Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images How much stock do you put into the Cowboys offering words of support for Mike McCarthy? It wasn’t too long ago that everyone was certain the Cowboys would be looking for a new head coach after this year. Mike McCarthy’s contract expires once the season ends, and a losing streak that saw Dak Prescott go down for the year only escalated the odds of that happening. Then the Cowboys won two straight, both of them against division foes, and momentum began to shift in the coach’s favor. Prescott made a rare media appearance to vouch for McCarthy and Stephen Jones admitted that the entire team feels the same way. Then, before the Monday night game kicked off against the Bengals, Troy Aikman added to the discourse: Former Cowboys QB Troy Aikman on @1053thefan said he expects Mike McCarthy to be the Cowboys’ head coach next season. “Short of Bill Belichick, I don’t know who you’re going to bring in that has a better resume. … I just feel that for a team that I really do not think is that… — Jon Machota (@jonmachota) December 10, 2024 As if the universe was playing a cosmic practical joke, the Cowboys immediately went on to lose in the most dumbfounding way possible. After the defense sacked Joe Burrow on third and long with two minutes left in the game and the score all tied up, Dallas blocked the punt and then foolishly tried to recover it, giving the ball right back to Cincinnati as a result. The dire mental error in such a crucial moment immediately let the social media hounds loose on McCarthy, with fans calling for him to be fired and expressing regret over the apparent about-face of the internal sentiment on the coach. There’s just one problem: the Cowboys can’t do any better than this. That’s both in the short- and long-term, too. Just about everyone not named Jerry or Stephen agrees that the offseason strategies this year were not put together with winning in 2024 as the foremost priority. It’s not entirely surprising that the team stumbled early on, and it’s even less surprising that they got worse after Prescott went down. Hope of a magical turnaround was extinguished several weeks ago, although the two-game win streak cracked the door open ever so slightly. This loss to the Bengals was a reminder, though, that the Cowboys in this current moment are not equipped to contend for the playoffs. In the long run, though, the Cowboys have an uneasy future too. They have 11 starters with expiring contracts this year, and Micah Parsons will likely want a new contract before his fifth-year option officially kicks in. Following next year, the Cowboys will have contract decisions to make on DaRon Bland, Jake Ferguson, Donovan Wilson, Jalen Tolbert, Brandon Aubrey, and Terence Steele, among others. They’re also already tied to Prescott and CeeDee Lamb for at least the next four years. On some level, that’s a good thing, but Prescott is already the longest-tenured starting quarterback in the league. He’ll already be entering next season coming off his season-ending injury, so adding a total scheme overhaul onto his plate would be unwise. That’s what dumping McCarthy would mean: a new scheme, a new language, and an entirely different set of personnel requirements on offense. While many fans would be elated to ditch the Texas Coast offense after just two years, pulling off a scheme change is easier said than done. Finding the right coach to do it is an entirely different animal. Many fans want Lions offensive coordinator Ben Johnson, but that seems highly unlikely. The other two names most commonly associated with the potential vacancy are Bill Belichick and Mike Vrabel. As of the time of publication, Belichick is reportedly on the verge of taking the head coaching job at the University of North Carolina. But we’ll reference him here becasue he was a likely candidate until just recently, and it helps build out the context. Belichick is a defensive mind whose track record on offense has been spotty, at least when he doesn’t have Tom Brady running the show. The same can be said of Vrabel, who went 13-21 after losing offensive coordinator Arthur Smith. In the six years that Vrabel coached the Titans, his offense was 13th in EPA/play and 14th in success rate; in that same span, the Cowboys are fifth and third, respectively. The biggest knock on McCarthy is that he doesn’t win in the postseason. It’s a silly thing to say about a coach who has a Super Bowl ring to his name, but McCarthy is 1-3 in the playoffs in Dallas. Belichick and Vrabel have had their moments in the playoffs, though. Belichick obviously has six rings, while Vrabel’s second year with the Titans saw them reach the conference championship game. Of course, neither coach has done much recently. Following that stellar 2019 year for the Titans, Vrabel went 0-2 in the playoffs and then failed to reach the postseason his next two years. Meanwhile, Belichick has just one playoff appearance since Brady left the Patriots, and he hasn’t won a playoff game since the 2018 season. To put that in perspective, the last playoff win he had came at the end of a Super Bowl run that saw the Patriots beat Philip Rivers’ Chargers, Patrick Mahomes in just his second career playoff game, and a Rams team led by Jared Goff and Todd Gurley. “But they’ve gotten farther in the playoffs than McCarthy has in Dallas,” some say. So did McCarthy when he took this job. McCarthy currently has the third-most wins among active head coaches and he’s tied for 13th most all time. Coincidentally, he’s tied Bill Parcells, another Super Bowl winning head coach who was unable to replicate his success in Dallas. If those two coaches couldn’t get it done under the watchful eye of Jerry Jones, what hope is there that Vrabel can? Therein

