Dallas Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys are red-hot, but questions about Mike McCarthy persist

Updated Oct. 18, 2021 5:34 p.m. ET

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The Dallas Cowboys are flying high, but a growing concern could result in a crash landing in the playoffs.

Following a 35-29 overtime win against the New England Patriots on Sunday, the Cowboys sit at 5-1 on the season, with a healthy lead in the flailing NFC East.

Dallas' lone loss came in the season opener at Tampa Bay, a 31-29 nail-biter against the defending Super Bowl champions.

Since then, the Cowboys have rattled off five straight wins: on the road against the Los Angeles Chargers, at home vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, Carolina Panthers and New York Giants and in Foxborough on Sunday.

Offensively, Dak Prescott is pulling the strings and putting up MVP-level numbers. He has completed 73.1% of his passes this season for 1,813 yards, 16 touchdowns, four interceptions and a passer rating of 115.0, and he's doing so while coming off an injury-shortened 2020 season.

During their five-game winning streak, the explosive Cowboys are averaging 9.6 big plays — meaning a 10-plus-yard rush or 20-plus-yard reception — per game, the most in the NFL.

Also, the Dallas defense is nothing to sneeze at. Although it ranks near the middle of the pack at 14th with 24.3 points per game allowed, it boasts the second-most takeaways in the league, with 14.

The catalyst behind the bulk of those turnovers is second-year corner Trevon Diggs, who hauled in his league-leading seventh interception of the season in Sunday's win. In doing so, Diggs became the ninth player since 1950 — and the first since Rod Woodson in 1993 — to record seven or more picks in the first six games of a season.

Furthermore, the Cowboys' defense has shown a knack for turning takeaways into instant offense, with a league-high three pick-sixes so far this season, two of which belong to Diggs.

Cowboys die-hard Skip Bayless of "Undisputed" saw something Sunday that he said he hasn't seen in quite some time from "America's Team."

"I still can't believe anything I saw [Sunday]," Bayless said. "... The bottom line was: That was the worst game my team has played all year. It was! ... Yet they won the game. They didn't do what you say are 'Cowboy things' that [lose] the game. They kept canceling out 'Cowboy things' with great things."

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Penalties and a poor conversion rate were among the issues the Cowboys overcame in the win against the Pats. Dallas racked up 12 penalties for 115 yards and went a paltry 3-for-13 on third down yet still eked out the overtime win.

As Shannon Sharpe put it, the game "definitely shouldn't have gone to overtime," given Dallas' dominance. However, besides the aforementioned issues, Sharpe also said head coach Mike McCarthy played a factor — and not in a good way.

McCarthy has had challenges when it comes to clock management, and that cropped up again when he called a late timeout on third-and-25 against the Patriots.  

On Monday's episode of "The Herd," Colin Cowherd said McCarthy's woes with the clock make him a "major liability," especially for a team poised to make the postseason.

"Playoff games tend to be close," Cowherd said. "Can this team, with Mike McCarthy as a head coach, win a close playoff game? … We all make mistakes. But when you make the same mistakes over and over and over, those aren't mistakes. They're deficiencies. … He mangles the clock. He's 0-for-3 on challenges. He is bad situationally."

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The questions about McCarthy have some, such as Nick Wright of "First Things First," advocating for a change at the top.

Given McCarthy's track record, Wright argued it would behoove the Cowboys to move on from the coach and elevate a readymade head coach in offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.

"You can't win a Super Bowl right now ... with this guy botching things," Wright said. "Kellen Moore is going to be a head coach in the NFL next year. The question is: Will it be for the Cowboys or not? I would make him the head coach right now."

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There is no denying that it's an exciting time to be a Cowboys fan, but is there room for improvement on the sideline?

With a bye week to reassess, perhaps McCarthy can find a way to match the level of his players. If not, it could be costly come playoff time.

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