The Cowboys rebounded nicely Monday night with a victory over the Los Angeles Chargers 20-17.
They looked better than they did a week ago, and this was a must-win, as I said Saturday.
After seeing the Eagles and 49ers lose, they could not afford to drop this football game.
Both sides of the football looked better at times, but one of the MANY things I took away from this football game is that Mike McCarthy needs to stop forcing the running game.
Mike McCarthy is lost out there.
— Skip Bayless (@RealSkipBayless) October 17, 2023
Running backs Tony Pollard and Rico Dowdle combined for 42 yards on 18 carries, a 2.3-yard average.
That cannot happen every week, and expect to win games when you need to score 30.
This is being forced by McCarthy on early downs, setting them up for 3rd and long.
You saw Prescott use his legs for the first time in a long time and extend the plays.
That is when this offense is at its best. Let him get outside of the pocket.
Dak Prescott had several big throws, a touchdown pass, and the longest TD run of his career (18 yards).
Yet, the offense still needs to be consistent.
Yet 4-2 is a lot better than 3-3.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy when asked about the team entering their bye week at 4-2 after a roller coaster last few weeks: “Roller-coaster rides are fun. So you’ve got to make sure you look at the high points of it, too. The turns and twists that give you a chance to learn.…
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 18, 2023
What needs to change?
Look, folks, I am just a fan like the rest of us, but I follow the game differently than others because of my writing.
The first thing is to stop making it obvious. If I know from just watching this team every week they are about to run the ball, I am pretty sure the defensive players from studying them all week know it’s coming.
Through the first five weeks, McCarthy has run more on first and second down than any other team in football.
He talked about it all offseason and how they wanted to run the ball and work the clock.
Mike McCarthy. Dude.
— Marcus Mosher (@Marcus_Mosher) October 17, 2023
The problem with that now is that teams know it is coming, so change things up.
Get Prescott some more runs in this offense, it works!
Cowboys OC Brian Schottenheimer on Dak Prescott running more Monday night: “We’re very selective with it. Nobody wants to have the quarterback have to carry it a ton, but he has the ability to hurt people with his legs, and he’s done that historically. We’re not back to the… pic.twitter.com/GMtRHUsumI
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 18, 2023
I don’t think anyone is a fan of how he calls the game right now.
There was a reason that Aaron Rodgers was openly not a fan of it and voiced that when Big Mike was let go from Green Bay.
I did like some things they did yesterday, though.
Moving CeeDee Lamb around, getting Brandin Cooks involved, and Dak using his legs some more.
All those things will be needed when they take on the Eagles twice, the Bills, the Lions, and the Dolphins.
I am not a coach, so maybe try to stop forcing the run down the throat of other teams when they know it’s coming.
I would rather have the offense be more aggressive than they have to start the year.
Lamb was more involved on Monday. Doing so opened up everything else.
I am not saying drop back and throw the ball 55 times, but these first and second down runs putting them behind the sticks have got to stop.
That will get you beat later in the season against Josh Allen, Tua, and Jared Goff.
End of the day, I did like a handful of the things they did on offense Monday, but let these runs come with the flow of the game.
Stop trying to force them and if Prescott plays the way he did Monday and Michael Gallup learns how to catch the ball, this could be a solid middle of the season.
