3 fireable offenses by Mike McCarthy in Cowboys Thanksgiving loss
By John Buhler
1. Getting blown out at home on Thanksgiving vs. an NFC East rival
You can pinpoint any particular play from this game as indisputable evidence that McCarthy needs to go, but the biggest reason he may end up going one-and-done as the Cowboys head coach is how truly embarrassing of a fourth quarter it was for the Cowboys. This is the part of the game where you need to play your best. Instead, the air went completely out of the balloon for all to see.
The winner of this game between Dallas and Washington would be in first place in the NFC East all by itself heading into Sunday. The Philadelphia Eagles and the New York Giants have yet to achieve four wins on the year. With Washington improving to 4-7, it is in the driver’s seat to win its first division title since 2015. Dallas is poised to miss the NFC playoffs for the second straight season.
Ultimately, the optics were so terrible here in Dallas. If you take away the win the Atlanta Falcons handed them back in Week 2, Dallas should be a 2-9 football team. This would be the worst team in the NFC. And if we are being totally honest, the Cowboys are already the worst team in the NFC. Only the New York Jets and the Jacksonville Jaguars are definitively worse than them in the NFL.
So to lose this badly that quickly in the fourth quarter on a nationally televised game on a national holiday we all expect to see the Cowboys play well, they looked worse than the Detroit Lions. Yes, we are absolutely going there. Neither McCarthy or Matt Patricia should be leading their respective teams next year. Jones made a huge mistake inviting McCarthy for a January sleepover.