Photo by Cooper Neill/Getty Images Our writers provide their opinions on the latest Dallas Cowboys news during our weekly review on the Roundtable. Every week, we gather the latest news about the Dallas Cowboys and seek our writer’s perspective on each headline. Welcome back to the roundtable. This week we have Brian Martin, Tom Ryle, and RJ Ochoa. With the loss to Cincinnati, does that remove all playoff hopes this season? Some may say that any playoff chance was all but gone many weeks ago, but there was some hope before the agonizing defeat on Monday Night Football to Cincinnati. The best result now for Dallas this season would be 9-8, but that’s assuming the team could defeat Tampa Bay, Philadelphia and Washington who are all on winning records. It makes that final error off the blocked punt all the more painful. Tom: Technically, the Cowboys have not been eliminated from the playoffs, but that can best be described as that, a technicality. With the Eagles and Commanders as their last two opponents, it is hard to imagine the many, many things happening that have to fall just right to get them into the postseason. Now they have lost yet another star performer, DeMarvion Overshown (who’s injury could be more than just season-ending, sadly), and Cooper Beebe became the latest offensive lineman to have to leave the field. It’s really just the inevitable outcome of a season that was set up to fail almost from the first day of the offseason in February. Jess: Let’s not kid ourselves; they were gone before Monday night. The idea that Dallas was going to catch up to the Commanders was one thing, but also leapfrogging the Bucs, Cardinals, 49ers, and Rams to get into the last wild card spot just wasn’t realistic. It made for fun discussion and appeased the “never say die” portion of Cowboys Nation, but must of us knew that Week 18 is going to be the merciful end of this season. Brian: The simple answer is yes. It would’ve taken a miracle for the Cowboys to make the playoffs after their early-season blunders. And even though they weren’t mathematically removed from making the playoffs, they pretty much would’ve had to win out the rest of the season as well as get some help from other teams to have a chance of making the postseason. I think we can safely say now they have just four more games to play this year and that’s it. RJ: Mathematically speaking obviously the Cowboys have some semblance of a chance, but I do have to say that Monday night felt like a point of no return in terms of energy. This season has been lost from just about the moment it set out to sea and the two wins in a row helped distract us from that. They may find a way to make it mildly interesting again, but this thing is toast. Does Rico Dowdle’s recent form remove the need to draft a running back early in the draft? The last four weeks has seen Rico Dowdle steadily increase in rush yards per game and now he has consecutive career games topped off with a performance against Cincinnati that saw him go for 131 rush yards and average an insane 7.3 yards per carry. The entire season has seen Dallas struggle in the run game, but the coaches have finally seen the light and have given Dowdle the nod to go out there and be all he can be. In the last two weeks, Dowdle has averaged 121 rush yards per game, the most in the NFL in that timeframe, more than Saquon Barkley. Tom: At first, it could appear that way, but the pendulum is making another swing in the NFL and the running back position is starting to regain some of the value it has lost as the passing game ascended. It still does not seem like a good idea to draft a back in the first couple of rounds, but if there was a superstar back sitting on the board and they took him, I would not rend my clothing and heap ashes on my head the way I once would have. Dowdle certainly takes the pressure off, though. They have plenty of other concerns they need to address first. Jess: Dowdle’s a free agent so we can’t count on his return, but it does show that a productive RB can be found in a variety of ways. Many were clamoring for Dallas to use an early pick on Jonathan Brooks last year, but imagine if we just had a fourth-round guy like Chuba Hubbard? He’s the NFL’s sixth-leading rusher right now despite playing for one