The gut-wrenching malfunction for the Cowboys after what could have been their game-winning blocked punt did more than cost Dallas a victory against Cincinnati.
Amani Oruwariye’s gaffe in the final two minutes of the Bengals’ 27-20 win effectively ended a three-year playoff run for the Cowboys (5-8), although odds for reaching the postseason were steep either way.
Now, talk turns once and for all to the future of coach Mike McCarthy in the final year of his contract. Speculation intensified with a shocking wild-card loss to Green Bay last January and hasn’t let up.
Two of the team’s biggest stars, quarterback Dak Prescott and pass rusher Micah Parsons, have backed McCarthy in the past week.
Prescott, who played eight games before season-ending surgery on a torn hamstring, is particularly important because this is his second season with McCarthy as his play-caller. Dallas had one of the best offenses in the NFL the first year, although the encore never seemed to get on track.
The Cowboys, who visit Carolina on Sunday, have already committed to Prescott for at least three more seasons with a deal on a $240 million, four-year contract that was reached on opening day in September.
The only declaration owner and general manager Jerry Jones has made is there won’t be a coaching change during the season.
The measuring stick for McCarthy was always supposed to be how deep he could get Dallas in the postseason. The storied franchise hasn’t even been to an NFC championship game since the club’s fifth Super Bowl victory to cap the 1995 season.
Prescott’s injury made the playoff question moot, and it doesn’t help that seven-time All-Pro right guard Zack Martin will miss the final seven games because of an ankle injury.
Parsons sat four games with a sprained ankle, the last three of which were the start of a five-game losing streak. The club’s second-best pass rusher, DeMarcus Lawrence, hasn’t played since Week 4 because of a foot injury.
“Mike is an outstanding coach,” Jones said after the loss to the Bengals. “A lot of what he’s about, some of the benefits that we’re having out there, we’re gaining from the type coach that he is.
“And so there’s an old adage, when you start thinking about any coaches, you better give it a good look, because he’s one of the most outstanding,” Jones said. “I’ve spoken to that about any consideration I’m having, but this was a hard one for him tonight. I’m sure.”
It was hard for everyone on the Dallas side.
For Jones, it brought back haunting memories of Thanksgiving Day 1993, when Leon Lett inexplicably tried to recover a blocked field goal that should have won the game for Dallas. Miami got another chance and made a short field goal on the final play of a 16-14 win.
Cowboys special teams coach John Fassel was frantically trying to make sure nobody touched the ball after it passed the line of scrimmage on Nick Vigil’s block.
Oruwariye never hesitated trying to corral the bouncing ball, and his touching it allowed Cincinnati to recover at the Bengals 43-yard line.
Now Dallas has to switch to playing for pride.
“Just do the math,” McCarthy said. “We’re still in a hole. So, we need a tremendous amount of help, just being captain obvious here. This one stings. We had to have this one.”
What’s working
RB Rico Dowdle had the first two 100-yard outings of his career the past two weeks, resetting his career best both times. The fifth-year back on an expiring contract had 131 yards against the Bengals.
What needs help
While KaVontae Turpin has punt and kickoff returns for touchdowns this season, special teams have been a problem, even before the shocking turn of events against the Bengals. In two of their losses, the Cowboys had failed fake punts. Brandon Aubrey has been mortal (29 of 34) a year after setting an NFL record by making the first 35 field goals of his career and finishing 36 of 38.
Stock up
WR CeeDee Lamb won’t come close to the breakout numbers of his 2023 All-Pro season. But he’s been steady while playing through a shoulder injury and should have his fourth consecutive 1,000-yard season. He already has 1,000 scrimmage yards for the fifth time in his five seasons.
Stock down
Ezekiel Elliott’s second stint with the Cowboys will end with little fanfare. The two-time rushing champ from his first Dallas tenure has a total of seven carries in the past four games.
Injuries
LB DeMarvion Overshown will need season-ending surgery for a right knee injury sustained in the fourth quarter against the Bengals. It came in the first game after his spectacular 23-yard interception return for a touchdown against the New York Giants.
It’s the second major knee injury in as many seasons for the former Texas standout. He missed all of his rookie year in 2023 after tearing an ACL in his left knee in a preseason game.
Key number
2-6 — The Cowboys’ record with the retractable roof open and the giant sliding glass doors at each end of AT&T Stadium closed. It’s the only configuration under which Dallas has a losing record. Against the Bengals, the roof was open for the first time since 2022.
Next steps
Carolina (3-10) remains in the running for the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft. But the Panthers have significantly improved since the start of November, with two wins and narrow losses to playoff-bound Philadelphia and Kansas City, the two-time defending Super Bowl champ.