Comparable Collapses: Why Are Cowboys' McCarthy, Ravens' Harbaugh Treated Differently?
FRISCO - Since misery loves - and needs - company, Dallas Cowboys fans take heart. The end of the Baltimore Ravens' season was even more disappointing than yours.
The Ravens went into last weekend's AFC Championship Game with one hand already on the Lombardi Trophy. MVP quarterback in Lamar Jackson. NFL's No. 1 defense, and No. 1 rushing offense. League-record point differential during a 13-4 season that included nine blowouts of teams with winning records and a 14-point victory on the road at Christmas over their likely opponent in the Super Bowl, the San Francisco 49ers.
Like the Cowboys - who were the No. 2 seed playing at home against the supposedly too-young Green Bay Packers - things were lined up for the Ravens. Until they weren't.
Baltimore committed three turnovers (two in the end zone) and eight penalties. It lost its composure, channeled through both Jackson and rookie receiver Zay Flowers throwing their helmets on the sideline. The Ravens inexplicably ignored their DNA, with an imbalanced offense that dropped back 41 times for passes and handed off to running backs only six.
Despite holding Travis Kelce to only two catches and Patrick Mahomes to zero points in the second half, the Ravens went out with a whimper in a 17-10 loss.
"It's definitely tough,” Ravens coach John Harbaugh said afterward. “You just think about how hard it is to get back to this position. There's a lot of things that have to go your way.”
Similar reaction from Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy after a comparable Dallas loss. With one glaring exception:
No one is calling for Harbaugh to be fired and the Ravens to blow it up.
Jackson is a uniquely talented player who dazzles in the regular season, but he's now 2-4 in the playoffs. Despite his regular-season records, Dak Prescott is 2-5 in the postseason. Maybe we missed it, but is the national media - and it did mercilessly to the Cowboys' quarterback - calling Jackson a "choker?"
Likewise, there is sentiment for Harbaugh but little criticism. The Ravens' league-leading rushing offense played 57 snaps against a Chiefs' defense that dared it to run by employing at least five defensive backs on 51 of them, and ran the ball only 16 times.
McCarthy is getting lambasted for boasting that he's built a "championship program" in Dallas. Harbaugh gets a free pass when he says "We had an amazing year to get to this point and I'm proud of my team."
Why the double standard? A closer look, in fact, says the difference between McCarthy and Harbaugh is negligible. Let’s compare Coach A vs. Coach B:
A: 60 years old/ career winning percentage of .619. B: 61 years old/ career winning percentage of .620.
A: In 17 seasons has won seven division titles/ 11-11 playoffs/ one Super Bowl. B: In 16 seasons, has won five division titles/ 12-10 in playoffs/ one Super Bowl.
A: This year went 12-5, earning home-field advantage in its first playoff game. B: This year went 13-4 this season and earned home-field advantage in its first playoff game.
Essentially they’re the same coach, right? A is McCarthy; B is Harbaugh.
“Because it’s the Cowboys,” Fox analyst Julian Edelman said recently of the decidedly different treatment. “It’s definitely just that. The lights shine brighter and the pressure hits harder in Dallas.”
Granted, Harbaugh won his ring with his current team, while McCarthy’s glory was with the Packers. But for all their regular-season domination and impending individual accolades, the Ravens wound up winning just one more game during the season and one more in the playoffs than the Cowboys.
Misery indeed has company.