of the league’s worst passing teams. Just find a guy who fits your system and good things will happen. Brian: Considering Rico Dowdle is a pending free agent after the completion of the 2024 season, the Cowboys draft needs for the running back position don’t change. What Dowdle has done is make a case for himself to be a top priority re-signing for them in the offseason. He’s shown he can be a capable starter and shouldn’t cost too much to bring back. Even if they do that though, RB will still be a “need” at some point in the 2025 NFL Draft. RJ: Let me say that Rico Dowdle has been amazing here as of late, but if we are going to fall in love with something and forego a need then we are committing the same crimes over and over and over again. The primary lesson learned from the front office has to be that there is never enough that you can have. In that spirit, they better draft a running back. Hopefully not one too soon, though. This week the Cowboys take on the Carolina Panthers. What will the final score be and give one hot take for the game? The Dallas Cowboys take on the Carolina Panthers this

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images If you were still on the fence about whether or not the Cowboys should bring Mike McCarthy back, Monday night should have made it clear. Given how the Dallas Cowboys lost their most recent game against the Bengals, it may seem unfair to blame head coach Mike McCarthy. But while it’s easy to point at a specific moment in the contest, and one player’s very personal blunder, which cost Dallas victory, the Cowboys could have been ahead if McCarthy hadn’t made his own big mistake. Facts are facts; if CB Amani Oruwariye had secured that blocked punt or just not even touched it, Dallas would have been in a strong position to win. The ball likely gets downed somewhere between the Bengals’ 45 and the 50, meaning the Cowboys were already close, if not in, kicker Brandon Aubrey’s range. With the way Rico Dowdle was running, it’s more than reasonable that they would’ve picked up yards, maybe even a first down, to wind the clock down and walk off with the victory. But should the game have even been tied at that point? Let’s talk about the night that Dowdle was having. It was his best yet as a pro; 131 rushing yards on just 18 carries, plus one 10-yard catch. Averaging 8.4 yards per touch, Dowdle was the best thing Dallas had going offensively. Cooper Rush was struggling, and had it not been for CeeDee Lamb’s great individual effort on a 43-yard catch it would’ve been a very poor night for QB2. Naturally then, McCarthy went away from him in the crucial final drives. After Cincy made it 20-20 on a field goal, Dowdle did get the first carry and was stopped for a one-yard loss. But instead of giving him another shot, McCarthy leaned on Rush for two straight incompletions that led to a punt. The next time Dallas got the ball, Dowdle took the first carry for 14 yards. He didn’t get another one as Rush threw three more blanks and the Cowboys had to punt again. The Bengals’ next drive led to the special teams disaster. McCarthy’s personality as a coach is well known. He’s a West Coast guy who’s never made the run game a feature of his offense. That made sense when his quarterbacks were Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers, and even at times when Dak Prescott is humming, but it looks pretty stupid when you’ve got Cooper Rush overthrowing open guys and not even seeing others. It’s even dumber when you consider the opponent. Keeping the Bengals’ offense off the field was crucial to success and Dowdle was providing a great way to do it. While the couple of carries they gave Ezekiel Elliott was ineffective, why weren’t Hunter Luepke or Deuce Vaughn worked into the mix? If Dowdle couldn’t take a heavier workload, there were other ways to run the offense that would’ve exploited Cincinnati’s clear weakness. But that’s where McCarthy has so consistently failed in Dallas, especially in these two years as the play-caller. He runs a stubborn scheme, both in its archaic design and predictable in-game decisions. Even with his starting QB out and the run game dominating, he can’t help himself. McCarthy is going to live or die his way, either because he’s too proud to adapt or lacks the talent and creativity to do so. Whatever the reason, it’s more evidence of why the Cowboys have to move on from McCarthy this offseason. Sure, he deserves credit for the way the players have kept fighting in a realistically lost season. But you can’t let that distract you from the fact that he’s one of the culprits. A better coach doesn’t lose this last game. So while some players certainly deserve blame for Dallas’ fall on Monday night, don’t let Mike McCarthy off the hook. Bad moments and even off nights happen for players, but McCarthy’s poor judgment has been on display for far longer and more consistently. Even if the front office has a brilliant offseason, trusting McCarthy to take that talent somewhere special is no longer reasonable.

