Cowboys fans are fed up with Mike McCarthy, uncreative offense after SNF embarrassment
By Jerry Trotta
At this point in time, the Dallas Cowboys can't be considered Super Bowl contenders. Not after you get beaten pillar to post in the biggest game of the season against the team that's eliminated you in each of the last two playoffs.
It's impossible to pin the blame on any one player, coach or position group when a team loses by more than 30 points, but Mike McCarthy deserves to face the music after the San Francisco 49ers bludgeoned his Cowboys 42-10 on Sunday Night Football.
We don't doubt that Dallas was ready to play. The 49ers are just a superior team and an awful matchup for the Cowboys. And while the defense should put any elite talk on ice until further notice, the prevailing takeaway of most of the fan base is that McCarthy's offense is nowhere near good enough to compete with the NFL's upper-echelon teams; not just the 49ers.
That's funny (not really), because Dallas dismissed Kellen Moore as offensive coordinator and empowered Mike McCarthy as play-caller because Moore's offense didn't get the job done against these same 49ers.
Cowboys fans are sick of Mike McCarthy offense after embarrassing performance vs 49ers
Make no mistake: the Cowboys offense had more bite against San Francisco under Moore's guidance than the current version. An inside handoff on 3rd and 4 with Dallas trailing by two touchdowns, and a pass short of the sticks on 3rd and 5 were just some of the lowlights of McCarthy's play-calling nightmare.
The Cowboys head coach made it a point to take more deep shots, but most were to no avail. They felt forced. We saw a largely horizontal offense against two of the NFL's best off-ball linebackers in Fred Warner and Dre Greenlaw. Whatever the offensive game plan was, it played right into San Francisco's strengths.
Red zone woes be damned, the Cowboys passing game hasn't looked prolific all season. Dak Prescott turned in surgical performances in the wins vs the Jets and Patriots, but the explosive plays are nowhere to be found. The numbers, which aren't great to begin with, have done a lot to mask the struggles, but the film doesn't add up.
Fans' collective patience is wearing thin.
It is really unfair sometimes imo to say "what a horrible call" after a single play.
— RJ Ochoa (@rjochoa) October 9, 2023
But my goodness what a horrible call on 3rd and 4 from Mike McCarthy there.
Somehow, Mike McCarthy came up with a worse 3rd and mid play call than "throw it to the guy two yards short of the sticks."
— David Helman (@davidhelman_) October 9, 2023
My guess is they were prepared to go for it if they even picked up 2 yards. But, lol.
yikes, Mike McCarthy.
— KD Drummond (@KDDrummondNFL) October 9, 2023
Hated that punt by Mike McCarthy. Have some stones.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) October 9, 2023
yo WTF are you doing Mike McCarthy??????
— Tom Downey (@WhatGoingDowney) October 9, 2023
Yep. Mike McCarthy calling a pretty yucky game so far https://t.co/YEivVtS241
— David Howman (@_DH44_) October 9, 2023
This is basically the theme of Cowboys social media right now. Fans are livid, and understandably so after the team laid an egg in its biggest game of the year. Dallas won't live down this no-show anytime soon and we're hard-pressed to think of anything they can do between now and the playoffs to make anyone take them seriously.
The defense will most likely bounce back, but McCarthy's offense has been a talking point since the first game of the season. The offensive line was healthy for the first time since 2021. Prescott had his full complement of weapons and the Cowboys had less than 200 yards of total offense and four turnovers to show for it.
McCarthy has done great things since he took over as head coach in 2020, but the pressure has increased ten fold after that performance.
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