A Complete Rundown Of All Mike McCarthy’s 4th Down Blunders Of The 2020 Season

Trysta Krick11/27/2020 6:15 PM

After the 4th and 10 fake punt in Cowboys territory that led to another Washington touchdown, I got to thinking… Is there any coach worse at figuring out what to do on 4th down than Mikey Mac and his staff?

I don’t think there is but let's take it week by week to find out shall we?

We start with Week 2 against the Falcons, when Mikey Mac and the crew dialed up not one, but TWO fake punts, which (predictably) failed. The icing on the shit pile? They were both on their own side of the field, and both led to points. If it weren’t for the legendary chokeability of the Falcons, these would have been the reason they lost.

1st Quarter: 4th and 4 from Dallas 29 -- Fake Punt (Failed) led to FG

2nd Quarter: 4th and 5 from Dallas 40 -- Fake Punt (Failed) led to FG

Jump ahead two weeks to the Browns game. Dallas driving into Cleveland territory. Moore calls not one, not two, not three, but FOUR consecutive pass plays, including a short pass to CeeDee on 4th that failed and led to a Browns field goal. This one was brutal. Bad block for CeeDee. Not a terrible call, just bad execution. That FG led to a two possession lead on the final drive, when Dallas could have won the game were it not for this horrible play call.

2nd quarter, 4th and 3 from Cleveland 33 -- Dak pass incomplete short middle to C.Lamb (Failed)

For the next 2 weeks it was so bad for the Cowboys it didn’t even make sense to go for it on 4th down because they were out of it before the game even started. We see the next dumpster fire come in Week 7. In Washington territory down 9-3, it was 4th and 1 and instead of feeding Zeke or Pollard or even a QB sneak (fucking Tom Brady is like 87-87 on these conversions), they dial up a play deep over the middle for Schultz which had no chance of working. This was BAD and made me particularly mad. They were running well, and chose to pass on 4th down. Ugh.

2nd Quarter: 4th & 1 at WSH 45 A.Dalton pass, incomplete deep middle to D.Schultz. (Failed)

A week later against the Eagles, with Philadelphia up 6 in the 3rd quarter, on 4th and 2 Mac and Moore drop Ben Fucking Dinucci back in the shotgun, dial up a play to Cooper that runs SHORT of the first down marker, and Dinucci (predictably) comes no where near completing the pass. A 4th string QB passing on 4th down? Yikes.

3rd Quarter: 4th & 2 at PHI 35 (Shotgun) B.DiNucci pass incomplete short left to A.Cooper (Failed)

The following week with the game on the line against a Steelers team they had been beating up all day, having fallen behind 24-19 but with a chance to win, they drop Gilbert back to pass on 4th and 8. Keep in mind this was, again, the FOURTH STRAIGHT PASS call.

Game on the line. Shaking my god damn head. What in the literal fuck. I understand it was a desperate time but maybe call a route where Gilbert can get the ball out before getting swallowed by a D lineman?

4th Quarter: 4th & 8 at DAL 41 (1:45 - 4th) (Shotgun) G.Gilbert sacked at DAL 24 for -17 yards (Failed)

No. No we cannot.

Week 10 against the Vikings, with Dallas up 13-7 and in Vikings territory and facing 4th and 1, ANOTHER fucking pass play gets called, with Dalton missing Wilson predictably and the Cowboys turning it over on downs. Again.

2nd Quarter: 4th & 1 at MIN 38 (1:55 - 2nd) (Shotgun) A.Dalton pass incomplete short left to C.Wilson. (Failed)

And then there was Thanksgiving against Washington, where the Cowboys turned the ball over on downs THREE times in one game. Pretty incredible, when you think about it. The first one, deep in their own territory, came in a 10-10 game and led less than 3 minutes later to a touchdown and lead Washington would never give up. It was a turning point in the game.

2nd Quarter: 4th & 1 at DAL 34 (5:22 - 2nd) A.Dalton pass, incomplete short right to C.Lamb (R.Darby). (Failed)

Then twice more in the 4th quarter trying to stage a rally, the Cowboys failed on 4th once again with a fake punt deep in their own end. On the first one they didn’t even get back to the LOS. The play made no sense and pretty much sealed the game for WFT. The most disgusting 4th down try I’ve ever seen in my god damn life.

4th Quarter: 4th & 10 at DAL 24 (12:54 - 4th) (Punt formation) C.Wilson right end to DAL 23 for -1 yards (Failed)

Then late in the game, just for shits and giggles, they dialed up another failure, once again calling a route that did NOT go beyond the line of scrimmage -- you know, where the guy with the football needs to go to get a new set of downs.

4th Quarter: 4th & 4 at DAL 41 (2:14 - 4th) (Shotgun) A.Dalton pass short middle to C.Lamb to DAL 44 for 3 yards (Failed)

This is fucking AWFUL.

What do all of these many, many failures on 4th down have in common? All ten of them. Mike McCarthy and his genius minions have called pass plays on EVERY FAILED 4TH DOWN CONVERSION, even 4th and 1.

When it comes to 4th down play calling, Mikey Mac is like a 15 year old boy just learning how to fuck. He has no feel, or sense for how and when to do it. He really just has one “patented move” that he likes to use, and when he tries, it inevitably fails in spectacular fashion leading to frustration and tears for all involved.

I expect more of the same over these last 5 weeks. In a season when Zeke can’t hold onto the football and we’ve been through four quarterbacks, it’s impossible to win when you do this. After 11 games, the Cowboys have thrown 10 interceptions and fumbled 13 times. When you add turning the ball over on downs 10 times, they in essence have 33 turnovers this year -- an astounding 3 per game. You simply can’t win with a turnover differential of -24, which is where they stand when you add in these failed conversions.

At least we’ll be in the mix to get one of the most highly coveted left tackles in the last decade, which is something we need more than Mike McCarthy needs a case of Slim Fast and a book on Tantra.