Photo by Sam Hodde/Getty Images The Cowboys have a lot of important decisions to make in the next month. The Dallas Cowboys came so close to making things kind of interesting over the last month of the NFL season. They still would have been longshots to make the playoffs, but securing that win over the Cincinnati Bengals would have kept the dream alive. A 6-7 record would have them still present on the in the hunt graphics we see each week this time of year referencing the playoffs. Now, we slog through a month of games with no real meaning except for 2025 NFL Draft positioning. If the Cowboys lose, we win, or something like that. Anyway, peeking ahead to the offseason, the Cowboys have a decision to make on coach Mike McCarthy. We know he’s on an expiring contract so that Jerry Jones only has to do nothing and the problem of McCarthy’s employment in Dallas is solved. But recently, Jerry and Stephen Jones, Dak Prescott, Micah Parsons and others have made comments that reference McCarthy returning in 2025 under a new contract. Of course, this may all represent typical speech with a season still going on, players and owners may not want to diss the coach with games still on the schedule. There is the counter-theory that the way McCarthy has kept the team fighting might have swayed some opinions to give him another opportunity. So what say you BTB? Should Mike McCarthy be given another chance? Vote on the two questions in our survey then hit the comments with your thoughts. Welcome to SB Nation Reacts, a survey of fans across the NFL. Throughout the year we ask questions of the most plugged-in Dallas Cowboys fans and fans across the country. Sign up here to participate in the weekly emailed surveys. Please take our survey

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images The Cowboys special teams unit made a critical mistake against the Cincinnati Bengals on Monday night… something that has become all too common. The Dallas Cowboys were unable to continue their winning streak on Monday night, losing to the Cincinnati Bengals 27-20. While the Cowboys were considered underdogs by Vegas heading into the game, Dallas found themselves in a real position to win the game. With two minutes remaining in the game, they were set to receive the ball back, forcing a punt on 4th and 27. With it being a tie game, all the Cowboys would need is a field goal to win. It appeared the Cowboys would be in great position for their field goal as linebacker Nick Vigil broke through the middle of the offensive line and blocked Cincy’s punt. All the team had to do was not touch the ball and they would start their offensive possession in great position. Then Amani Oruwariye attempted to pick it up and fumbled it, giving the Bengals the ball back. WILD PLAY: The #Bengals recover the ball on a blocked punt allowing Joe Burrow to lead them on a game-winning drive. The Cowboys always find a way to choke. pic.twitter.com/YTw0nTnzgR — No Warmup The Pod (@nwthepod) December 10, 2024 When considering the Cowboys weaknesses, special teams is typically something fans would think of last. Brandon Aubrey has proven himself as arguably the best kicker in the league, proving himself a real weapon from 50+ yards. KaVontae Turpin is an All-Pro caliber kick and punt returner, with the ability to change field position at any given moment for the Cowboys. Even their punter Bryan Anger has proven himself consistent throughout his time in Dallas. However, this is now the second week in a row the Cowboys had a mental lapse on special teams. In their victory against the Washington Commanders, safety Juanyeh Thomas just had to go down after recovering the onside kick and the game would have been over. Instead, he ran it into the endzone for the touchdown and kept it a one-possession game and giving the ball to the Washington offense. Fortunately for the Cowboys, that mistake didn’t cost them the game the way that their special teams mistake cost them the game on Monday night. The Cowboys special teams has made several questionable fake-punt calls this season. On their own 38-yard line they went for it against the Atlanta Falcons, and it almost led to an interception. The Cowboys fake punt is almost intercepted! : #DALvsATL on FOX : https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/QU2en5vgpe — NFL (@NFL) November 3, 2024 Just two short weeks later, the Cowboys tried yet another fake punt. This time on their own 34-yard line against the Houston Texans. This attempt was also an utter failure. Texans snuff out the fake punt! : #HOUvsDAL on ESPN/ABC : Stream on #NFLPlus pic.twitter.com/gSgeNXYCfP — NFL (@NFL) November 19, 2024 While special teams coach John Fassel deserves credit for the development of Aubrey and Turpin as key special teams contributors, his unit has also been responsible for several mishaps this season. Something that directly reflects on coaching.

Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images The up to date news around the Dallas Cowboys John Fassel breaks down “unfortunate” sequence after blocked punt – Tommy Yarrish, DallasCowboys.com On Tuesday, the Dallas Cowboys special teams coach spoke about what went wrong on the blocked punt. Special teams coordinator John “Bones” Fassel explained to the media on Tuesday that the play call was a seven blocks punt return, not a designed attempt to block the punt, but that the Bengals didn’t end up blocking the backside B-gap, allowing Nick Vigil to shoot that gap and get in position to block the punt as he was taught. “They play call is a very basic, elementary call…” Fassel explained. “We blocked it, the deflection didn’t go in our favor, I don’t know what else to say, Nick Vigil’s technique was perfection.” It wasn’t the blocked punt that was the issue, it’s what occurred in the ensuing two seconds that would end up giving the ball back to the Bengals. “[Oruwariye] said that he heard the crowd, which was significant, so he turned back to see what happened and the ball was bouncing at him, he didn’t know that it got blocked,” Fassel said. “He didn’t know if it was a fumble, he didn’t know that the ball was where it was. And so he just reacted like I would, see ball get ball.” Obviously, it was a game changing play that allowed Cincinnati to march 57 yards downfield in 3 plays and 52 seconds, with Ja’Marr Chase landing the knockout punch on a 40-yard touchdown. Fassel didn’t believe that the punt block was a failure, but just an unlucky break for the Cowboys. “I don’t think this was a failed play, it was an unfortunate bounce off a blocked punt…” Fassel said. “I think this how the special teams volatility kind of goes over the course of the season, and it’s an uncomfortable phase of the game for a lot of people because you never know what can happen.” Micah Parsons Explains Emotional Reaction Following Loss to Bengals – Ryan Phillips, Sports Illustrated Micah Parsons was criticized for walking off the field before the game officially ended Monday night. The All-Pro pass rusher explained why. After the Cowboys blew their chance to beat the Bengals due to a brutal special teams gaffe, Parsons was visibly upset on the bench. Then, he left the field as time ticked off the clock rather than shake hands and visit with Cincinnati players after the contest. On Tuesday, he took to his podcast to explain his actions. “I don’t think there’s anyone more competitive than me, man,” Parsons said. “And it’s heartbreaking for me because I promised y’all Cowboys Nation that we would make a run. I was doing everything in my possible manner to make sure we did that. And I wanted to put my teammates in that situation. “The fact that we lost and I felt like we could have won that game, that killed me, man… It just kind of sucked the life out of me,” he continued He then discussed leaving the field before congratulating the Bengals. “Damned if I do, damned if I don’t,” Parson said. “If I went over there and was all laughing with the competition after we lost like that, a lot of people would be mad.” Micah Parsons explains his postgame emotions after loss vs. Bengals: ‘Damned if I do, damned if I don’t… If I went over there and was all laughing with the competition after we lost like that, a lot of people would be mad.’ (via The Edge with Micah Parsons) pic.twitter.com/6E3Fa0Tvmy — Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) December 10, 2024 Rico Dowdle first Cowboys RB with back-to-back 100-yard games since 2022 in loss to Bengals – Matt Lenix, Blogging the Boys There’s no question Rico Dowdle was one of the bright spots on Monday night. Dowdle is now up to 731 yards on the season on 152 carries, which is 4.8 yards per rush. He has played in 12 games this season and has averaged over four yards per rush in 10 of them with four games over five yards per rush. Dowdle is averaging about 61 yards a game. With four games left, he’ll finish just shy of 1,000 yards for the season if he keeps up that pace, but if he continues the tear that he’s on, or close to it, that milestone can be achieved. One talking point during this season, and it’ll continue when the offseason comes, is Dowdle’s future in Dallas. He’s clearly shown that he’s a quality back. However, the price the Cowboys will be willing to pay is the question. Dowdle doesn’t deserve a huge payday or anything, but he’s certainly earned somewhere in that $3-4 million a year range from what he’s done in 2024 (making $1.2 million this season). All of that will be worked out after the season is over. A lot of props have to be given to Dowdle, though. This is the first year he’s escaped the injury bug, and he’s showing that while he’s not elite, he’s a guy that if you pair him with a “dude” as they say in the NFL, that can create quite the formidable rushing attack. If Dallas does bring him back, that’s exactly what they should do. Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown could miss all of 2025 season after suffering knee injury vs. Bengals – Garrett Podell & others, CBS Sports DeMarvion Overshown might not see the field again until 2026. Linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, who has been one of the team’s few bright spots this season, suffered a knee injury early in the fourth quarter of the Cowboys’ “Monday Night Football” loss against the Bengals. That injury will require surgery and put an end to his season, owner Jerry Jones told 105.3 The Fan on Tuesday. And according to coach Mike McCarthy, there’s a chance Overshown misses the entire 2025 season, too. “DeMarvion is getting ready to have