NFL live updates: NFL says no to Tom Brady-Bruce Arians golf outing; an unthinkable thing happened to the Cowboys

When it comes to NFL TV ratings, there has been one constant: No matter their record, the Cowboys are a solid draw.

That has been true this year, too, but last week the league announced the unthinkable, flexing the Cowboys’ Dec. 20 game against the 49ers out of the prime time “Sunday Night Football” spot in favor of the Cleveland Browns’ game against the New York Giants. The decision was one that might ordinarily anger owner Jerry Jones, but not this season, in which the Cowboys take a 3-9 record into Sunday’s game against the Bengals.

“I love the matchup between those two teams, but it certainly was not unexpected,” Jerry Jones said on Dallas’ 105.3 The Fan Friday. “We just have the ability to put excellent games into prime time or add to [a] slot that we might want to juice up a little bit. All of that is the future of managing our programming in the NFL. I like all of this.”

Nothing has worked out as Jones would have planned or wished this season, with the injury to Dak Prescott particularly gutting.

“I’m the one that should and does get heat in various forms,” Jones said. “But the most important thing is you don’t get a chance, when you don’t do it right, to touch that Lombardi Trophy. Do y’all have any idea how much I’d write a check for if I knew I could get that Lombardi Trophy?

“And so, my whole point to you is it is a big, big thing. It is the foremost thing, not money. There has never been but one thing, and that is win.”

Jones promised changes, but only to a point.

“When you work for yourself, there’s no firing him. You got to change him, and he’s got to change the direction he’s going. I’ve worked all my life for myself, but I’ve had to change directions many times,” Jones said. “So, I will change. I can change. I’m not saying which way (I’ll change). But I’m capable of change. I’ve had to to have any success in my life.”