Mike McCarthy defends failed false punt that helped Cowboys’ Thanksgiving loss to Washington



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The Dallas Cowboys didn’t quite have the happiest of Thanksgivings on Thursday as they suffered a 41-16 blowout at the hands of the Washington football team. While this game eventually got out of hand, it was largely a one-scoring game throughout the first three quarters. What really lit up an offensive game against Washington and got them into the speed of light was a fake clearance play called out by Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy with 12:54 to play in the fourth quarter.

At that point, Dallas had lost just 20-16 and was able to pull it away from its own 24-yard line. However, instead of starting it down the length of the pitch to give Washington a much harder route to find the end zone, McCarthy chose to deploy a fake punt.

Safety Darian Thompson took the direct shot, ran to the left and threw it at wide receiver Cedrick Wilson, who was turning towards the middle of the field. Based on the appearance of the coin, he had the option of either performing it or throwing it to punter Hunter Niswander. Washington was not fooled by the Cowboys’ attempted deception as linebacker Khaleke Hudson first ruled out Wilson’s option to pass it to Niswander, then crashed into him as he tried to come back at the line of scrimmage.

“It was a solid playing decision. It’s a good game design,” McCarthy said of the false punt after the game, via the team’s official website. “Their gunner made a good game, came out, he put us in a high-low read for Cedrick. That’s the nature of these games. You can never convert them obviously if you don’t call them , if you don’t believe in them. I understood the situation when he was called. “

The missed opportunity to keep the offensive campaign alive for Dallas only put the club in a deeper hole. On the first play after rolling on the lows, Washington running back Antonio Gibson ran for a 23-yard touchdown, his second of three scores in the afternoon. After that failed false punt, Washington landed 21 unanswered points to claim the victory.

“You’re not going anywhere if you think about the negatives all the time,” McCarthy said when asked how much the risk of a negative outcome weighed in his decision to make that bogus clearance call. “There’s obviously a cinematic study that goes into the call and when to call it. But when you call it, you’re obviously looking to convert it. You obviously understand what your options are on the fourth descent calls. Convert or you don’t convert. The flow of the game, all of those things are factored into this decision. I have a lot of confidence in our players and put them in a position to play. “

This defeat temporarily places Washington (4-7) in first place in the NFC East. They will continue to occupy that position at the top of the division if the Giants (3-7) lose to the Bengals on Sunday and the Eagles (3-6-1) fall to the Seattle Seahawks on “Monday Night Football”. Dallas currently sits in last place after what has turned out to be a pretty big swing game in the NFC East.



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