3 Cowboys on Thin Ice After Humiliating Loss to Cardinals
By Tyler Maher
2. Mike McCarthy
There have been doubts about McCarthy's coaching abilities for a while now. His Green Bay Packers teams frequently fell short in the playoffs despite having Aaron Rodgers under center, and he hasn't been able to get his talented Cowboys teams over the hump either.
And frankly, it's games like Sunday's that prove why. Dallas looked completely unprepared and unmotivated for this game, coming out flat on both offense and defense. The defense was particularly bad, surrendering over 200 yards on the ground and letting Josh Dobbs get whatever he wanted through the air.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy on red zone offense: “We’re not executing obviously the way we’d like to. I’ve got to do a better job. It starts with me. …We need to do a better job in the red zone.” pic.twitter.com/ngO3t3YhoL
— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) September 24, 2023
Even when the Cowboys fell behind early, there was still hope that they would turn things around and make a comeback in the second half. McCarthy's adjustments didn't work, however, as the offense managed just 6 points after halftime and never got back in the game.
It's hard to feel great about McCarthy as a head coach even during good times, and Sunday's game was a brutal reminder why he's not considered one of the best coaches in the NFL. He was completely outcoached by rookie HC Jonathan Gannon, who had never won a game as a head coach before.
After that performance, McCarthy needs to step it up if he wants to keep up with Bill Belichick next weekend.