FRISCO, Texas — Mike McCarthy’s signature achievement in Dallas is becoming the first head coach in franchise history to win 12 games in three consecutive seasons. That feat is substantially diminished by the fact the Cowboys are the only team in NFL history to win at least 36 games over three years without reaching the conference championship game at least once.
That is how McCarthy finds himself working the final year of his contract. At 3-3 coming off their bye week, the Cowboys have to finish 9-2 to achieve 12 wins this season. That seems beyond realistic and might not ensure McCarthy’s continued employment.
But McCarthy conceals any frustration well — almost as well as he takes criticism from owner Jerry Jones and a skeptical fanbase. Interesting how 12 wins mean nothing but three losses and the owner is publicly accusing you of “designing bad plays or bad concepts.’’
The Cowboys have reached a critical point in a season where they have frequently failed not only to win but to even be competitive with their opponents, and the most difficult part of the schedule begins Sunday night against San Francisco.
“We won three games on the road, and we're getting ready to go win our fourth. That's our mindset,’’ McCarthy said Thursday. “That’s the way we look at this.
“All these things about what we're not doing right is not an illustration of our football team. It definitely does not reflect the confidence and belief that we have. This is very good team. It's tough to play out there and Sunday Night Football. So we're really looking forward to go and getting this fourth win.”
During the offseason, McCarthy said his priorities were improving the rushing offense and the run defense. Neither has transpired. They have an NFL-low 77.2 rushing yards per game — the fewest through six games since 1989, a season in which the Cowboys finished 1-15 with Jones as the new owner. Dallas is the only team without a run of 20 or more yards.
The difference between what the Cowboys' offense has gained rushing and what the defense has allowed to opponents on the ground is 396 yards — the worst differential in the league. Only the 1-5 Panthers are allowing more points than the Cowboys.
“We’re about self-improvement,’’ said McCarthy, who changed practice scripts to include more teamwork and fewer individual drills. “We need to pick up our game.”
When the bye commenced, McCarthy requested his players be introspective, review their performances and be critical of themselves with the goal of improving. He even sent them a list of approximately 10 questions.
Prescott was asked to evaluate his performance through six games. "I'd say I've played average, and average isn't good enough right now by any means, it's never been good enough for me," Prescott said. "I can't say that I've been happy or excited after any of these games that I've played but understanding that there's more plays out there for me to make, whether it's in the design or not, I'm capable of it."
“I can play better. For sure. And I expect to. Preparing to.’’
The Cowboys have had two weeks to prepare for resuming their schedule by playing at San Francisco. McCarthy’s 3-1 coming off the bye in Dallas.
But the 49ers and Kyle Shanahan have been a problem. The Cowboys have lost three straight to them, including a 32-point defeat in Santa Clara. That was the worst loss of the Dak Prescott era until the Lions beat the Cowboys by 38 at home before the bye week — the worst home loss since Jones purchased the team in 1989.
Beyond the failure to compete, it seemed disturbing that Prescott became the second player in three weeks to cite the team’s poor practice mentality and preparation as part of the problem. Veteran cornerback Jourdan Lewis did the same after the loss to the Ravens.
How was that not resolved by McCarthy and his coaches, especially considering how often the head coach praises the character of the players on the roster?
Both Prescott and Lewis described practices this week as having the intensity and emotion that had been absent. “There’s an urgency for sure,’’ Lewis said. “We understand there’s a standard we’ve upheld the last two years and we’re not meeting it. So there’s an urgency to get to the ball, urgency to play better and be consistent and just play a more disciplined brand of football.’’
Prescott said communication on the offensive line was the loudest and most confident he’s heard it. Prescott and Lamb — both signed to huge contract extensions — claim to have improved their timing. They have combined for career lows in completion percentage, yards per attempt and TD/INT ratio.
“We love a bye week," said Lamb. "Let's just say that we took advantage of it. Anything we felt like we missed out on together as a unit, as a duo, we hopped on it and got right to work, used every day, every opportunity that we could to get better. I feel like it's going to show."
"I can just tell you now, it's been better in these last couple of days," Prescott said.
Jones hasn’t been the only one delivering criticism. Hall of Fame quarterback Troy Aikman ridiculed the receivers — including Lamb, specifically — for running lazy and poor routes with not enough consistent effort.
