IRVING, Texas (AP) – Bill Parcells keeps coming up with humiliating ways to describe the Dallas Cowboys.

Not only are they stupid, as he repeatedly called them following a crushing loss to Cincinnati, he said Monday that this season’s team exasperates him more than any he’s ever coached.

“This is the only team I can ever remember having that I can’t get to respond in the right way no matter how hard I try,” Parcells said. “I feel like I’m having trouble with elementary things. Either I’m not communicating right or they’re not paying enough attention. One of the two, and I assume it’s me.”

Perhaps it’s his approach. Parcells said the only thing he’s done differently from his previous 16 seasons is that he’s been nicer – during the week maybe, but not in brutal postgame comments like “we’re too stupid,” as he said Sunday.

“I have not been hammering them,” he said. “I have been encouraging them the whole way. Anyone can judge the wisdom of the decision by the result.”

After overachieving and making the playoffs last season, Dallas (3-5) is underachieving this season. A 26-3 loss to the Bengals on Sunday was a perfect example – yet it’s only the latest, replacing a 41-20 loss to Green Bay two weeks before as the biggest embarrassment.

Parcells had been telling players for weeks that if they came out of the Cincinnati game 4-4 they could still make the playoffs. His theory was that if they beat the teams they were supposed to (like the Bengals) and some they weren’t (like the next foe, Philadelphia), they could start moving up the standings while the front-runners came back to the pack.

Part of the problem Sunday was that players seemed to think all they had to do to win was show up. Parcells said he could sense during warmups that they weren’t ready.

The Bengals played down to Dallas’ low expectations, leading only 9-3 at halftime despite recovering three turnovers. The Cowboys opened the second half knowing they were lucky to be within a touchdown of the lead and reached the Cincinnati 23 on their first drive.

Then came consecutive penalties on third down, pushing Dallas out of field-goal range. The defense gave up a 76-yard touchdown pass on the ensuing drive and the game was essentially over.

“We self-destructed,” Parcells said.

Among the exasperating examples Parcells listed were plays that had been worked on repeatedly in practice. Some of them are basic football, too, such as how to down a punt.

“That kind of thing just doesn’t seem to get through to them,” he said.

It doesn’t help that many of the breakdowns are coming from players who should know better. Such as those ill-timed penalties called on Larry Allen (false start) and Vinny Testaverde (intentional grounding). Testaverde also threw three interceptions, lost a fumble and was stopped on fourth-and-inches at the Cincinnati 22 on the game-opening drive.

Testaverde said several of his turnovers came while trying to force things. For instance, the pickoffs all came on balls intended for Keyshawn Johnson, the only healthy veteran receiver.

Testaverde also blamed himself for the team being emotionally flat.

“It’s my job when I see that to get them going,” he said. “I did a poor job of that.”

Safety Roy Williams said he was upset that even when something good happened, the team couldn’t sustain any momentum.

“When we make plays, we’re excited, then we fall back into work mode,” Williams said. “It should be fun. Right now, we’re not having fun on the field.”

Despite it all, Parcells is not ready to give up on this season. That means he’s sticking with Testaverde and not turning to backup Drew Henson, the former Michigan star who spent the last three years playing baseball in the New York Yankees organization.

“Why would you at this point in time take an unproven guy … and throw him into this?” he said. “Only foolish people would ask the question right now.”

Parcells also was dismissive of owner Jerry Jones’ postgame comment that the two of them would be discussing personnel changes.

“Jerry’s not making the personnel changes,” he said. “I am.”

Parcells added not to expect many.

“The options,” he said, “are not available.”