Stephen A. Smith had to remove himself from Jerry Jones’ suite early during the Cowboys’ 27-17 home loss to the Cardinals on “Monday Night Football.”
With the Cardinals leading, 10-0, in the first quarter, Dallas tight end Jake Ferguson fumbled and ESPN cameras captured Smith giving Jones a sly side-eye as they sat together in the owner’s luxury box at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Smith, who’s a loud Cowboys critic on his ESPN show, “First Take,” put his hand on Jones’ shoulder and shook his hand before leaving.
ESPN lead NFL analyst Troy Aikman and play-by-play announcer Joe Buck were entertained by the sequence.
“And then they say a picture is worth one billion words,” Buck said. “There it is. Alright. Stephen A. is like ‘Alright, good luck. I’m outta here. I’m gonna go post on social media.’”
Aikman added, “Look at that.”
Smith was in Dallas for Monday’s installment of “First Take,” which marked Shae Cornette’s debut as the new host of the show after Molly Qerim’s abrupt departure in September.
Jones also made an appearance on Smith’s radio show live in Dallas on Monday.
During the “ManningCast” on ESPN2, Eli Manning and Peyton Manning also got a kick out of it — with Charles Barkley, who was a guest on the show, trolling Smith over his pink suit.
“He said, ‘You know what, this is not looking good, I’m out of here. I’m going to try and beat the traffic,’” Eli said of Smith’s exit. “He’s not feeling good. He already go out of there.”
Barkley replied, “That pink suit, I’m not feeling that either. It’s a little late in the season to be wearing pink.”
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Monday’s loss was the second straight for Dallas after being routed by the Broncos, 44-24, on Oct. 26.
While on Smith’s radio show, Jones hinted he had a big trade in the works before Tuesday’s deadline at 4 p.m. ET.
The Cowboys agreed to acquire Bengals linebacker Logan Wilson on Tuesday morning.
“He may want to cancel that trade,” Aikman said during Monday’s game while not knowing the specific deal. “I don’t think one player from what I’ve seen tonight is going to make a difference for this group.”
The Cowboys (3-5) have a bye week before playing the Raiders (2-6) in Las Vegas on Nov. 17.
