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Ready for a break?
Yeah, and so much for that.
It's time for The Break on Dallas Cowboys dot Com with mbar Garcia, Brian brought us, Patrick Walker and Derek Eagleton.
It is Friday, December first, twenty twenty three, season nineteen, episode number eighty. Welcome to the latest edition of The Break. We are alive from the SWBC Mortgan Studios at the Star, and today we talk about the Cowboys win over the Seattle Seahawks. They win forty one to thirty five in a barnburner. I don't think any any of us expected that kind of performance. And I don't know, I don't remember all the scores, but man, it was a lot of scoring. But was it that many points?
Though I didn't have it that points.
Yeah, I don't think any of us thought that they were gonna get that high. Like, there were no punts in this game, zero, no punts in this game.
Singer didn't have to shower. Yeah, it's free.
Money exactly, so, so it was. It was an entertaining game. I had a good time watching it, and we're gonna break it down for you guys. Let you know what we thought, what right, it went right and wrong for the Cowboys. Will start where we always started the day after a game. Storylines of the game, Patrick got's start with you.
Let's go ahead and piss off some Dak Prescott hitters.
Not only does he deserve to be in the MVP conversation, Uh, he had already deserved to be that going into this game, but after this game in which your defense struggled and we had questions on you know, did we have confidence that this Cowboys offense can win a game for you
when the defense is having a bad day the series. Now, yes, Dak Prescott has shown it, and he did it against not only a team that's above five hundred or was above five hundred, but we talked about how the Seahawks secondary was probably arguably the best secondary dark Prescott will face, and he basically took them to task for the process of four quarters come back, another comeback win for Dak Prescott.
You talk about the capability he gets out of that sack to find Tobert for the twinkle toes catch him seventeen yards.
Who does that? Dak Prescott does that?
When he was blitched seven of eight for seventy seven yards in a touchdown camp blitz him. They went to zone after seeing him dissect man coverage over the past several weeks eighty percent zone coverage.
Run by the Seahawks.
What did Dak Prescott do twenty six or thirty four, two hundred and fifty six yards, three touchdowns, zero interceptions, one hundred and twenty seven passer rating last seven games twenty one twenty two hundred yards, twenty one touchdowns to only two interceptions. Right now, he leads the league in touchdowns, he only has six interceptions. He that means he leads
the league in interception percentage as well. And I could go on and on, but also just watch the film, watch the games in addition to what the numbers are saying. And if you still cannot climb from under that rock, if your eye test is still failing you, then by all means, go invest in some laser because you're not seeing the game as you should be seeing it. Dak Prescott was surgical last night. He was everything the Cowboys needed him to be the defense needed him to carry
them on a bad day at the office. He did exactly that. There was nothing, I should say, few things that he would want back. The throws were there, the decisiveness was there, the escapability was there, and Dak Prescott, let me get him for m VP right now, let me do it.
Yeah, well, I guess it's my turn. Y'all looking at me. I'll have a quick.
Well, yeah, I'll have.
A quick event session because yeah, I'm trying to be fast.
I get nervous.
You know, people are just I'm a lady haun.
People people are.
Just like annoying the craft out of me today on social media. Because first it was all right, well, let's see if they can beat a good team. Let's see if they can beat Seattle. That's the next one. Oh, hold on, all of a sudden, Seattle is not a good team. What are you talking about? The refs gave that game away to Dallas. Oh oh my god, well they're playing at home. I'm like, shut off, no, no, no,
kick me off of the show for it. Just it's so frustrating because when it's not one thing, it's another, and I get it, Like you're the saying of like, you're only as good as your record shows. That's true, but at the same time, something else can be true. You can still be a team that gives you a lot of trouble and makes you really really work and still not come off with the win for that team. You know, for example, Seattle, we saw it. We saw a lot of the things that you broke down Brian
on the scouting report. They are a good team. They are they have talented players. So stop talking about this like, well they're not a good team. Let's see what happens with Philly. Oh, y'all barely won that game. It barely came off the win. Well, guess what, plenty of other teams Eagles have barely won many other games. So that's just the NFL. So like freaking come back with a
valid argument. That's just what's frustrating. I just get upset when it's like, now you prove what you've been talking about, but they just won't shut up and get off my get off my social media like commenting on my stuff, get away, Like but or no, just keep doing it. You give me views, you give me engagement. Sure, let's just make a business out of it. But anyways, I just wanted to let that out. That game was fun. It was really fun to watch. It was so head
to head. There are a lot of things we watched that you don't necessarily like, some of the troubles that they had on defense, penalties, discipline, and a lot of things that you should fix. But at the same time, when you see such a head to head game, just going back and forth, just seeing how well Dak was throwing the ball, some of those long passes, those great catches, that's fun. That's a fun game to watch, and obviously a lot more fun when they come out with a win.
