FRISCO, Texas – A brief science lecture broke out amid a football press conference on Monday afternoon.
Perhaps that's not surprising, given that Cowboys coach Jason Garrett is a Princeton graduate. And when he was asked about the role the sun played in Sunday's loss to the New York Giants, Garrett put that education to good use.
"The sun's been there for five billion years, and it will be there for five billion more," Garrett said. "We've all played in games where sun or weather was a factor. My experience has been that it's a factor for both teams and everybody who's out there."
No one was expecting to debate the life expectancy of the sun before attending Garrett's regular Monday press briefing, but he did raise a fair point. The Cowboys have been playing games at AT&T Stadium since 2009, and Sunday's loss wasn't the first time the field has been awash in sunlight during a game.
"It's not a funny issue, it's just a reality," Garrett said. "When you play in certain environments everyone has to deal with the conditions of the game and you have to deal with them as best you can."
As the sun prepared to set on Sunday evening, Cowboys receivers found themselves faced with intense sunlight streaming through the windows of the stadium, which appeared to disrupt several plays. Jason Witten was reluctant to make excuses, but he did admit it was a factor in the dying minutes of the game.
"Yeah, it was – it was. But you know what, you still should make the plays – there's no question about that," Witten said. "The sun kind of got on us a little bit, but we still need to make those plays – I need to make them."
That's an understandable stance for a team with the phrase "No Excuses" emblazoned on its locker room wall. Garrett declined to comment on potential work-arounds, such as hanging curtains in the stadium.
Fortunately for the Cowboys, it shouldn't be an issue in the coming weeks. Two of the team's next three games are on the road, and the Week 3 matchup against the Bears is a 7:30 p.m. kickoff.
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