better. We got a lot of across the halls, a lot of meetings, a lot of things we got to clean up and when we come back, we going to be ready to work.”

OK, so that much is true. But also true: The heat on this team’s stars, and its leadership tandem of Jones and coach Mike McCarthy, to make sense of it all. Jones, in fact, was asked after the game about the idea of firing his coach as an option.

“I haven’t considered that and I’m not considering that,” Jones replied. “Just so you’re clear. I wouldn’t (answer) the hypothetical. Do you think I’m an idiot? Do you?

Well, Cowboys fans … do you?

Jones is of course not “an idiot.” But many Cowboys fans are saying something to that effect about the lightning-rod owner. And indeed, he is overseeing a team that he knowingly put in this precarious position – all part of the “Blow It Up” plan that has all of this coaching staff and the bulk of this roster knowing that a lame-duck 2024 campaign will be their last year together.

Dallas’ bye week will be one of intense reflection and both sides of the ball will need to look in the mirror to see where and how they can improve.

While sitting at 3-3 isn’t the end of the world, for a team that some thought would be playoff-bound, right now, that feels like a long way away.

Last year, the Cowboys were in a similar position before steadying the ship en route to a 12-5 regular season record. While that kind of turnaround doesn’t “feel” likely, fans are after something different happens on both sides of the ball.

And the Cowboys’ deep dive will get a stern test right out of the gate with the San Francisco 49ers up next for McCarthy’s team. And if Dallas loses then? Or experiences a skid that extends beyond then? The job security of the coach will again be a subject pushed onto Jones. And there will be even less “idiotic” about the question.