Inside The Star
As I sit down to write this article, I think about all the topics that I’ve mulled over during and after the Cowboys’ 30-24 loss in Santa Clara, CA to the San Francisco 49ers.
I could write about the good things they did. Whether you can see past your negative blinders or not, the Cowboys did show some spark that we hadn’t seen since week 1 against the Cleveland Browns.
Maybe I could write about the chance of building on that positivity to string together some wins and get out of the 3-4 hole that they’ve dug themselves in. I could write about Trevon Diggs taking offense to a tweet, or maybe we could talk about his…ahem…legumes.
Tonight, however, there is another topic on my mind. One of the gripes of Cowboys Nation in the midst of this disappointing season is how undisciplined the team has played. Penalties, mental mistakes, and being completely out of place have all been reasons for the unexpected start to the season.
Normally, I’d give some benefit of the doubt to HC Mike McCarthy because of the rash of injuries to his football team, but not today. Enough is enough, and ultimately, the discipline of the team is a direct reflection of the head coach.
This is McCarthy’s fifth year on the job, and we are already heading into week 9 of the regular season. We shouldn’t have to hear McCarthy throw out words and phrases like poor execution, mental mistakes, fundamentals, bad practices, or get back to basics.
Dallas went into the half with a surprising 10-6 lead, but a poor start to the second half decided the game. That mistake-filled 3rd quarter spelled the Cowboys’ doom, and McCarthy is to blame.
That’s a surprising heading for a kicker whose range has extended to nearly 70 yards, but Brandon Aubrey made the first mistake of the 2nd half for the Cowboys by failing to reach the landing zone on the kickoff to start the 3rd quarter.
It was the first time I had seen that penalty since the new kickoff rules were implemented, and it placed the ball at the 40-yard line, and gave the 49ers a short field to work with.
San Francisco drove 60 yards in just five plays, highlighted by a 43 yard catch and run by TE George Kittle to take the ball inside the five-yard line. Rookie RB Isaac Guerendo punched it in on the next play to give the 49ers the lead for good.
In the middle of that drive, the Cowboys were charged with having 12 men on the field, but it was declined because the result of the play was a nine-yard run by QB Brock Purdy.
After giving up the quick touchdown, the special teams unit once again put the Cowboys in a precarious position. On the ensuing kickoff, Dallas tried a reverse to perhaps the most unskilled ball carrier on the football...
