Cowboys studs and duds Week 10: Dak Prescott falters when needed most
By Randy Gurzi
Dud: Mike McCarthy, Head Coach
We heard all week — in fact, it was the past two weeks since Dallas was on their bye — about the return of Mike McCarthy to Green Bay. The Cowboys’ head coach spent 13 seasons there and won a title, so it was natural for him to have some nostalgic feelings.
It was also understandable that he wanted to get a win against his former team. However, he made a few bad decisions that ultimately cost his team the chance at securing a victory.
The biggest was when he decided to go for it on fourth down in overtime. Despite being in field goal range, McCarthy gave his offense the green light and Prescott was unable to get the first down. Of course, anyone watching the game knew what was going to happen. The Packers’ secondary was playing tight all day and the Cowboys’ offensive line was struggling.
Naturally, this led to a desperate pass to Pollard while Prescott was under pressure and the ball hit the turf and the game was essentially over considering how well the Packers’ offense played in the final quarter.
McCarthy also has to take heat for a continued lack of discipline from his team. Dallas was flagged nine times including an inexcusable offside from Jalen Tolbert (yes, an offensive player) and a hold on Connor McGovern that negated a 16-yard run from Malik Davis.
This was a game Dallas should have won but they treated the Packers as if they were a 13-win club that’s impossible to stop rather than a team that had lost five in a row. That falls on McCarthy who clearly let his emotions cloud his decisions in this one.