When Lamb was asked his response, he said, "We've got to be better overall — that's all. No extra motivation [because] the motivation is always there. We need to win. Obviously, we know what kind of game it's going to be. So, as far as motivation, that's all we need."
Prescott should benefit from Aikman focusing negative attention on the Cowboys' receivers.
Prescott went into the bye last season with six touchdown passes and four interceptions. He threw 30 touchdown passes and just five interceptions thereafter, becoming the first Cowboys quarterback to outright lead the NFL in scoring passes.
The Niners' defense has played Prescott better than any opponent in his career. In the three losses to the 49ers, Prescott’s team has averaged 13 points per game, and the quarterback has three touchdown passes and six interceptions. The 49ers have outscored the Cowboys 84-39 in those contests and Dallas has finished -4 in turnover margin.
The 49ers have as many injuries on offense as the Cowboys have on defense. Christian McCaffrey and Brandon Aiyuk are out. So (it appears) are Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and DaRon Bland.
That somewhat explains how each team has only three victories and neither is above .500.
When the Cowboys lost to San Francisco last season, Prescott felt they had been physically defeated, bullied even, and promised McCarthy it would never happen again in any game he was the starting quarterback.
It happened against Detroit two weeks ago. It can’t happen again.
“Trust me, what goes on outside the locker room is not an illustration of what's going on in the locker room,’’ McCarthy said. “The practices, the way they go about it, the energy that they bring into the meetings, we're getting better. I see it. I believe it. I do feel strongly, they believe it.’’
Shifting the offensive line
Rookie first-round pick Tyler Guyton seems likely to be starting at left tackle against the 49ers. Coaches have questioned his practice dedication, and it seemed that was part of the reason he didn’t play a single snap against the Lions after starting the first five games of his career. McCarthy said he wasn’t 100 percent recovered from a knee injury; it was more than that.
Perhaps the message was delivered. Regardless, the Cowboys value having Tyler Smith and Zack Martin on either side of rookie center Cooper Beebe, and having Guyton at left tackle is the solution to that.
The two rookies — the first two first-year players to start on the Dallas offensive line since 2011 — were on McCarthy’s mind as he modified practice to create more looks for that group.
“Let’s get away from the one-on-ones,’’ he said. “Everything’s two-on-two, three-on-threes. For example, line movement has been constant. Start two rookie offensive linemen week one, they’ve been stunting and gaming us since we got off the bus. We’ve been practicing it, but it’s not enough.’’
Cook returns?
It will be interesting to determine whether this is the week veteran Dalvin Cook is finally elevated from the practice squad. It’s disconcerting that he’s not distinguished himself enough in practice to convince the coaching staff he might be the solution to the worst running game in the league.
There’s also the question of whose roster spot he would claim. Anything can be justified at this point, even replacing Ezekiel Elliott with Cook.
Contract holdout, lasting impact
CeeDee Lamb’s contract holdout from the offseason program and training camp was dismissed by the Cowboys front office, which deluded itself into believing it was best so that he could avoid injury and the young receiver would be provided more practice reps.
The evidence of what was lost in that time is reflected in Prescott having thrown three interceptions in six games targeting Lamb — two of those in the end zone the past two games. Only Aaron Rodgers and Garrett Wilson have more interceptions as a quarterback-receiver combination.
On the Cowboys defense
The Cowboys were a pressure team under Dan Quinn. Not so far under Mike Zimmer. DeMarcus Lawrence leads the Cowboys with 3.0 sacks despite missing the last 2 games.
And because quarterbacks are not being pressured into mistakes, there is this: The Cowboys are a minus-6 in turnover margin. Only Tennessee and Las Vegas are worse. McCarthy says his team can’t exist in that world. They’ve been +10 or better in each of the previous three seasons.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys have committed eight turnovers in their last 2 games, their most in a two-game span since 2012 Weeks 3-4, according to ESPN Stats and Info. That’s tied for third-most in a two-game span in the Jerry Jones era.
On the road again
Dallas is 3-0 on the road. The Cowboys are one of five teams undefeated on the road this season, including the Atlanta Falcons, Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs and Minnesota Vikings. A victory would mark the first time since Prescott was a rookie in 2016 they were 4-0 on the road. Dallas started 6-0 on the road in 2016.
The odds of bouncing back
Since 2021, Dallas is 13-3 in games following a loss, the second-highest win percentage in the NFL in weeks after a loss, trailing only Kansas City (12-2, .857)