Every time I watched Tank Lorence play, it reminds me how much I love him as a player. And when you start to talk about complete players and guys that have the ability to play the run, in the pass, and in this league, it's a lot about the stats, but every once in a while, you have to find ways to win when it's when it looks pretty desperate
and dire. The fourth down stops, all three fourth down stops they had in that game yesterday was due because because of Tank Lawrence's ability to play not only the run, but to affect the quarterback in the passing game as well, And so when you have when you're having a little bit of rough day, you always got to lean on
guys that you know will go and make place. Dan Quinn leaned on Tank Lawrence yesterday, excuse me, in their game, and I just it just every time I sit down and watch him on the All twenty two, I'm thinking, if I had eleven guys like that on defense every single time, we're going to do a lot of good. Because he is one of the he doesn't get nearly enough credit for how he plays the game and the intelligence that he plays the game.
You know, his ability to.
Understand blocking schemes and what people are trying to do, and the magnitude of the play at that right moment, it was incredible because the defense we talked about it, it was going to be a struggle. It was going to be a struggle to cover these guys. The quarterback is the smith has the ability.
To get hot during a game.
But you know, Dallas got after him at the end. They had to make some stops and Tank Lawrence was a big part of that.
That's really in a due point, Brian, because I think even on that final play by Seattle, that final offensive play. Mike's getting a lot of the credit for that play, but what you got to notice is Tank Lawrence actually gets upfield, and him getting up field creates the problem where the running back can't release out into the flat because everybody's like, man, why would you leave Micah unblocked? I actually thought it was a great play call. That's
a great play design, great play call. DeMarcus gotten a way and he was in the way to the point where the running back can couldn't get that release. And because he couldn't get that release, now the quarterbacks haven't hold it a little bit longer. MICA's so extremely fast he gets to the quarterback and it just makes it to where that throws the whole play off if it doesn't happen like that, and that running back's out there and he can just loft it up. That's twenty twenty five thirty yards.
When you really when you watch the play, they run three guys inside to make it for all the picks, and it's a it's a play that is designed, as you said, Derek, to just run the running back over and just lob it and then he's going to go up the sidelines with nobody there because everybody's carrying routes
inside and so there's nobody in that area. But all year long, Michaeh Parsons has been one of the tops in the league when it when they when they when they monitor the getoff times, the fastest get off times off the ball, and Michael Parsons consistently is one of
those guys. But Tank's awareness to to to get over as he's filling I mean him, everybody was aware of what was going on, uh and and that particular play and again the magnitude of the play and what they had to do, and a great call by Dan getting his guy home, a great job by Tank getting over and being disruptive on the play.
And keeping to the defense.
Because as phenomenal as Tank was, and he most certainly was that as well, I'd be remiss if I didn't give roses to Jordan Lewis. Also, Joey Lewis had his hands full with Jackson Jackson Smith and Jig Bull, which was the guy that I circled as far as a
big concern going into this game. And when it when push came to absolute shove and you needed a stop, here was Jordan Lewis flying in with a cape on not on one third down, on two consecutive third down drives where basically the Cowboys needed to get those stops, and that's both of those times. That's what forced those two fourth down conversion attempts, which then failed in large
part because of Tank Lawrence in that defensive line. So, Jordan Lewis, there was some plays that Jackson Smith and Jig Bull we had against him.
