Doh! 3 Cowboys to bench or fire after catastrophic Monday Night Football ending

The Dallas Cowboys appeared to be on their way to winning on Monday Night Football at home against the Cincinnati Bengals until they muffed their chances. Literally.

In a tie game late in the fourth quarter, the Cowboys earned a key defensive stop, getting the ball back with a chance to win the game. To make things even better, they even blocked Cincinnati's punt, putting themselves in an even better position to keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Then, disaster struck.

Cornerback Amani Oruwariye tried fielding the punt but muffed it, giving the Bengals a gift of an opportunity to steal this win. Sure enough, Joe Burrow found Ja'Marr Chase for the game-winning touchdown. The Cowboys lost, the fans are furious, and Micah Parsons appeared to have reached his breaking point after the game.

A loss as bad as this one has to come with some consequences. These three individuals should be benched or fired after how this game ended.

3. The Mike Zimmer hire was a mistake

When Dan Quinn took the Washington Commanders head coaching job, the Cowboys were left scrambling for a new defensive coordinator. Sure, Quinn's track record as a head coach had been spotty, but the team ranked in the top seven in points against in all three of his seasons in Dallas. They ranked fifth in the NFL in points against in each of his last two seasons in Dallas. Their defense had been consistently awesome with Quinn in the fold.

To say the move from Quinn to Mike Zimmer has been a downgrade would be an understatement. This Cowboys defense went from being ranked fifth in points against last season to 31st this season. They went from allowing 18.5 points per game last season to 28.2 points per game this season. That's a remarkable drop-off.

Injuries to several key players on their defense haven't helped, but still, the drop-off shouldn't be this bad. Their defense played well enough to win on Monday, but they also wound up allowing Burrow to throw for 369 yards and three touchdowns. They allowed Ja'Marr Chase to record 14 catches for 177 yards and two touchdowns. Shutting down that connection is easier said than done, obviously, but they couldn't have done a better job limiting them?

The defense isn't the No. 1 reason why they lost this game, but it'd be a stretch to say that they played well on that side of the ball. Over the course of the season, it's been close to a disaster.

2. It isn't worth playing Cooper Rush down the stretch

They weren't officially eliminated from postseason contention when it was announced that Dak Prescott was going to miss the remainder of the season due to injury, but the odds sure were stacked against them. Cooper Rush hasn't been awful in his place, but he didn't play particularly well on Monday in the loss.

Rush completed just 16 of his 31 passing attempts for 183 yards. He did throw two touchdown passes, but also threw a bad interception in the red zone, costing the Cowboys what proved to be crucial points. Against a Bengals defense that might be even worse than Dallas', that kind of performance just isn't good enough.

While Rush might be a bit better than Trey Lance, what's the point of playing him? First of all, Rush is in the final year of his deal. All Dallas is doing by playing him at this point is allowing his value to increase for when he likely departs.

Plus, shouldn't the Cowboys want to see what Lance can do? If he plays well as a starter down the stretch, maybe the Cowboys can find some solace in knowing that what they gave up to acquire him was somewhat worthwhile. Maybe the Cowboys can commit to Lance as Prescott's backup for another year or two.

Rush has proven that he's a capable backup, and his floor is certainly higher than Lance's but Lance's ceiling - as a player who was taken with the No. 3 pick in the NFL Draft - should be much higher. Give him a shot before you miss your chance and never do. Worst case, the Cowboys lose a bunch of games and improve their draft pick.

1. Mike McCarthy's fingerprints were all over the ending of this game

Losing to the now 5-8 Bengals at home is a pretty bad look no matter how you slice it, but losing this game in that fashion is inexplicable. How does it happen?

All the Cowboys had to do after blocking the punt was let it go. If the ball goes untouched, the Cowboys would gain possession with a chance to win the game. Instead, Amani Oruwariye elected to field the punt, for whatever reason, and of course, he muffed it.

Blaming Oruwariye is justified, but it's hard not to feel like this comes down to coaching. This Cowboys team just looks ill-prepared on all fronts, and this Oruwariye blunder adds to that. Firing the special teams coach might help the issue, but McCarthy should go, too.

Winning games without Prescott is easier said than done, but this Cowboys team is too talented to be sitting at 5-8 and on the verge of playoff elimination. Whether Jerry Jones will actually let McCarthy go remains to be seen, but there should be no question after this game.