The Dallas Cowboys had an exciting start to the 2024 NFL season. Massive contract signings for their stars Ceedee Lamb and Dak Prescott had everyone excited for what was about to come. But going into Week 8 of the regular season, fans were expecting better than 3-3 from the Cowboys. Well, at least Jerry Jones was!
The Cowboys are coming off a bye week but what happened to them in Week 6, needs to be addressed. Dan Campbell and the Detroit Lions annihilated Mike McCarthy and co. The Cowboys ran bad plays (we agree with Jerry Jones and Troy Aikman) and consequently, failed to score a touchdown.
But putting all the blame on Mike McCarthy is not a fair assessment. There are so many pieces to this ‘bad play’ puzzle. Dak Prescott has thrown 1,602 yards for 8 touchdowns in six games. His throw has been picked off 6 times and the Cowboys QB has a QBR of 48.9, which is considered below average. CeeDee Lamb hasn’t been exceptional either with 32 receptions for 467 yards, averaging at 14.6 yards per catch for 2 touchdowns.
To make matters worse, owner Jerry Jones has given his two cents too. Jones said that the Cowboys are designing bad plays, a sentiment that echoes with what Troy Aikman, the man who led the Cowboys to 3 Super Bowl wins, said. The Cowboys GM Jerry Jones, who usually refrains from direct remarks, did not hold back this time.
“We’re designing bad plays, or we’re designing bad concepts. The facts are that there’s some of that, but there’s also some execution issues. There’s some of the talent. I like our talent, I really like our young talent, but young talent has a few more mistakes associated with it than if you’re dealing with a veteran player.”
Responding to the Jones’ comments, head coach Mike McCarthy chuckled and said, “I talk to Jerry all the time. We have time to go through self scout, so I didn’t see the comments specifically. (But) I don’t think we have bad concepts and bad plays. I’ll go back and check.”
The Cowboys’ offense was leading the 2023 NFL season with 29.9 points per game. But this season, they find themselves ranked 20th with 21.0 points per game. They have fewer yards per game as compared to last season. In terms of drive score percentage, the Cowboys who ranked 1st last year find themselves in 12th position this year (42.2% this year as compared to 50.6% last year).
NFL Hall of Famer and former Cowboys QB Troy Aikman was critical of the Cowboys offense for the bad plays.
“I think they run terrible routes. CeeDee’s gotta improve his route running. And a quarterback, if you’re not certain where your guys are going to be consistently, it is hard to play the position. I see guys coming off lazy from the line of scrimmage. I am not speaking for Dak but as a former quarterback watching it, it has got to be a lot better.”
Dallas HC McCarty responded to Aikman’s comments by saying, “they don’t carry weight with me, because I watch all the tape. I am part of the game, so I have a clear understanding of what and where. I mean, I don’t agree with Troy’s word selection.”
Also Read: Who plays Thursday Night Football tonight?
Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy hasn’t been fired yet. But owner and GM Jerry Jones has made it clear that he expects McCarthy to give a better playoffs run this time. And it would be safe to assume that a Super Bowl appearance this year is the only way for Mike McCarthy to save his job.
Winner of the Super Bowl XLV, Mike McCarthy joined the Dallas Cowboy as their head coach in the 2020 season. He is the 9th head coach in Cowboys history. McCarthy won his only Super Bowl title as a coach with the Green Bay Packers, with Aaron Rodgers as QB, for the 2010 NFL season.
Since McCarthy has taken over, the Cowboys have failed to make it past the Divisional Round. The Cowboys HC has a win-loss record of 45-28, with a win% of 0.616. If McCarthy departs (which might be the case), who will emerge as the 10th head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, remains to be seen.
Image: Kirby Lee- Imagn Images
NFL 
