3 concerns after the Cowboys couldn’t get past the Chargers
In theory, the Dallas Cowboys’ 20-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night was the perfect way to end Week 6 of the NFL for the Cowboys and their fans. Everything seemed to be going in their favor. First, the San Francisco 49ers, who defeated the Dallas Cowboys a week earlier, lost to the Cleveland Browns early in the games. In the afternoon games, the New York Jets struggled in the last minute against the Philadelphia Eagles. In addition, the Buffalo Bills defeated the New York Giants in the final seconds of Sunday Night Football. The result of these first two games leaves the Cowboys just one game behind the best record in the NFC, and the opportunity to secure the best seed in the NFC East and NFC playoffs seems more tangible than it did a week ago.
Celebrating a decisive victory and watching the national media play mental gymnastics to soften the impact of losses to the 49ers and Eagles in a way they wouldn’t dare do to Dallas, Monday’s win was cause for concern. Here are three things that didn’t add up after the Cowboys’ 4-2 win.
Clock management
The best way to describe head coach Mike McCarthy’s clock management against the Chargers is underwhelming. Take, for example, the closing period of the first half. After a 22-yard run by CeeDee Lamb, the Cowboys went first-and-10 from the Los Angeles 48-yard line with 50 seconds and two overtimes left in the second quarter. On the next play, Prescott threw an 11-yard gain to Michael Gallup, whose pass was stopped in bounds, allowing the clock to continue running. McCarthy chooses not to call a truce in that situation. That’s key because on the next play, the Cowboys are flagged for holding and then retreat to the Chargers’ 47-yard line with just 21 seconds left, leaving 29 seconds on the clock and effectively going back to square one. . Somehow, the Cowboys are lucky to gain 30 yards on the next play after an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on a Chargers safety. Derwin James stops the clock and puts the Cowboys at the Los Angeles 17-yard line with 14 seconds left in the half. and both had time left. Instead of being aggressive and using the Chargers’ yardage talent, McCarthy settles for 3 yards from scrimmage, leaves time on the clock and settles for a field goal.
The decision was so extraordinary that the officials accidentally stopped the clock, waiting for McCarthy to make the wise decision to take at least one attempt in the end zone. Instead, McCarthy played the situation openly conservative, took overtime and held a narrow three-point lead in the second half.
This decision sends mixed signals to the coach’s identity and, by proxy, to the players. It also begs the question, does the head coach fully trust the quarterback to not make mistakes and take points off the board? It is inconceivable that McCarthy thought that not attempting to land was a more appropriate option.
It could also be argued that if McCarthy settled for a game-winning drive late in the fourth quarter, why didn’t he choose to intentionally run out the clock after Brandin Cooks’ clutch layup. On a third and 9 game-winning drive, the ball was snapped with 22 seconds on the clock and 2:40 on the clock. Extending the clock could have been a strategic ploy to force Chargers head coach Brandon Staley to call a timeout on the plus side of the two-minute warning. In the bigger picture, things worked out, but at the end of the game, the Dallas head coach’s execution could have been better. Use of personnel
Dak Prescott was 21 of 30 on pass attempts. Seven of his nine interceptions were passes intended for Michael Gallup. Gallup had a rough night against the Chargers and struggled to get into the game when the ball was thrown his way. The highlight of his night was a tipped pass to Dak Prescott that would have been a 35-yard touchdown had Gallup not let the pass bounce on an incomplete play.
To insist that Gallup’s inclusion came at the expense of shortstop Jake Ferguson, who scored just one goal against Los Angeles, is odd. The Cowboys are understood to have a financial interest in the success of Gallup, who is in the second year of a five-year, $57.5 million contract. On a night when Gallup tried to win against press coverage, Prescott was 11-11 against Brandon Cooks and CeeDee Lamb. Continuing to target Gallup is not an appropriate allocation of these offensive weapons. Returning to Ferguson for a moment, the decision not to attack the Chargers primarily in the middle of the field when they have shown themselves susceptible to tight ends this season shows a lack of understanding of opponents.
The Chargers ran split safeties and the Cowboys were economical in that zone, noted Troy Aikman on Monday Night Football. Jake Ferguson could have been given more opportunities, especially against a Chargers defense that allowed just under six hits. In addition to Pollard’s 60-yard catch and run, the team needs more explosive plays down the field. It’s time to see
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