Mike McCarthy played it safe during the Dallas Cowboys’ final drive before halftime on Monday. Team owner Jerry Jones did not agree with his head coach’s decision.
The Cowboys were inside the red zone with eight seconds left and two timeouts remaining against the Los Angeles Chargers. The team had time for one more shot at the end zone before kicking the field goal.
However, McCarthy told the referees to let the clock keep running so his team could take the three points already. Dallas led 10-7 at the break following a 32-yard FG from Brandon Aubrey.
The conservative decision did pay off for the Cowboys. Dallas still wound up winning the contest 20-17 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, California.
Jones was asked about McCarthy’s decision during a Tuesday appearance on 105.3 The Fan (13:30 mark). The Cowboys owner admitted that he would have preferred a more aggressive approach.
“First of all, this is not an impassioned response to your question at all,” Jones said. “But I thought we should have tried another pass in the end zone, and used the clock accordingly.”
Jones followed by stating the quick field goal decision was not indicative of McCarthy’s lack of faith in quarterback Dak Prescott.
One more shot at a touchdown could have yielded an even greater lead heading into the halftime break. But it’s hard to be made if you’re a Cowboys fan given that the team won by exactly one field goal.
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