Cowboys looking to put out fire after suffering very disappointing loss

April 14, 2024

GREEN BAY, Wis. — The Cowboys had no business playing in overtime Sunday evening at Lambeau Field. They scored 21 unanswered to take a 28-14 lead entering the fourth quarter. The momentum was all on their side against a Packers team that had lost its previous five games.

But a defense that prides itself on being the NFL’s best was far from that in the final quarter and overtime.

“I love these kinds of games,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said after the 31-28 loss. “This is exactly what I told the guys, ‘You need these tight games to get to where you want to go.’ I thought we were in total control in overtime.”

And then McCarthy mentioned the questionable penalties late in the game and raised his voice, saying he was, “Very! Very! Very! Frustrated!”

“You got to overcome those things,” he added. “This group of men, they have it. But I’m just disappointed for them.”

McCarthy was the most visibly frustrated he’s been after a game since becoming the Cowboys head coach in 2020.

“It was big play, penalty, big play, penalty, big play, penalty,” McCarthy said. “Our thing was to just keep playing.”

The Cowboys won the overtime coin toss, received the ball and gained 29 yards on their first three plays. But then rookie WR Jalen Tolbert was flagged for lining up offsides. A short pass to RB Tony Pollard gained nine yards and a first down. But two plays later, left guard Connor McGovern was called for holding, wiping out what would have been a 16-yard gain by RB Malik Davis.

The Cowboys were called for nine penalties for 83 yards. Dallas has been flagged more than that only two other times this season, in Week 1 against the Buccaneers and in Week 6 against the Eagles. In both games, the Cowboys finished with 10 penalties and both were losses.

Dak Prescott on the questionable calls: “To me, that’s excuses. We just got to play beyond that.” pic.twitter.com/5BpYBhpDT6

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 14, 2022

The officials appeared to miss a defensive pass interference call on Packers CB Jaire Alexander two plays after the McGovern hold. Alexander got his hands on Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb before Dak Prescott’s pass reached him on third-and-3.

Instead of attempting a 53-yard field goal, McCarthy decided to go for it on fourth down. When Prescott’s pass fell incomplete, McCarthy fired his headset into the ground.

“We were right on the line for the field goal,” McCarthy said, noting that they were going against the wind. “But, to be honest with you, I thought we needed to go for it. I called it on second down, especially with the way the game was going. I’m fine with the decision. We just didn’t convert.”

Three plays into Green Bay’s OT possession, four-time MVP QB Aaron Rodgers connected with WR Allen Lazard on a 36-yard gain. The Packers picked up another 13 yards on an Aaron Jones carry and facemask call on Cowboys DE Dante Fowler. Mason Crosby then finished it off with a 28-yard field goal.

The Cowboys were in control early, about to go up two scores when Prescott threw his first of two first-half interceptions. The Packers turned both turnovers into touchdown drives and a 14-7 lead with 1:42 left in the second quarter.

Prescott, who completed 27-of-46 passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns, said there was miscommunication on his two interceptions.

“The first one,” Prescott explained, “(TE Dalton Schultz) said he got knocked off his route, in a sense, thinking he was going to cross face. That’s a huge play right there. For us to go up 14, they get the turnover and score. (The second one) was similar to the one last week (against Chicago). Thinking (Lamb) is going to cross (in front of the safety) and him seeing something different. Just making sure we get on the same page, and we were able to hit something very similar in overtime.”

The Cowboys answered with an eight-play, 66-yard drive in 93 seconds to make it 14-14 at halftime. Prescott connected with Schultz for the 5-yard score. Pollard and Lamb each added touchdowns in the third quarter. Pollard finished with 115 yards on 22 carries. Lamb totaled a season-high 150 yards and two touchdowns on 11 receptions. It was his first 100-yard game since last year’s Halloween win at Minnesota.

A Dallas defense that had not allowed more than one touchdown in its first five games, allowed two in the fourth quarter alone. Both scores were TD receptions by Packers rookie WR Christian Watson, who finished with four catches for 107 yards and three touchdowns. Before Sunday, Watson did not have a touchdown catch. He also did not have more than 34 yards in a game.

And the pass defense wasn’t the Cowboys’ biggest issue. They allowed more than 200 rushing yards for the second consecutive game. The hope was that trading for veteran DT Johnathan Hankins would help in that area. Instead, they appear to be getting worse. That’s the area that bothered standout edge rusher Micah Parsons the most after the game.

“Until we (put) out this fire, we’re gonna keep seeing it,” Parsons said. “If people want to keep doing their own thing, we’re gonna deal with this all year. We have to be accountable. We have to stay in our gaps, gotta stop the run. Until we do that, it’s gonna be a long year.”

Dallas was hoping to get the win for McCarthy in his first game against Green Bay since coaching the Packers for 13 seasons, including a Super Bowl victory in 2010.

“It sucks, we didn’t,” Prescott said. “There’s no way to sugarcoat it. More importantly, we wanted to lay another brick on where we’re going and we didn’t do that. We’re gonna stick together and find a way to make this team better.”

Aaron Rodgers and Mike McCarthy share a hug and a few words before today’s game pic.twitter.com/qUIfn2e1Dn

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 13, 2022

Welcoming back Mike McCarthy before today’s game at Lambeau Field pic.twitter.com/DFrmQogjJ5

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 13, 2022

McCarthy said he wasn’t worried about the Cowboys falling to 6-3 in an NFC East led by the undefeated Philadelphia Eagles (8-0). Dallas is now in third place in the division, also trailing the 7-2 New York Giants. The Cowboys are currently the sixth seed in the NFC playoff picture.

“We just gotta take care of our own business, take care of our own house,” McCarthy said. “If we take care of our own business, we’ll get to where we need to go.”

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was most frustrated after the game about how the team played coming off its bye week. Dallas had won five of its last six following a bye.

“Give them their due,” Jones said of the Packers. “They were able to run the ball better, they were able to stop us more. It was a very disappointing loss. We were rested, we had two weeks off, everybody was ready to go.”

Jones was then asked if a game like this makes free agent wide receiver Odell Beckham Jr. even more attractive to the Cowboys.

“That’s another subject, with another point,” he responded. “I won’t go there. We really had the players on the field to get the job done tonight.”

(Photo of Dak Prescott: Jeff Hanisch / USA Today)

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