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The Dallas Cowboys are heading home earlier than expected and the final play from their loss to the San Francisco 49ers continues to be scrutinized. The Cowboys were unable to snap the ball before the clock hit zero, and head coach Mike McCarthy revealed that he was told by a referee that more time would be added to allow for another play.
“I have never seen that come down the way it came down, as far as the collision between the umpire and the quarterback,” McCarthy remarked during his postgame press conference on January 16. “We were trying to get inside the 30-yard line to set up the last play. The mechanics were intact, I felt, from our end of it.
“The communication that I was given on the sideline that they were reviewing it, they were going to put time back on the clock. And the next thing I know, they’re running off the field. So, that’s the only facts I have for you. … Yeah, he [the referee] thought they were going to put time back on the clock.”
Here is a look at the final play of the 49ers-Cowboys game that has football fans buzzing.
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The Cowboys Are Being Criticized for Running the Ball Without Any Timeouts
The final play of the game will continue to be scrutinized after the referee clearly made contact with Dak Prescott. Regardless of the ruling, it was an odd decision by the Cowboys to run the ball up the middle of the field without any timeouts remaining. NFL Network’s Bucky Brooks was one of several analysts who were critical of the play call.
“Just when I thought it couldn’t get worse,” Brooks tweeted on January 16. “Someone has some explaining to do regarding that last play call. What in the world was that? No Hail Mary shot is inexcusable.. Gonna be some hard conversations in those exit meetings.”
McCarthy Admitted to Being ‘Shocked’ the Cowboys Did Not Get the Final Play Off
During his postgame press conference, McCarthy stood by the team’s decision on the designed quarterback run. The Cowboys coach emphasized that the team’s desire was to get closer to the end zone, then run a five wide receiver set on the final play.
“Weigh the risk? I have no problem with the call,” McCarthy said doubling down on the final play call. “We call the situation a church clock situation. This is something we practice every Friday and Saturday. So, we’re trying to get inside the 20-yard line.
“We want the last play to come down to, it would have been some form of five vertical pass concepts. We had two sets based on where we were going to be on the final yardage there. Based on being that tight, 14 seconds, we should clearly get the ball spiked there, and I haven’t seen the replay, I’m sure you have. I was shocked as anybody on offense that we didn’t get to that last play opportunity.”
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