Mike McCarthy is criticized for his performance on Sunday

[ad_1]

FOXBOROUGH, MASSACHUSETTS – OCTOBER 17: Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy watches during the second half against the New England Patriots at Gillette Stadium on October 17, 2021 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. (Photo by Maddie Malhotra / Getty Images)

There were a number of reasons the Dallas Cowboys lost 25-22 to the Arizona Cardinals this afternoon, with Mike McCarthy’s handling of the game being one of them.

Dallas scored with 4:42 remaining to reduce the lead to three, but never recovered the ball. The Cardinals moved 52 yards in 10 games to kill the remaining time.

However, just before the two-minute warning, it looked like Arizona running back Chase Edmonds might have lost a fumble, only for the referees to knock him down on contact. As Dallas ran out of time out, they couldn’t contest the game, and Kyler Murray won the game first in the next leg.

Unsurprisingly, McCarthy has taken his fair share of criticism for the misuse of his downtime.

Mike McCarthy calls out too much time out to use a challenge when he needs it. Welcome to the McCarthy era, Cowboys fans. DMs are open if you ever need to talk about it

– Justis Mosqueda (NFL owner) (@JuMosq) January 3, 2022

The cowboys had no more downtime. A coach must have at least one time out to be able to contest. Mike McCarthy ineligible to throw the red flag. And the alleged escape happened just before the two-minute warning, so no automatic review.

Bad timing. https://t.co/YpOFXUj6x6

– Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) January 3, 2022

couldn’t even challenge because Dallas doesn’t have any downtime because Mike McCarthy still doesn’t understand how to use them properly. UNREAL #AZvsDAL

– Ashley Nicole Moss (@AshNicoleMoss) January 3, 2022

Mike McCarthy’s time-out management finally helps the Packers

– Poor Man’s Packers Podcast (@PMPPod) January 3, 2022

Mike McCarthy does things in Kliff Kingsbury with his downtime today

– Alex Clancy (@ClancysCorner) January 3, 2022

Mike McCarthy missed a challenge because he canceled his time-outs? certainly not

– Christian D’Andrea, PAC 2021 champion (@TrainIsland) January 3, 2022

Mike McCarthy still trains like he’s just eaten a huge meal ten minutes before kickoff

– BUM CHILLUPS AKA SPENCER HALL (@edsbs) January 3, 2022

Mike McCarthy with two approximate timeouts today.

– Eric Edholm (@Eric_Edholm) January 2, 2022

Did Mike McCarthy mismanage wait times?

– Chris Williamson (@ CWilliamson44) January 3, 2022

It wasn’t the only reason Dallas lost. The Cowboys offense struggled for much of the afternoon, continuing an unsettling trend of recent weeks. The defense also surrendered 400 meters of total infringement.

But this isn’t the first time McCarthy’s handling of the game, or the lack of it, has surfaced this season. Cowboys fans are right to fear this could cost them a major playoff spot.

[ad_2]