Owner Jerry Jones had this to say about late fourth down conversion call
The Dallas Cowboys have potential, and it showed on Sunday night, but the team left California with an 0-1 record.
The biggest play of the game likely came with 11:46 left in the game. New head coach Mike McCarthy tried to make a statement in his coaching debut. A gutsy fourth quarter on a fourth-and-three from the Rams’ 11-yard line ended up coming up empty.
The Cowboys could have kicked a field goal, but McCarthy opted to put all of his eggs into one basket. Given the team’s weapons on offense, getting three yards could be seen as not a large issue.
Owner Jerry Jones agreed. On Monday morning, Jones appeared on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas and said, “I’m fine with the call.”
For McCarthy, he opened up about the decision after the game.
“I just felt that would’ve been a huge momentum play for us at that particular point in time,” McCarthy said after the game, via USA Today. “Our big-play production, we only had six big plays in the first half and we only had one (in the second). That was the mindset: Try to create more of those opportunities for our players.”
Instead, CeeDee Lamb was stopped short and the team continued to trail.
Dak Prescott, Ezekiel Elliott, Amari Cooper, Michael Gallup, and Lamb are all big-time names on the depth chart. Going for it on fourth down should not make fans feel as nervous. However, adjustments are going to have to be made moving forward.
. According to the team’s running back, Zeke, the Cowboys will do just that.
“We got to be better as an offensive unit. We got to convert those third downs and keep the ball moving. It’s got to be mandatory when we get to the red zone we score touchdowns,” Elliott told reporters following the game, via Jon Machota of The Athletic.