3 Cowboys to blame for another humilation vs 49ers

Mike McCarthy

Speaking of figures not equipped to lead the team to a Super Bowl, it's never really seemed as if Mike McCarthy could get the Cowboys there. Were the Cowboys to make it past an NFC title game, it has long felt like it would be in spite of McCarthy, not because of him. He has a troubling tendency to mismanage games, especially when it comes to utilizing (or more accurately, wasting) the most precious resource in an NFL game: Time.

This week, he went galaxy brain and asked his team to limit their time scouting Niners film to instead watch film on themselves. The theory is fine in that the message was to understand and improve on their own weaknesses to beat their opponent, but in practice, it doesn't make much sense. With the Niners one of the league's toughest teams, it would have been a better use of time to, you know... scout them.

That aside, McCarthy is in his first year of play-calling duties for the offense, and last night was surely a lowlight of that new responsibility. Dallas went 4-for-11 on third downs, possessed the ball for a season-low 22:55, and only put up 197 yards (57 on the ground, 140 passing) the whole night.

The Niners are a great team and a possible favorite out of the NFC, but they were completely outmatched on Sunday. Micah Parsons said, even after the loss, that he believes the Cowboys are as talented. On paper, you'd be hard-pressed to argue that statement. That leaves one possible explanation: Execution.

McCarthy was entirely outmatched against Kyle Shanahan.