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ARLINGTON (CBSDFW.COM/AP) — There was a four-game profitable streak to complete the season, however that most likely isn’t what individuals will probably be speaking about when reflecting on Mike McCarthy’s first season as coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
McCarthy didn’t problem a catch that arrange a 50-yard area objective by New York’s Graham Gano when it appeared the bottom aided Dante Pettis’ 10-yard seize within the Giants’ 23-19 victory Sunday. Dallas (6-10) was eradicated from the playoffs with the loss.
A reversal would have pressured New York to punt, and the Cowboys might have gone forward with a area objective within the closing two minutes. Instead, Dallas was down 4 factors when Andy Dalton pressured a throw into the tip zone on third-and-goal from the 17 after a sack. The Giants (6-10) ran out the clock after Xavier McKinney’s interception.
Dante Pettis #13 of the New York Giants dives to make a catch towards Jourdan Lewis #26 of the Dallas Cowboys in the course of the fourth quarter on January 03, 2021 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. (credit score: Elsa/Getty Images)
“We just felt it was too close,” McCarthy stated. “We felt it was kind of a bang-bang-type situation. We were in a tight game. And the three timeouts was obviously of high value there. We just didn’t think it was enough information to overturn it.”
McCarthy, who made some questionable choices when the Cowboys had been within the midst of six losses in seven video games after quarterback Dak Prescott’s season-ending ankle damage, selected to not go for a 2-point conversion trailing by 5 after Ezekiel Elliott’s 1-yard landing plunge with 8:39 left within the third quarter.
“It was too early in the game to go for 2 in my opinion there,” stated McCarthy, who settled for a 20-16 deficit that was lower to some extent early within the fourth quarter on a 36-yard area objective from Greg Zuerlein, who made 4 to tie the membership season report of 34.
As it turned out, a ending four-game profitable streak wouldn’t have been sufficient to get Dallas within the playoffs. Washington (7-9) clinched the NFC East with a 20-14 win over Philadelphia on Sunday evening. The Cowboys would have misplaced the tiebreaker as a result of Washington swept the season sequence.
“We’re upset that we didn’t do what we needed to to put ourselves in a situation to get in,” stated Ezekiel Elliott, who fell in need of 1,000 yards speeding when taking part in not less than 15 video games for the primary time in his five-year profession. “Just disappointing.”
One of the NFL’s worst groups at changing touchdowns contained in the 20-yard line had bother once more. Dallas needed to accept Zuerlein’s first area objective after recovering a fumble on the New York 27 and rapidly getting a primary down on the 16.
On the ultimate possession, the Cowboys had a primary down on the New York 7 when Leonard Williams was unblocked and dropped Dalton for a 10-yard loss. Rookie receiver CeeDee Lamb had a drop that stored Dallas from a extra manageable state of affairs on third or fourth down.
“Things like that have changed the outcome of the game,” stated Dalton, who stayed within the sport after his left (non-throwing) hand was stepped on on the finish of a scramble, an damage that required stitches after the sport. “We have to be better in the red zone, and we weren’t today.”
McCarthy believes a four-game profitable streak to complete a tough season in Green Bay when he was a rookie head coach in 2006 helped catapult the Packers to the NFC championship the following yr.
These injury-plagued and generally mistake-prone Cowboys rallied with three straight victories after falling to 3-9, however couldn’t match McCarthy’s first staff.
“The facts are what they are,” McCarthy stated. “We finished 6-10 and we’ll take the step back and go through a thorough evaluation of everything in our football operations. I like the look of our guys. I think just the way they worked, continued to fight all the way through to the end. We have a lot of guys coming back from injury situations.”
(© Copyright 2021 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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