Tag: 2022 playoffs

Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse’s emotional offseason to include shoulder surgery

The Cowboys safety took Sunday’s loss especially hard, the end of a season that saw him and others battle through multiple injuries. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys safety Jayron Kearse fought back tears after the team’s 19-12 loss Sunday to the 49ers in the NFC’s divisional round.

“I gave it everything I had,” he told reporters.

Turns out, he gave more than most on the outside realized.

Kearse will need offseason surgery to repair a shoulder injury he’s had for two months. The seven-year veteran suffered a dislocated shoulder and labrum tear versus the Giants on Thanksgiving, yet played on through the team’s postseason run.

“I battled a lot this year,” Kearse explained to media members at his locker. “I just…”

But his voice trailed off as he shook his head, stopping himself from going further.

There was a knee injury that forced his early exit from the season opener and cost him three outings. There was a back issue. A pregame scare when he landed awkwardly during warmups before the Houston game. And an MCL sprain against Tampa Bay just last week that he promised to overcome in time for San Francisco.

He did, turning in five tackles and one for loss against the 49ers, helping his unit put up a solid effort against a top offense by holding them to under 20 points.

“It’s tough when you know you could have won the game,” Kearse admitted, “and you’ve got to watch them celebrate.”

The veteran, about to turn 29, wasn’t the only Cowboys defender who fought through personal health issues this season. He credited Donovan Wilson, Malik Hooker, Leighton Vander Esch, Micah Parsons, and DeMarcus Lawrence with the same perseverance he showed over the promising 2022 campaign.

“I knew we had a chance to do it. And I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to play with those guys, play next to those guys. Unfortunately, we couldn’t get it done,” Kearse explained, his voice cracking once again. “This is why it hurts so much, because I know we had the team to do it. We had the right guys to do it.”

And he knows that some of those “right guys” won’t be wearing the star again in 2023.

“That’s the harsh reality of his business,” he said. “But as of now, this roster is the same. When we go in that building tomorrow, I get to see my teammates. Hug them. Just be around them. And wherever the chips fall, that’s just where they fall. You’ll never have the same roster two years in a row. But I know we have the right guys. I know that.”

For Kearse and the 2022 Cowboys, knowing it will have to be enough. Because they won’t get the chance to prove it.

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WATCH: McCarthy pushes camera after Cowboys loss; Jerry says job safe

Emotions ran high following the loss as Mike McCarthy appeared to push a videographer exiting the field; Jerry Jones stands by his coach. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Emotions were running high throughout Cowboys Nation in the moments immediately following the team’s ouster Sunday night from yet another postseason.

That goes double for the team’s embattled head coach and longtime owner.

Having watched his team turn in an uninspiring performance in a 19-12 loss to the 49ers, a game that ended with questionable clock management from the Dallas sideline and a bizarre final last-gasp play that was snuffed out by the San Francisco defense before it ever had a chance to materialize, coach Mike McCarthy wasn’t in the mood for photo ops as he exited the field at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday evening.

The 59-year-old coach blocked a local TV camera with his hand and even appeared to push the videographer away as he made his way to the visitors’ locker room.

The photographer, from Dallas’s KXAS-TV, explained via Twitter that it was more of a “hand to the lens” than a push and that McCarthy apologized in private.

McCarthy also chose to categorize the moment differently when asked about it, bristling at the use of the word “shove” in a reporter’s question.

“I obviously didn’t view it like that,” he stated to close out his postgame press conference. “That’s not how I saw the interaction. At all.”

Any physical contact whatsoever, though, is considered off-limits in such a situation and speaks to the clear frustration that got the better of the head coach as another promising 12-5 regular season ended with a whimper.

“Obviously just extremely disappointed,” McCarthy told reporters afterward, referring to the team’s on-the-field performance. “This has been an incredible journey with this group of men. We just came up short tonight to a very good football team.”

But despite the continuation of the Cowboys’ long championship drought, owner Jerry Jones maintains that he is not considering a change at the top of his football flowchart.

“No. No. No. Not at all,” Jones said in the tunnel after the loss.

