Cowboys loss to Falcons should be the nail in the coffin for Mike McCarthy as team’s head coach

Everything about the Cowboys on Sunday looked bad.

The Dallas Cowboys suffered their third-straight loss on Sunday against the Atlanta Falcons, losing 27-21. Like many of their games this season, the final score makes the game seem closer than it truly was. Frankly, the game was much of what fans have come to expect of the Cowboys team this season. They got embarrassed on defense, allowing Kirk Cousins to throw for 222 passing yards and three touchdowns. This wide-open touchdown to Darnell Mooney is a perfect example of how the Cowboys just appeared out of synch on Sunday.

While the defense hasn’t been great, it continues to be somewhat expected with all their inactives right now. Asking the Cowboys defense to play great while missing Micah Parsons, DaRon Bland, and DeMarcus Lawrence has been a tall order. What continues to be the team’s main problem is their lackluster offense and being undisciplined.

The Cowboys committed nine penalties against the Falcons, more than doubling Atlanta’s four.

On three fourth-down attempts during the game, CeeDee Lamb was tackled for a loss on a jet sweep, Bryan Anger almost threw an interception on a fake punt attempt, and the team was flagged for 12 players in the huddle.

This Cowboys team continues to be undisciplined under Mike McCarthy. More than half of their penalties against the Falcons were pre-snap penalties, something that is completely preventable.

Evidence supports that McCarthy has lost the locker room as well. From Trevon Diggs lashing out at reporters after a loss, to Ezekiel Elliott being a healthy scratch due to “disciplinary reasons”, it is safe to say there is no true leadership right now. Even the team’s leader in Dak Prescott was seen on the sideline mouthing “we [expletive] suck.”

It is incredibly unlikely that the Cowboys move on from McCarthy during the season. It hasn’t been the way Jerry Jones and company operates when it comes to replacing head coaches. If anything, it becomes increasingly likely that Jones just allows McCarthy’s contract to expire this offseason.

While McCarthy had an impressive stretch of three straight 12-5 seasons with the team, it feels safe to assume that the Super Bowl window under him has officially closed and it is time for new leadership in Dallas.