DALLAS - Cowboys nose tackle Josh Brent stands accused of killing teammate Jerry Brown in a fiery drunk-driving accident, but the mother of the deceased practice squad linebacker refuses to view him as anything but her son's best friend.

Stacey Jackson made that clear with her actions before, during and after the memorial service for her son Tuesday afternoon.

In a striking display of forgiveness, Brent and Jackson arrived together at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship in South Dallas. They also sat in the same row during the hour-long service and left together.

According to the Cowboys' website, Jackson spoke to the team, encouraging it to support Brent. He was charged with intoxication manslaughter after Irving police said he lost control of his speeding 2007 Mercedes with Brown as a passenger early Saturday morning.

The private tribute on a sunny but chilly day was closed to the media.

During his radio show Tuesday morning, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Jackson requested Brent meet her and her family at the airport so they could ride together to the memorial after they arrived from St. Louis on the owner's private jet.

"What happened is so tragic," Jones said. "But (Jackson) wanted to be right with Josh and to express in every way she could how much they loved him and didn't want to have him grieve for his friend without being included in their family."

Brent, 24, and Brown, 25, were teammates and roommates at Illinois from 2007-2009. When Dallas signed Brown in October, he began rooming again with Brent.

In an appearance on CNN's "Piers Morgan Tonight," Jackson explained why she embraced Brent.

"I was upset, but I realized our youth today are young and stupid, and we were all once that age, and we've all done things we're not proud of," Jackson said, per Yahoo!Sports.com.

"I realized everyone thinks they're invincible, and everyone thinks, 'It's not going to happen to me.' I know Josh Brent, and he's been part of our family since Jerry went to Illinois. All I can do is to pray for him and his family. I know (Brent) is hurting just as much as we are, because (he) and Jerry were like brothers."

In what was surely an emotional moment at the memorial, Jackson received the football that coach Jason Garrett posthumously awarded Brown after Dallas rallied to defeat Cincinnati 20-19 on Sunday.

The program for the memorial had a picture of DeMarcus Ware carrying Brown's jersey onto the field Sunday after Dan Bailey kicked the winning field goal as time expired.

The memorial came on the same day a story appeared in the Dallas Morning News about a witness who said she had to beg Brent to intervene as Brown screamed for help.

Stacee McWilliams, 40, of Irving, said she repeatedly pleaded with Brent to rescue Brown from the car, which was upside-down and on fire around 2 a.m. on the service road of State Highway 114.

"He was calling out, and his own friend walked away," McWilliams told the newspaper.

Brent's attorney, George Milner, called McWilliams' account "absolutely false."

A funeral service for Brown is set for Friday in St. Louis.