Cowboys McCarthy, Prescott at crossroads after humiliating wild-card loss

If the Cowboys want to turn the page on their head coach, they can, but while it’s not impossible it’s implausible they’ll move on from their QB this offseason. Here’s why.

The Dallas Cowboys 48-32 loss has once again ended a season in a manner that feels premature. Last year’s 12-win team made it to a road divisional game in San Francisco. While there was hope the club could advance over an inexperienced QB, results from 2023 have confirmed that Brock Purdy and the 49ers are the real deal and that loss was not the embarrassment it seemed like at the time.

But this loss, to the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers is much different. Dallas will have to take a long look in the mirror and determine whether or not they’ve hit their ceiling with this head coach and quarterback combination. Both sides of the team shoulder equal blame for the disaster on Sunday, but as the faces of the franchise, Mike McCarthy and Dak Prescott are at a crossroads, and in the crosshairs.

There’s going to be a lot to unpack about both roles over the next 24 hours, but the options Jerry Jones and company have are wholly different for the two men.