Peyton Manning couldn’t resist criticizing the Dallas Cowboys’ miserable season during his hosting duties at the Country Music Awards on Wednesday night.
The NFL legend joined country music stars Luke Bryan and Lainey Wilson Bridgestone Arena in Nashville as host of the awards show for the third consecutive year.
But the former quarterback’s focus didn’t stray too far from the football field when he made a joke at the expense of the Cowboys and Jerry Jones during the opening monologue.
Co-host Wilson thanked Kelsea Ballerini, who is nominated for female vocalist of the year and musical event of the year for ‘Cowboys Cry Too’ with Noah Kahan.
“Come on, leave it for Kelsea,” Wilson said as the camera panned to Ballerini sitting in the audience with her boyfriend, “Outer Banks” actor Chase Stokes.
“This is the year we discovered that cowboys cry too,” he added.
Peyton Manning hosted the Country Music Awards with Luke Bryan and Lainey Wilson (LR)
The NFL icon couldn’t resist criticizing Jerry Jones and the Cowboys’ miserable season.
“Okay, enough about Jerry Jones,” the NFL Hall of Famer chimed in, referring to the Cowboys owner.
Peyton’s joke was a clear criticism of the Dallas franchise, which is enduring a miserable 2024 season.
Dallas suffered further humiliation on Monday night, when the Texans won a blowout victory and the roof of AT&T Stadium collapsed.
The Cowboys are now 3-7 on the season and are the only American men’s professional team (in the NBA, MLB, NHL, MLS and NFL) without a home win in 2024.
That has increased pressure on head coach Mike McCarthy and the team’s billionaire owner.
After Monday’s game, Jones called suggestions that McCarthy had lost the locker room “very exaggerated.” He also stated that difficult seasons like this are inevitable if “you stay in this league long enough.”
Jones’ claims earned him comparisons to President Joe Biden from analyst Stephen A. Smith, who criticized his interventions.
“I’m not kidding when I say this: I’m very, very worried about Jerry Jones,” Smith told ESPN’s First Take.
‘Because the only thing worse than the team’s play is their press conferences… where they say one thing after another, after another.
‘I find myself thinking about Joe Biden before he withdrew from his re-election bid. I think Jerry is a month older than President Joe Biden, for God’s sake.
Jones, who has a net worth of nearly $16 billion, was born in October 1942, a few weeks before President Biden.