Cowboys 'Simple Decision' on Dak Prescott Throw in Loss? Or 'Bad Decision'?
In a game where the Dallas Cowboys made plenty of errors, perhaps none was more egregious than the mismanagement of the clock at the end the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 40-34 overtime loss at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
“It’s a simple decision,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “If it converts, it’s a great call. If it doesn’t, you get criticized for it.”
He’s right about that.
One first down on the Cowboys’ last drive of regulation would have clinched a win, but one more run may have made it much easier to avoid OT.
The Cowboys, who fell to 10-4 but still clinched a playoff spot, had the ball with 1:38 left after Jaguars quarterback Trevor Lawrence lost a fumble scrambling.
The win was there for the Cowboys to take, except that the Jags had all three timeouts and were down 34-31. Jacksonville needed a stop and a field goal.
If the Cowboys couldn’t get 10 yards, they at least needed to force the Jags to burn all three timeouts before punting the ball away. Dallas was in position for the latter after running it on the first two downs and having the Jags stop the game twice.
Then came third down … and a decision that leaves McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore open for second-guesses.
Another run, even without getting a first down, would have either forced Jacksonville to spend its final timeout or risk the clock going under 40 seconds. Instead, Dak Prescott went for a kill shot, a deep pass to Noah Brown that fell incomplete.
“It was a one-on-one,” Prescott said. “We had a crossing route with CeeDee [Lamb] and they put two or three guys on him. I just tried to throw it deep and give Noah a chance.”
The Jags saved not only their last timeout, but got the ball with 1:12 left. Lawrence drove his team 41 yards – using the timeout along the way – and Riley Patterson drilled a 48-yard field goal at the end of regulation to force overtime.
Jacksonville prevailed in OT on a wild pick-6 off Prescott.
Had Dallas opted to run on third down, the Jaguars would've fielded the punt while left with less than 40 seconds, the length of the field to navigate, and no timeouts.
McCarthy defended the call to have Prescott throw instead of burning more clock or Jacksonville’s last timeout.
“The decision there was,” McCarthy said, “Offensively, do you play conservative and run the ball to take time off, or do you try to win the game?”
The Cowboys tried to win. And it led to the loss.
You can follow Art Garcia on Twitter @ArtGarcia92
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