"I thought we weren't at the races when they went 2-0 up and the sending off changed the game," Dave Jones said.
"We're probably one of the last sides in this division you want to have a man less against.
"In the second half it looked like it was only going to be a matter of time, but the goalkeeper was having one of those days.
"Even a header from Roger (Johnson) just hit him. You are just thinking to yourself 'Is this ever going to go in?'
"But full credit to the players, I thought they were magnificent.
"We got our width and we caused them all sorts of problems and it was one-way traffic. As long as we kept it sensible and didn't go gung-ho we thought we'd get back into it."
Watford manager Aidy Boothroyd admitted Priskin deserved to be sent off for appearing to lash out at Darren Purse.
He said: "No matter what provocation you get you can't raise your hands to an opponent and he's done that.
"I'm disappointed because the way to answer that sort of thing, whatever it was, is to make sure you put the ball in the net and he didn't. He'll learn from it.
"Obviously it's a major turning point for us and we're disappointed not to get the three points, especially after having such a great start.
"But you've got to be fair and I thought Cardiff were well worth the draw and we had to defend for our lives in the end."