He was getting off against him a little bit.
But when when the lights got real bright and that pressure came on and it was the Ohio State rookie against the Michigan veteran, it was the Michigan veteran who saved the day.
Yeah, I love a challenged Jordan Lewis, Like, is he has that? Yeah? He is a He's the kind of guy where he does not shirk from responsibility and from challenges, like he will actually step into that moment where a lot of guys, the worst it gets, the get like I think Jordan's the opposite of that. The worse it gets for him, the more he's resolved that he's gonna figure it out.
Now.
I really like putting him in those kind of situations.
It was just fantastic ball from him to end the game, and just the defense as a whole, because when you talk about a team allowing thirty five points on their home field, it's clear that they had a bad day at the office, but it's also just as much about what you do when it matters most. So if Jordan Lewis gets those two PBUs and it's in the first quarter, it's probably of no consequence. But he got them when the Cowboys needed it most, and when his team needed
it most. Gave his defense defensive line a chance to stop them on fourth and short, and then you know, circling back, Dak Prescott went downfield and he did the rest Jake Ferguson Ceedee lamb, the ceedee lamb drive. Oh my goodness, he animal behavior from this offense right now. And Mike McCarthy outside of the one play that I really want him to never do again. If the opposing team is out of time and you're in that third down situation at that point in the field, just run
the ball. You take forty seconds off the clock, and then make your fourth down decision. If you're going to do field goal of a night.
Well here's what we're gonna do. I want to take a break and we're gonna come back. And I actually thought there were four decisions, four decisions that Mike mccarky made yesterday. Yeah, four decisions he made yesterday that I think are worth discussion. Not saying they're wrong, saying they're worth discussion. I want to get y'all's opinion on these decisions.
That's one of them, but there are four. There are three others, and I think we need to talk about what do when we come back Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio.
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Back to the break, all right, how about this one.
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Welcome back, second segment of The Break Life from that WBC Mortgage Studios at the start. The segment brought to you by blockchain dot Com. All right, let's talk about
Mike McCarthy. There were a few decisions in that game, and there were a few decisions in that game that I thought were worth that merited a discussion, and I'm going to go through them based on kind of the timing of the game, and then I want to get your opinions on each as far as where you thought it should have gone, whether you thought it was the right decision or not. Let's start first with it was
Seattle second possession. There was a holding penalty, and Mike made the decision that he was going to decline the penalty. Now what happened was it was second and ten. They gained three yards on the play. So as options would have been, you accept it, you decline the penalty, and it's third and seven that's what he decided to do, or you take the penalty and you go to second end. I think probably seventeen because the holding half and a
little bit beyond the line of scrimmage. Was it the right call?
I I questioned it because to me, I felt like at the time, Seattle, when they get in third and seven, they were going to find a way to make a play, you know. I mean at one point in time they were eight of nine on third down yep, and you know.
But I was like, move them back.
Maybe you get a sack, you know, maybe you create a negative play, maybe you get another incompletion. Maybe you forced Seattle to maybe have a give up play or they handle a draw or something like that because they're backed up. But I was surprised he took the play.
I really really was. I just I was like, just.
Move them back because Seattle was kind of a point where they were kind of converting third downs on you and it didn't matter the distance. But maybe if it was like third and eighteen or something like that, there would have been a different they would maybe looked at it a different way. But you gave them third and seven, and for them that was kind of in their wheelhouse last night.
Yeah, I think it could have gone either way.
I think it was just my takeaway there is that it was Mike McCarthy, you know, and Dan Quinn having confidence in their defensive line and saying, okay, well, you know, we figured that you can go out there and get this on this next play. I could see it going the other way and you say, like you say, Derek, if you take that.
Then there's a positive to that.
When I saw it in real time, I was like, eh, and then I kind of moved on for me. So was it anything that would have changed the game of outcome in the game of the game from my perspective. So I don't know that I was fine with it, but it didn't exactly ruin my moment that kind of thing. So I see why he did, but I could see why someone would argue against it as well.
Well.
