Mike McCarthy ‘Sick’ After His Debut as Dallas Cowboys Head Coach
It was a thrilling ending to a competitive game when the Dallas Cowboys traveled to Los Angeles to take on the Rams on Sunday night. The Cowboys returned home after a painful 20-17 loss that came down to a crucial call down the stretch. Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup was flagged for a highly questionable offensive pass interference call that has left head coach Mike McCarthy ‘sick’ after watching the replay.
Mike McCarthy loses a tough one in Dallas Cowboys debut
The Dallas Cowboys hit the road Sunday night during Week 1 of the wild and wacky 2020 NFL season. Mike McCarthy was making his head coaching debut for the Cowboys in a brand-new stadium in front of no fans. The game came down to the wire, but McCarthy and the Cowboys left on the losing end of a 20-17 game to the Los Angeles Rams.
McCarthy was hired by the Cowboys in the offseason. He took a year off from coaching after spending 13 years as head coach of the Green Bay Packers. McCarthy had a very successful run with the Packers. He won a Super Bowl title with the team and compiled a 135-85-2 record (playoff record included) in Green Bay.
McCarthy’s debut Sunday was a thriller. It came down to the wire. the Cowboys, however, came up short and McCarthy will have to seek his first win as the Cowboys coach next week when Dallas hosts the Atlanta Falcons.
Crucial call goes against the Dallas Cowboys
Mike McCarthy made a questionable decision to forego a game-tying field goal with less than 12 minutes to play. With the Dallas Cowboys trailing 20-17, Dallas faced fourth-and-3 from the Rams 11. McCarthy decided to go for it and came up short.
The Cowboys had another show late in the game. Still trailing 20-17, Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott hit wide receiver Michael Gallup with a long pass play that appeared to put the Cowboys in field-goal range. Gallup, however, was flagged for offensive pass interference with 21 seconds remaining.
The Cowboys vehemently argued the call, but the play was brought all the way back. Prescott and the offense couldn’t manage to get in field-goal range and the Rams escaped with the win. Rams defensive back Jalen Ramsey said the right call was made. “If they hadn’t have called that, I would have been really upset,” Ramsey said, according to ESPN. “That was clear as day, in my opinion.”
Mike McCarthy ‘sick’ after seeing the instant replay
Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Michael Gallup was flagged for a very questionable offensive pass interference call with 21 seconds remaining Sunday night. The Cowboys were trailing the Los Angeles Rams 20-17 and Gallup’s catch appeared to have the Cowboys well within field-goal range for a potential game-tying kick. Instead, Gallup was called for the penalty, wiping out the big play.
The Cowboys were very upset with the call. McCarthy became even more upset after he got a chance to watch the television replay. “It made me sick when I watched the TV copy,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said Monday, according to Jon Machota of The Athletic. “I thought Michael ran an excellent route. The DB attempted to clamp his arm, (Gallup) pulls his arm out and makes a catch.
“So, it’s definitely a call you’d like to see not happen, and I know everybody wants to talk about the time of the game and the way the game was called to that point,” McCarthy continued. “But at the end of the day, it was an excellent route and throw and completion by Michael Gallup from Dak.”
All statistics courtesy of Pro Football Reference.
