Cowboys' Mike McCarthy sideline temper tantrum after awful play call looks pathetic

It's no secret that Mike McCarthy is on the hot seat these days with the Dallas Cowboys. And it's becoming increasingly clear that the pressure is getting to him.

Need proof? Look no further than the pathetic-looking temper tantrum he threw during the first half of Sunday's Week 9 matchup with the Atlanta Falcons. And perhaps the worst part about the whole thing is that it stemmed from his horrendous play-calling.

Mike McCarthy's temper tantrum during the Cowboys-Falcons matchup is a bad look

With the Cowboys down 7-3 early in the second quarter, the Dallas defense forced a fumble as Carl Lawson got to Kirk Cousins, forcing a fumble that was scooped up by safety Donovan Wilson.

The Cowboys' ensuing offensive possession looked promising for the first few plays. Dak Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb with an eight-yard pass on first down. Rico Dowdle then ran for six yards on second down, thus moving the chains.

Prescott, who threw primarily short passes throughout the first half, then connected with Jalen Tolbert with a three-yard pass and then connected with Jake Ferguson for six yards, getting into Atlanta territory and setting up 3rd & 1 at the Falcons' 44-yard line. But that was as far as the Cowboys would go.

On third down, McCarthy called a running play for Dowdle, who was stopped for zero gain. It's hard to fault the play call there, but it obviously would have worked a bit better with a more powerful back. Yep, we're looking at you, Ezekiel Elliott. Hope you're enjoying the game from home.

But you can fault McCarthy for the fourth-down play call, one that saw the Cowboys attempt a jet sweep with Lamb, which resulted in a three-yard loss and a turnover on downs. And it was there that McCarthy lost it, taking his frustrations out on a tablet on the sidelines.

Bad look, coach.

Yes, it's on the players to execute, so they undoubtedly deserve some of the blame there. But the play call was just horrendous in that situation. And the reaction was worse.

The Falcons, of course, took full advantage of the mistake, as Cousins connected with Darnell Mooney for a 36-yard touchdown pass on the fifth play of the ensuing drive, giving the Falcons a 14-3 lead.

The pressure just continues to mount for America's Team, and Mike McCarthy clearly isn't handling it well. We won't even get into that failed fake punt attempt early in the second half, which led to another Falcons touchdown. But that's not the greatest look, either.