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Cowboys 'Unlucky Bounce!' Says Coach Mike McCarthy of OT Loss at Jaguars

The Dallas Cowboys were one half away from locking up a spot in the playoffs ... and then ... "unlucky'' at Jags?
Matt Galatzan|
Cowboys 'Unlucky Bounce!' Says Coach Mike McCarthy of OT Loss at Jaguars
Cowboys 'Unlucky Bounce!' Says Coach Mike McCarthy of OT Loss at Jaguars

For the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday's matchup against the Jacksonville Jaguars at TIAA Bank Field held a very simple goal. 

Win, and you're in. 

And for the first 30 minutes of play, Dallas was well on its way to accomplishing that goal ... before unraveling its way to a 40-34 OT loss.

How did it happen in the end? With what coach Mike McCarthy labeled an "unlucky bounce.''

Dak Prescott's off-balance pass to Noah Brown got tipped in the air and was picked off by Rayshawn Jenkins, who returned it for a touchdown. ... erasing what had been a commanding first half.

"Unlucky bounce''? Is a failure to catch a pass "unlucky''?

“Unlucky bounce for us, great play by them,'' McCarthy said.

At intermission, Dallas was holding a fat 21-7 lead over the Jaguars ... with quarterback Prescott having completed a crisp 15 of 16 passes for 137 yards and two touchdowns.

Meanwhile, on the ground, the Cowboys star tandem of Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard have controlled the pace of the game, with the two combining for 78 yards on 19 carries, with each back averaging more than four yards per carry. 

Elliott also added the opening touchdown of the game in the first quarter. 

But Dallas' ability to control the game against a supposedly inferior foe didn't hold. The Cowboys are 10-4, and some questions are sure to bubble up now as they failed to clinch a playoff berth while playing a have-not opponent.

McCarthy's overall answer to those questions?

 “It was a hell of a football game, and we came out on the wrong side,'' he said. "I’m on to the next one.”

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Matt Galatzan
MATT GALATZAN

Matt Galatzan is the Managing Editor and Publisher of Texas Longhorns On SI and Texas A&M Aggies On SI and a long-time member of the Football Writers’ Association of America. He graduated from the University of Mississippi, where he studied integrated marketing communications, with minors in journalism and business administration. Galatzan started in the sports journalism industry in 2014, covering the Dallas Mavericks and SMU Mustangs with 247Sports. He then moved to Sports Illustrated's Fan Nation network in 2020, eventually taking over as the Managing Editor and Publisher of the Longhorns and Aggies sites a year later. You can find Galatzan on all major social media channels, including Twitter on @MattGalatzan.

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