5 Cowboys who deserve blame for humiliating loss in Buffalo

1. Mike McCarthy, Head Coach

When a team comes out as flat as the Cowboys did in Week 15, that falls on the head coach. Whether that's fair or not, this is the one who leads them throughout the week, and in Mike McCarthy's case, he's also the one who calls the plays on offense. That's why he deserves to have the finger pointed at him for the nonchalant way this team approached a road game against a hungry opponent.

Buffalo was just 7-6 and has been sloppy all year long. They even needed an offside penalty from Kadarius Toney last week to escape with a win against the Kansas City Chiefs. Yet against the Cowboys, they looked like a well-oiled machine.

They were also the hungrier team. Buffalo needs to win out to ensure they make the postseason and that's how they played. Dallas also needed to win out to try and get a home playoff game but they came out as if they just locked up the No. 1 seed.

In addition to the team playing as if they wished they were anywhere else, McCarthy failed to challenge an obvious turnover. Marquise Bell had punched the ball out from the arms of Stefon Diggs and Donovan Wilson had a clear recovery. McCarthy kept the flag in his pocket and before long it was 21-3 Buffalo.

McCarthy also continued to dial up passes with the game out of hand and at one point, nearly got CeeDee Lamb injured with a deep shot. Throw in all the penalties and McCarthy has a lot to fix before they take on the high-flying Dolphins next week in another road game.

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