At that point of the game, I'm still trusting their decision, you know, like, yeah, it's still early, You're still going into the game of several weeks where McCarthy has been doing a really good job call in certain plays. So at that point in time, going back one, I'm thinking I didn't think much of it. I'm like, okay, well let's see, you know, I give him the benefit of the down. Let's see how this turns out, but we'll move on to when what comes next.
Well, it actually it ended up not hurting them that that was the driver where they ended up missing the field goal. They did get in field goal range, but they missed the field goal. I will say I was kind of losing my mind on this one because it just to me, it just went against the convention of
how you would call a football game. Like you take the yards, and especially when you're on when we're on their side of the field, you push them back farther and you force them to have to convert farther, or you play the field position game and if they're gonna have to punt and you get more yards. I just it just it was a little baffling to me.
If it's safe, it's a five yard penalty, I maybe understand, Yeah, holding penalty something with you know, more distance to it.
I'd be like, pack them up.
Yeah, holding can be like drive killers.
Yeah, I mean that's that's that's what they say, sacks and penalty the drive killers.
Yeah. All right, let's move on to the second one. This one happened about three forty one in the third quarter. He opted to go with the extra point instead of a two point try. The score was twenty eight twenty six. They get the extra point, they moved to twenty eight to twenty seven. Did you feel as an okay call?
I'm laughing because I sit next to you at the game and I know how much this bother. You're like, this goes against mine McCarthy.
Not this one, not this one and one before that. This was the extra point. I wasn't really well, no, I wasn't really dying on the extra point when I thought, I thought you Nick. I think Nick was stronger on they should have gone.
From now because you were saying, this is kind of what Mike McCarthy likes to do is find out early in the game, early in the game, whether you can convert or not. This is where he kind of gets a good feel of what the team is or how the game is gonna kind of go. So that's where that's why I'm laughing, because that was the play where you're like.
Well, here's the thing.
What it did.
Yeah, what it did was it confused me about Mike because how many times we heard him say the way he calls a game is he wants to know as early as possible what he has to do. So when you get in a situation where you're gonna go for two or not go for two, you'd rather do it earlier. So you know, if you get it, what do you have to do? You know, if you don't get it,
what do you have to do? You'd rather do that than wait till the end of the game to get that two point conversion and now you're out of options because it's too late in the game. That's been I've heard him say that multiple times in these situations. So I was more baffled that, like, this isn't what you've told us is your philosophy on this, So why in this instance was it different? That was my big thing.
But I don't have a problem with the decision. I just thought it was weird because that's not what he typically does.
I would have gone for two there, And you know, for the exact reason that you just said, I need to know what I'm up against later on if I do or do not get this two point conversion, because you're going to need two points, be it now or later, given how the math works out, So go ahead and give it a shot now, especially because at that point
as well, I mean, the offense was cooked. I mean, there wasn't much that the Seattle defense could do to stop Dak Prescott and those offensive weapons, so especially on a drive like that. What was that That was twelve plays, seventy five yards it.
Seems like most of the jobs and a touchdown.
So I mean it was surgical.
So at that point, I'm like, hey, okay, let's go ahead and get too let's tied up, you know, twenty eight doll and then play from there. But thankfully it didn't ultimately cost him anything but that particular decision. I would have gone ahead and gone for two.
I think you kick it there, I do. And then I hate chasing points, you know, it's one of those things.
And when he I'm.
One of those guys too that believe when you have the opportunity to get points, you try and get the points. You know, when you get the field gold situations and stuff like that. So they had a really good two point play that they were able to get the Cooks. I think they wanted to throw the ball to Gallop, but Cooks came open quick, so that made a lot of sense. But I understand why he kicked the extra point there just for that. I just I don't think he wanted to chase points right there.
Yeah, which I'm.
Oking and at that moment for me, and I get the whole mentality or concept of like you'd rather find out early rather than later. But at the same time, I personally, I'm like, I feel more I feel just kick it. I feel more safe that way. And it's not they're right there, Like it's not.