“But this is very sickening to not win tonight.”

Jones’s pained expression was mirrored in the faces of many Cowboys players after the defeat, with some openly shedding tears.

McCarthy described the state of the locker room as “raw” as he addressed the media.

“This is not really the time to pick apart. I understand you’ve got a job to do, but that’s not where we’re at right now.”

Where the Cowboys are at, though, is home. Out of the postseason before the conference championship round. Again.

But in the moments after their division-round loss to San Francisco- one year and six days after coming up short to the 49ers in the wild-card round- McCarthy chose to look at that detail differently, too.

“Factually, we’ve taken one step closer to our goal. That’s what the comparable would be from last year to this year. I think they’re a different team than they were last year. I think they’re a better team than they were last year. I said this earlier in the week; I thought we’re a better team than we were last year.”

That difference, though- like many- feels like splitting hairs the day after.

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Cowboys RB Tony Pollard suffered fractured fibula, faces month-long recovery

The Pro Bowler and 1,000-yard rusher is set to be a free agent this offseason, but faces a long recovery after his injury in Santa Clara. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Tony Pollard’s injury in the second quarter of the Cowboys’ 19-12 divisional-round loss left the team severely hobbled for the back half of Sunday’s game in San Francisco.

It will now also leave Pollard himself limping into the biggest offseason of his professional career.

The four-year veteran reportedly suffered a high ankle sprain and a fractured fibula in his left leg when 49ers defensive back Jimmie Ward tackled him from behind on a pass play that gained eight yards.

ESPN’s Todd Archer delivered the news via social media late Sunday night.

Pollard was carted off the field and did not return in the Cowboys’ postseason exit.

Pollard will undergo surgery to repair the damage.

The former fourth-round draft pick out of Memphis is set to become a free agent after the first 1,000-yard rushing season of his career. The dual threat had finally become a focal point of the Dallas offense in 2022, leading the team in ground yards and yards-per-carry for the season and nearly matching Ezekiel Elliott in carries. Pollard was also named to his first Pro Bowl for his efforts.

Thought to be one the league’s top free agents this coming offseason and in line for a massive contract (from either the Cowboys or someone else), Pollard now also faces the prospect of a three-month recovery, at minimum.

He was seen leaving Levi’s Stadium on crutches and in a walking boot after Sunday’s game.

Pollard had amassed 22 yards on six rushing attempts when he went down, with another 11 yards through the air on a pair of catches.

The Cowboys offensive attack sputtered badly in his absence. Quarterback Dak Prescott threw his second interception of the evening on the very next play, and the team compiled just 17 rushing yards on six tries the rest of the game.

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Cowboys’ ‘Mac’ package 86’d with Peters ruled out vs San Francisco

With Jason Peters sidelined, Connor McGovern will resume LG duties. He had entered last week’s game several times as a blocking fullback. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Friday’s injury report ruled out only one Cowboys starter, but it also likely put the kibosh on one of the offense’s newest strategies for this Sunday.

Offensive lineman Jason Peters has been ruled out of Sunday’s divisional-round game in San Francisco, thanks to a hip injury he suffered in Monday’s night’s win over Tampa Bay. He left in the second quarter and did not return to the game; he was unable to practice at all this week.

The development will shuffle the Cowboys offensive line once again and alter potential plans for coordinator Kellen Moore to get more mileage out of the “Mac” package that he trotted out Monday night.

The Cowboys had started Peters at left tackle at Raymond James Stadium, using Tyler Smith at left guard, Tyler Biadasz at center, Zack Martin at right guard, and Tyron Smith at right tackle. That freed up Connor McGovern- the “Mac” that the personnel grouping is named for- to enter the game as a blocking fullback to help spark the team’s run game. (Tight end Sean McKeon also did some backfield blocking in the set.)

It wasn’t the first time the Cowboys have used the versatile McGovern as a blocker; last season saw him in the backfield with La’el Collins in a 7-lineman group the team referred to as its “Hulk package.”

But the “Mac” was a new look for Dallas this year, and something they clearly hoped to deploy repeatedly throughout their playoff run. But McGovern was able to report as eligible just four times Monday before the injury to Peters forced him to return to left guard, kicking Tyler Smith over to left tackle.

The “Mac”‘s four plays resulted in: a two-yard loss by Ezekiel Elliot, a 15-yard pass play to Michael Gallup, an 18-yard rush by Tony Pollard, and a run for no gain by Elliott.

A small sample size, to be sure, with no definitive verdict on its overall effectiveness. But as a new wrinkle, the “Mac” might have been handy for the Cowboys to have in their tool bag this weekend against the second-best run defense in the league.

Now the team will almost certainly return to the front-five configuration it saw for the majority of the season, unless they feel confidence in one of their other reserve linemen they’ll have active on Sunday.

Peters had played every single offensive snap in Week 18 versus Washington, nearly tripling his usage over any prior 2022 outing. He played 33 snaps on Monday night before the injury.

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Cowboys’ Micah Parsons drops 49ers truth bomb: ‘I don’t think they’ve faced anyone like us’

Much of the NFL world is already counting the Cowboys out of Sunday’s playoff game. That’s just the way Micah Parsons likes it. | From @ToddBrock24f7

“The bigger the stage, the bigger the player.”

Those were the words of Micah Parsons as he previewed this Sunday’s playoff meeting with the 49ers to reporters at the The Star in Frisco on Thursday.

And as the Cowboys prepare to step onto a divisional-round stage for the first time since 2018, the buzz around much of the NFL is that they don’t belong in the same spotlight as their opponents in red and gold who are on an 11-game winning streak.

After all, the Niners averaged 365.6 yards per game during the regular season and a punchy 26.5 points per outing.

The Cowboys’ numbers in the same categories: 354.9 and 27.5.

Hey, wait a minute…

But Parsons says he doesn’t mind the naysayers. In fact, he relishes their casual dismissal.

“We hear what everybody’s saying,” he said. “We hear it: ‘No way the Cowboys are going to win, no way.’ Honestly, I think you should feed into it. You should love that stuff. When no one believes in you, that’s the best feeling; not when everyone believes in you and the Kool-Aid is up and everyone’s smiling, like, ‘They can’t lose. They’re too good.’ I don’t want that feeling, because then it’s like, ‘Damn, what if I don’t win?’ When you’re directly at the bottom, you can only go up. I really like being the underdog.”

And with so much talk about the 49ers’ superstars at so many positions- Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Trent Williams, Nick Bosa, Arik Armstead, Javon Kinlaw, Dre Greenlaw, Fred Warner- it’s easy to fall into the trap of thinking that the San Francisco juggernaut is going to steamroll the Cowboys right down Lombard Street and clean out of the Bay.

Yes, they’re probably the most talented team that Dallas has lined up against.

“But I don’t think they’ve faced anyone like us yet this year, either,” Parsons pointed out.

That’s not self-hype and bluster. The thing is, he’s right.

Taking a look through the 49ers’ regular-season schedule, there’s an argument to be made that the last legitimately good team they played also gave them their most recent loss.

San Francisco fell to the Kansas City Chiefs on Oct. 23 by a 44-23 score.

Apart from that game, the Niners faced only four other teams all season that made the playoffs, and they’re not exactly a murderer’s row: the 10-7 Chargers, the 9-8 Dolphins, the 8-9 Buccaneers, and the 9-8 Seahawks twice. (They sent Seattle home last weekend after beating them for a third time in the wild-card round.) None of those teams are still alive.

By contrast, Dallas played six teams in 2022 that made the postseason: the aforementioned Bucs, the 13-4 Vikings, the 12-4 Bengals, the 9-8 Jaguars, the 9-7-1 Giants twice, and the 14-3 Eagles twice.

The difference, of course, is that four of those squads are still in the tournament.

Yes, the Cowboys blew more games and looked bad at times. They were completely unprepared on opening night against Tampa Bay. They got pushed around in Philadelphia in Week 6. The overtime losses to Green Bay and Jacksonville were unfortunate. And the season-ender against Washington was an embarrassment.

But every single Cowboys loss this season came against teams who either made the postseason or were right there in the hunt in the season’s final two weeks.

Prior to Week 7, the 49ers also lost to the Falcons, the Broncos, and the Bears.

Blah blah blah.

If you ask Parsons, there’s way too much focus being placed overall on who the other team is that’s sharing the stage.

“I don’t want to go out there and try to outcompete the 49ers. They’re going to beat my ass if I play their game. I’m going to play my game. I’m going to bring my strengths and what I bring to the table. They’re going to bring their strengths. Let’s just battle it out,” he said.

“I think we’re pretty hard to stop ourselves. That’s what we’ve got to focus on: not beating ourselves.”

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Cowboys open 21-day window for Fehoko, Harper; add CB to practice squad

The WR and LB had been on injured reserve since October and can now practice with the team. Sheldrick Redwine has been signed as a DB. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Even if they keep winning playoff games, the Cowboys are running out of days in what will constitute their 2022 season. But a trio of young players is looking to make the most of the late opportunity, perhaps even getting into some postseason action.

The Cowboys on Thursday opened the 21-day practice windows for wide receiver Simi Fehoko and linebacker Devin Harper, allowing them to return to work with the team and possibly be added to the 53-man roster within the next three weeks.

Fehoko, in his second year out of Stanford, recorded three catches in five game appearances this season before suffering a shoulder injury in practice just before the Week 6 contest at Philadelphia. He’s been on injured reserve since then.

Harper is in his rookie campaign, a sixth-round draft pick out of Oklahoma State. He saw special teams snaps over the Cowboys’ first three games of 2022 as he tried to work his way into the team’s talented linebacker corps. He was placed on IR in late October after dealing with an Achilles issue.

The Cowboys also welcomed a new man to the practice squad, signing defensive back Sheldrick Redwine on Thursday. A fourth-round pick of the Browns in the 2019 draft, the former safety out of the University of Miami then had stints with the Jets, Panthers, Dolphins, and Colts, mostly on those clubs’ practice squads.

He has eight NFL starts over 33 games, with an interception recorded in 2020.

To make room for Redwine, cornerback Mackensie Alexander was moved to the practice squad’s injured list. The veteran had been signed in December and saw just a handful of defensive snaps against the Eagles in Week 16.

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Cowboys add kicker to practice squad as insurance for Brett Maher

The plan is reportedly for Dallas to start Brett Maher on Sunday but have Tristan Vizcaino as backup in case Maher’s struggles continue. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys proclaimed their confidence in Brett Maher after his disastrous wild-card performance Monday night, telling nearly everyone who asked that they would stick with their kicker, despite him missing an NFL-record four PAT attempts versus Tampa Bay.

But they’ve decided that a little insurance wouldn’t be a bad thing.

The team will sign Tristan Vizcaino to the practice squad, as reported by NFL insider Tom Pelissero Wednesday afternoon. The team appears ready to leave Maher in place as Sunday’s starter in San Francisco, but will have a backup option in case efforts to get the veteran specialist back on track are derailed.

Vizcaino first entered the league in 2019 and has bounced around with eight different teams since then, including a short stint in Dallas. He signed a reserve/futures contract and lasted four months during the 2020 offseason.

Most of his experience has been on the practice squads of those clubs; the University of Washington product has made 11 career field goals on 12 total attempts, and 15 of 20 extra-point tries.

Vizcaino’s most recent action came in Week 10 of this season, when he was a perfect 3-for-3 on PATs and 2-for-2 on field goals for Arizona in a win over the Seahawks.

The 26-year-old actually played briefly for the 49ers at the tail end of the 2020 season and kicked in a 49ers home game, but it was not outdoors at Levi’s Stadium, where this Sunday’s divisional matchup will take place. Due to COVID-19 restrictions, the 49ers based several of their home games that year in Glendale, Ariz.; Vizcaino booted his first three NFL field goals (and two PATs) at the Cardinals’ State Farm Stadium, despite San Francisco being the designated home team.

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‘We were all over them’: Cowboys defense sinks 66-pass effort from Tom Brady

The greatest QB to ever play threw more passes than he ever has in one game, but the Cowboys defense had new wrinkles ready to stop him. | From @ToddBrock24f7

In what could end up being a landmark game in the football life of Tom Brady, the Cowboys forced the 23-year veteran to do something not even he had ever done before.

The Bucs’ 45-year-old quarterback put up a staggering 66 pass attempts in the wild-card loss to the Cowboys on Monday night, the most in any game of Brady’s pro career, and one of the highest numbers ever seen in an NFL game, postseason or otherwise.

The Cowboys had come into the contest expecting a heavy dose of the air attack, with Tampa Bay ranking last leaguewide in rushing attempts, rushing yards, rushing touchdowns, and yards-per-carry over the course of the regular season.

So the mission of Cowboys defensive coordinator Dan Quinn’s unit was clear: suffocate the notoriously quick-trigger Brady in the pocket, and simultaneously cut off his receiving targets downfield.

At the end of the 31-14 Cowboys victory, it’s safe to say the mission was accomplished.

“Defensively, I thought we were all over them as soon as we got off the bus. I think our defense really set the tempo for the game,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters in his postgame press conference.

Brady ended the night 35-of-66 passing for 351 yards, with two touchdowns, an interception, and a 72.2 passer rating.

His 66 attempts were the second-most all-time for a playoff game and put him in very rare company for the most passes thrown in any NFL game. Only ten other men have ever attempted that many throws in a single contest. Brady’s previous high was 65 attempts in a 2012 meeting between the Patriots and 49ers.

“Take away the deep shots they got,” Cowboys linebacker/edge rusher Micah Parsons said of the defense’s strategy after the win. “We made them earn it every time. I think that’s the key. We made the adjustments, did what we had to do. [We] said they couldn’t beat us deep. We executed our gameplan for the most part.”

Indeed. The Buccaneers had just one successful play of over 20 yards on the night.

The Cowboys defense stymied Brady with two sacks, six QB hits, and 12 defended passes.

“We got our hands on a number of balls today,” McCarthy commented. “I know we didn’t get the takeaways we normally get, but most importantly, we were in position for takeaways.”

The one takeaway they did get, however, was monumental. Jayron Kearse’s end-zone interception ruined an early second-quarter Tampa Bay drive which would have (likely) given the Bucs a 7-6 lead and changed the entire complexion of the game.

“We just would not and could not ever let him get to within distance of winning that football game, because he just goes to another level when those things happen,” Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan. “That’s his [m.o.], that’s his background. We basically managed our way and performed our way and kept him looking uphill all night long.”

And that included new players, new personnel groupings, and new wrinkles from a Cowboys defense that wanted to make sure they showed Brady something far different from the unit the Bucs thumped, 19-3, in the season opener.

“Everybody kind of knows you have to get to the quarterback someway, somehow,” offered Parsons. “My job had to go to the extra step, and going back-and-forth, blitzing on the ball, off the ball, giving him different looks. Understanding that they were sliding and chipping, trying to create short edges. We got creative today.”

Several key Dallas defenders were brand-new faces to Brady. Rookie cornerback DaRon Bland played only special teams in Week 1, but he was on the field for every defensive snap Monday night. Safety Israel Mukuamu was inactive on opening night; he logged a career-high snaps on defense in Tampa. Corner Xavier Rhodes and nose tackle Johnathan Hankins weren’t even on the Dallas roster for the two teams’ previous meeting.

But all played crucial roles for Quinn’s crew Monday, holding Brady to a completion percentage of just 53%.

“The biggest thing we were able to accomplish coming out of the last three weeks of the season was really to get our defensive personnel flowing,” McCarthy explained. “We had some new players we needed to try out in there, and you could see it clearly this week where we were really able to get into a groove and a rhythm. Dan was spitting the plays in there quickly, and I thought our defense played with great pace throughout the operation. Most importantly, they performed at an extremely high level.”

And when that happens on the defense, the Dallas offense tends to follow suit.

“Complementary football,” Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott said from the podium. “I mean, that’s the way it’s been when this team is on fire. And when this team is on, they make stops, we turn them into points, and we just have to continue to build off of that. When we’re able to do that, we’re a tough team to beat.”

Even for the greatest quarterback to ever play the game, throwing more times than he ever has before.

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Cowboys DC Dan Quinn requested by Colts for HC interview

Quinn is already set to meet with the Broncos on Friday about their opening; the Indianapolis job would reunite Quinn with QB Matt Ryan. | From @ToddBrock24f7

As expected, Dan Quinn’s dance card is filling up quickly.

The Cowboys defensive coordinator, fresh off his unit’s stifling of Tom Brady and the Buccaneers in the wild-card round of the postseason, is being approached by the Indianapolis Colts for their head coaching position, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.

The Colts finished the 2022 season with a 4-12-1 record under interim head coach Jeff Saturday. Saturday, the team’s longtime center with no coaching experience at any level, had been hired midway through the season in a surprise move after the firing of Frank Reich following a Week 9 loss to New England.

Quinn, of course, has great familiarity with current Indianapolis quarterback Matt Ryan. The two were paired for five-plus years in Atlanta when Quinn was the club’s head coach. The Falcons went to Super Bowl LI in 2016, Ryan’s second year under Quinn, and made the divisional round the year after.

Ryan’s status with the team for next season is unknown. Even though the 37-year-old is technically still under contract for 2023, the Colts’ new head coach would likely have a key role in determining Ryan’s future in Indianapolis.

A timeline for Quinn’s chat with Colts owner Jim Irsay  and GM Chris Ballard is not yet known, but the 52-year-old coordinator is already set to meet with the Denver Broncos on Friday about their head coaching job.

Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said Quinn’s upcoming interviews wouldn’t detract from the team’s short-week preparations for San Francisco this Sunday.

“Dan is the consummate, experienced coach,” Jones said Tuesday on Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan. “Nobody relies on being focused at the game at hand, and no one has a better appreciation. His background, his experience there in Atlanta, there at Seattle. And so he is not going to compromise one iota anything that we’re doing with the Cowboys and what we’re doing this weekend.”

The Colts have a long list of candidates lined up for interviews. Eagles OC Shane Steichen, Lions DC Aaron Glenn, Rams DC Raheem Morris, Lions OC Ben Johnson, Broncos DC Ejiro Evero, and Chiefs OC Eric Bieniemy are among those who have already sat down with the team. Additional prospects include Giants OC Mike Kafka, Giants DC Wink Martindale, and 49ers DC DeMeco Ryans.

Saturday is also reportedly in the running to keep the job on a full-time basis.

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‘We need Brett’: Cowboys say they will stand by kicker despite horrific night

Brett Maher lived up to his nickname for most of the 2022 season, but an awful wild-card round brought questions about the kicker’s future. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The man they call “Money” sure picked a rough time to start coming up short. But the Cowboys maintain they won’t be making any change when it comes to the specialist position.

Kicker Brett Maher struggled through a historically-bad performance Monday night in Tampa, missing four of his five point-after-touchdown attempts. That makes him the first kicker since 1932 to miss four PATs in a single game.

To have it happen in the playoffs made it even more shocking… and ominous.

Thankfully, the game didn’t come down to a field goal, and those four lost points proved not to be a factor in the Cowboys’ demonstrative 31-14 win. But any games the Cowboys get to play from here on out will be against teams with much better records than the Buccaneers, and Maher’s sudden case of the yips would seem to be of serious concern moving forward in the postseason.

But despite Maher also missing a PAT- his only attempt- in Week 17 to connect on just one of is last six kicks, head coach Mike McCarthy intends to stand by the man who also scored more points in a single season than any Cowboy in history.

“We need Brett, and he understands that,” McCarthy told reporters in his postgame press conference Monday night. “We need to get back on it this week, and get him ready to go. Obviously, we are kicking in an outdoor stadium out there in Santa Clara.”

Maher had lived up to his nickname for most of the season, his second stint with the team (third if you count a brief two-week stay as injury insurance for Dan Bailey during the 2013 preseason). He had missed just three field goals- a 46-yarder and two from 59 yards- and connected on 50 of 53 PATs all year.

And he hadn’t missed multiple kicks in any game this season. Until Monday night.

It was so bad, according to Cowboys sideline reporter Kristi Scales, that the team was actually running out of kicking balls because Maher had sent so many into the stands.

“He’s disappointed,” McCarthy explained, “but we need him. We need him to focus in, and he’s been super clutch for us all year. So that’s the plan.”

After his first two attempts sailed wide right, Maher’s third try went left. Then the fourth hit the right upright and caromed away.

The veteran admitted afterward that he was likely trying too hard to overcorrect with his later kicks.

“In hindsight, I think yes,” Maher said via the team website. “I didn’t feel like that was my mentality going out there, but yeah, just not good enough.”

The 33-year-old was able to punch in his final PAT of the night, in the fourth quarter.

And despite quarterback Dak Prescott voicing his frustrations on the sideline- cameras caught him shouting, “Go for [expletive] two!” after one of Maher’s misses- the kicker says he was getting nothing but encouragement from teammates during his nightmare performance.

“I feel very fortunate to have the teammates that I do,” Maher said. “To be in the locker room and the coaching staff: they absolutely lifted me up today. I so appreciate every single one of them. It’s time for me to do my part.”

Even Prescott had come around by the time he spoke to media members after the win.

“I’m Money Maher’s biggest fan,” Prescott said. “Obviously, I’ve been shown the video of me; it’s just emotions, that’s part of it. I talked to him individually. Just told him after the game to let that go; we’re going to need him. I just played like [expletive] a week ago. I mean, that happens. But when you believe in each other, you believe in what we’re capable of doing and knowing what that guy has done, with the resiliency he’s shown throughout his career personally, no doubt he’ll come back next week and be perfect and help us win.”

Team owner Jerry Jones was just as confident in Maher in the moments after Dallas’s statement win, saying the team would not be trying out any new kickers prior to the weekend’s divisional matchup with the 49ers.

“No. No. We won’t,” Jones said Monday night. “He’s done enough good ones. I don’t think he’s blown the socket or whatever you do.”

But by Tuesday morning, Jones sounded a little less sold on Money’s spot being guaranteed.

“We’ll read this thing as the week goes along,” he told Dallas radio station 105.3 The Fan. “I don’t want to get out over our skis and get ahead of it. I thought when he came out at halftime- I watched him warm up out there- he was making all the kicks. I figured that was behind him, but we will take a look at it. [It would be] really a big setback to go into the rest of this tournament, rest of this playoff, with shakiness at kicker.”

Adding to the uneasiness is Maher’s past history with the club. Good enough in 2018 to force Bailey’s release, Maher finished that season in the top 10 in field goals. And in 2019, he sank two from over 60 yards early in the season, only to have accuracy issues late in the year, leading to a December release.

He was good on better than 90% of both field goals and extra points in the 2022 regular season, his reunion tour with the Cowboys.

But on Tuesday, Jones even allowed for the possibility of carrying two kickers on the gameday roster if the the team feels it can’t rely on one.

“It’s an imposition to have to use up that extra roster spot,” the owner explained, “but it’s doable.”

Hall of Fame kicker Morten Andersen, now 62, jokingly threw his own cleats into the ring on social media during Maher’s performance.

Having two kickers on the playoff roster would be an extreme emergency plan, to be sure, but the Cowboys were almost forced into that sort of mindset Monday night versus the Bucs.

McCarthy confirmed that, had they not held a significant lead in their first-round tilt, they might have considered going for two-point conversions rather than continuing to send their struggling kicker onto the field.

“That’s definitely a consideration,” McCarthy said.

While the coaching staff explores all their options moving forward, Maher will simply keep plugging away, hoping that when he lines up for his next boot, the team will continue to look at him as money in the bank.

“Get back at it,” the kicker said of his plan for turning things around. “Hit some balls, have a great week of practice, get myself ready to go.”

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