There’s a serious problem in Dallas, and it’s not all about injuries even though there are a mountain of them. On Jerry Jones’ birthday, his 82nd, he “celebrated” by watching them get blown out in a non-competitive home first half for the fourth time in a row. The Cowboys entered the locker room down 27-6 to the Detroit Lions, en route to a 47-9 demolishing.
The loss dropped Dallas to 0-3 at home on the season, and the open mics from the game were littered with audible chants from Lions fans who made the trek to Dallas to watch a championship caliber team. The Cowboys are woefully injured, but that wasn’t the case in the previous losses, so it’s difficult to allow that to be an excuse for this putrid performance.
It’s more difficult not to consider that the team has no future under head coach Mike McCarthy. Will Jerry Jones consider firing him?
It may seem drastic, but one thing about the NFL is it’s a copycat league. With the Jets waving goodbye to Robert Saleh this week, perhaps the fever will spread down south.
Dallas gave up 47 points, the most since a 49-38 Week 4 loss during the 2020 COVID season. The 38-point loss ties the largest recent deficit in a defeat in team history. That loss? Week 9 in 2010; i.e. the game that got Wade Phillips fired.
The Lions could’ve gone for the long field goal but they finally called off the dogs. If the final score holds, the 38 point loss ties the worst defeat in Cowboys history.
2010 Week 9. Yes, the game that cost Wade Phillips his job.
— KD Drummond (@KDDrummondNFL) October 13, 2024
The Cowboys haven’t been ready to play in any way, shape or form in a building where they, for 16 straight games, exerted their will against opponents. Their offensive line can’t run block nor pass protect, and they are in Year 2 under a McCarthy hire, Mike Solari. In fact, Dallas benched their first-round pick, Tyler Guyton, for this game.
The result? Prescott was pressured 20+ times, sacked four times among 11 QB hits.
Aside from CeeDee Lamb (7 receptions, 89 yards), there’s no skill position player on offense capable of regularly creating separation, much less scaring the defense, which leads to Lamb getting double teamed. They certainly aren’t being schemed open.
On defense, there’s certainly something to be said for the totem of injured stars, but in an honest moment, they weren’t playing up to par before they were sent to the sidelines.
That 180 degree turn, started with everything on the line in the wild-card game in January, falls on the coach. A few years ago, Dallas was embarrassed in the playoffs in a game against San Francisco and the head coach admitted they were nervous. In front of their home fans, they’ve tucked their tails repeatedly in 2024 and one has to wonder whether a change will be made.
In the final year of his contract, McCarthy had led the Cowboys to three consecutive 12-win seasons. After the loss to the Packers, there were some who thought Jones would pull the plug on McCarthy at that point, but he returned with a final chance to salvage his stint.
Through six weeks, there’s been no sign of such.
Firing a coach midseason isn’t something Jones considers often. When he relieved Phillips his chosen coach-in-waiting was already in the building in Jason Garrett. That doesn’t seem to be the case at this point, but there may be some considerations in the helicopter this week.
Potential interim coaches could include Mike Zimmer, who has head coaching experience with eight years at the helm in Minnesota. Also to be considered would be special teams coach John Fassel.
The biggest consideration though is that since McCarthy calls the offense he’s designed, someone would have to take over those duties as well. Offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer would likely ascend to those responsibilities if McCarthy was shown the exit.
If he’s given a chance to save the season, McCarthy will have to spend the bye week fixing a myriad of issues that plague the entire team. And there may not be a win coming in the games that follow. Dallas is at San Francisco, at Atlanta, then home again for back-to-back games against the rival Eagles and in-state rival Texans.