Like he also knew and you talk about a feel of the game, both coordinators had to feel that neither defense could stop the other.
Yeah, he just knows.
Okay, if I kick it right here, you know, now that might be a reason to go for two that if you don't get it, you know you're going to get back down there. But the feeling, the flow of the game, I mean, both offensive coordinators were anything on their play sheet was working, you know, So I seen kicking it was probably the right thing for it.
And I could definitely see Mike having that standpoint of feeling like, you know, after that touchdown, after drive like that, which was another drive like that for the Cowboys, like we'll take the one. We'll take one because guess what, we'll be back down. Yeah, we'll be back short, right, We'll be back.
Sure, we're probably not going to get a stop on our end, but.
Yeah, yeah, I agree with that part. And I'm like, and Nick made a good point too. He was like, you know, if you go for two and you don't get it, now they go down to score, which they did right now, you're down by nine, you're down by two scores, and so it's almost like you kind of have to play that part too, Like our defense isn't really making stops, so do we want to put ourselves in that kind of hole if they go down to score? And so I thought I thought it was the right decision.
It was just weird to me because that's not what he typically does. That's not how he typically handles those situation, right, all right, let's go on to the third one. It was one of eight left in the third quarter. Score Seattle twenty eight, Dallas twenty seven. This was right after the Bland interception. Dallas gets three downs and really doesn't get much. They're at a fourth and two at the
Seattle thirty. They opt to go for it on fourth down, have an incompletion of Lamb instead of taking the forty eight yard field goal. Yeah, right decision, wrong decision.
I'll tell you what this this one, this one plays with you because seventy percent the metrics says seventy percent you, seventy one percent you go for it.
Huh.
Sixty nine percent say kick the field goal. So there's a one point three percent chance here of going for it.
Yeah, and you fail.
So you know the metrics, it's it's it's it's weird. It's seventy point seven go for it, sixty nine point four kick the field goal, and sixty six point three punt. So, I mean that just shows you how close that decision was that he had to make. Me personally, I'm taking the points, yeah, you know, especially after an interception. You know, I'm like, I'm not gonna I'm not gonna let them
feel good we turn them over. Now they're about like they're about to turn us over, you know, and I'm not gonna let them feel that way.
I'm gonna kick it down there.
I'm gonna ball's gonna be on the twenty five, and I'm gonna play defense is what I'm gonna try and play defense. But man, the metrics are all really close on that call.
Unpopular opinion. I freaking loved that play call.
Oh man.
I love the aggressiveness and I love the play call itself because obviously Seahawks are expecting to run when you do flat right the ceedee Lamb. Lamb just has to come up with that ball. It's one of the rare drops that you've seen from Lamb this season.
Quickly he knew that was when he.
Got him the ball.
Quick It wasn't like wait, wait wait, he just threw it like on the line.
So the execution from Lamb wasn't there. But the aggressiveness I love it, especially giving the tone of the game, how the game was going. It was just Haymaker after Haymaker from both of these offenses, and Mike felt the way. Mike was like, Hey, I'm not going to keep settling for field goals, And I think I put that on
Twitter at one point. I was like, these guys keep coming walking down and scool, and you're not going to beat them by you getting down there and you getting into these gold packages and and settling for field goals. Like you're going to lose the game if you continue to do that. So being with that spirit, I love to call on fourth and two. I think that that's that aggressiveness is exactly what this game dictated.
That's exactly what the defense gave you.
And if Lamb comes up with that ball, then we're not having this conversation.
Nine times out of ten he does.
Right, and then and then what probably happens is that demoralizes the Seahawks and Dak probably gets a touchdown for the offense, you know, finishing up the drive.
So yeah, I'm totally fine with it.
I am one hundred on that play call in that situation, in this type of game, at that point in the game, with that score, I.
Can't wait till Kirby Smart goes for it all weekend for Georgia and this game he gets Alabama, and then.
Kirby is going to break out the big marbles. Break out the big marble. That's the only way you've beating next same big marbles, big marbles.
We will see on Monday, this conversation on Monday every four coach, Hey, what do are only as good as the result.
Result? