As the Dallas Cowboys lost 31-28 to the Green Bay Packers in overtime, head coach Mike McCarthy whipped his headset at the Lambeau Field turf.
After allowing the Packers to wipe out a 14-point lead in the fourth quarter and force overtime, the Cowboys were on the move, but two penalties stymied the drive. McCarthy opted to play for the game-winning touchdown on fourth-and-3 from the Green Bay 35-yard line rather than attempt a field goal into the wind.
In the aftermath of the game, McCarthy said, “We were right on the verge of a field goal. To be honest with you, I thought we should have gone for it. On second down, I called it, especially with the way the game was going. Big play, big penalty. Big play, big penalty. Our thing was to keep playing. Our calls were good. I’m fine with the fourth-and-3 decision. I just didn’t convert.”
During the play, Dak Prescott was pressured, and his desperate pass to Tony Pollard fell incomplete.
The real failure of the drive came earlier with two penalties, an inexplicable offside call on wide receiver Jalen Tolbert, and a holding call on guard Connor McGovern.
In overtime, McCarthy said, “I thought we were in total control. Obviously the penalties and things are very, very, very frustrating. But you must overcome those things. This group, these guys, they have it. I’m sorry for them.”
After the holding call, the Cowboys would have had a first down at the 26-yard line. Instead, three plays later it was Packers ball, and they kicked the game-winning field goal.
As a result of the Cowboys’ loss, McCarthy’s reunion with the Packers was scuttled and Dallas fell to third place in the NFC East after the Giants won earlier in the day.
Prescott said, “It’s obvious we wanted it for Mike.” That’s it. We can’t sugarcoat it. We don’t have anything else to say other than that. We wanted to get it to Mike, but we didn’t do that. We want to lay another brick on our road to success. So we’re going to stick together and work to make this team better.”