When the Dallas Cowboys fell to 3-7 this season, the talk of Mike McCarthy’s time as the team’s head coach shifted to the past tense. It seemed like a foregone conclusion that McCarthy would be gone.
A lot has changed in the past five weeks. The Cowboys, without quarterback Dak Prescott since Week 9, have come alive. Cooper Rush, Prescott’s replacement, is playing pretty well. The Cowboys have played like the team they were expected to be heading into the season. And McCarthy might be saving his job, which is remarkable considering where he was a little more than a month ago.
The Cowboys had a good 26-24 win on Sunday night against a Tampa Bay Buccaneers team that seemed like it was cruising toward an NFC South title and has some high quality wins on its résumé. Dallas outplayed Tampa Bay for most of the game and then held on late when the Bucs rallied. Dallas cornerback DaRon Bland stole the ball from Buccaneers running back Rachaad White right before White was down, and the fumble with 1:26 left sealed the Cowboys’ win. The Cowboys improved to 7-8 with the win, which isn’t great but a lot better than they were in late November.
The Cowboys were officially eliminated from playoff contention on Sunday, before their game ever kicked off. That’s ironic considering they’re finally looking like a playoff team.
Cowboys have a strong outing
If the Cowboys decide to extend McCarthy, it won’t be a popular decision. The Cowboys’ fan base is reactionary and has wanted McCarthy out after every playoff disappointment. Retaining him because of a good finish after the Cowboys’ playoff hopes were practically finished will get a lot of criticism.
But Cowboys owner Jerry Jones has supported McCarthy publicly lately and the win over the Buccaneers won’t slow him down. McCarthy is in an unusual position because his contract will expire after the season. It’s not a matter of the Cowboys not firing him; they would need to sign him to a new contract and McCarthy would have to want to return as well. But he has put himself in position for that to be a possibility. When the Cowboys were 3-7 and seemingly heading toward at least 11 or 12 losses, it would have been outlandish to even entertain that possibility.
Jones has resisted the urge to give in to overreaction when it comes to McCarthy and might do so again. McCarthy is 49-33 as Cowboys head coach. He also has a career winning percentage above 60 with a Super Bowl ring when he was with the Packers. For all of the grief McCarthy gets, his record is pretty strong. And the Cowboys playing well lately looks good on him.
The Cowboys’ resurgence has happened due to a defense that improved greatly when Micah Parsons returned from injury, and the solid play of Rush. Rush had 226 yards and a touchdown in the first half against the Buccaneers. Dallas scored the first 10 points of the game and led 23-14 at halftime.
Neither offense was as explosive in the second half. But the Cowboys held a comfortable lead, at least until the final minutes.
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Buccaneers fall back into tie with Atlanta
Trailing by nine points, Mayfield led a quick scoring drive, getting 87 yards in a little more than two minutes. He hit Ryan Miller for a 13-yard touchdown, and there was plenty of time for the Buccaneers to get a stop and get the ball back, trailing 26-24.
The Buccaneers got a three-and-out. The Cowboys punted and the Buccaneers took over at their own 26-yard line, with 1:40 remaining in the game needing a field goal to win. But Bland stripped White of the ball and that ended Tampa Bay’s comeback hopes.
The Buccaneers’ playoff outlook changes with the loss. They battled to overtake the Falcons for first place of the NFC South, but lost control of the division on Sunday night. Both teams are tied at 8-7 atop the standings. The Falcons hold the tiebreaker based on a head-to-head sweep. Atlanta, which looked better Sunday with rookie Michael Penix Jr. taking over at quarterback, takes the division if it wins its final two games.
The Cowboys have won four of their past five games, and the one loss was competitive against a talented Cincinnati Bengals team. Dallas would be happy to pick up where it’s leaving off this season. That might require the Cowboys bringing their coach back. That might not be the most popular move, but with every strong performance it’s looking more possible.
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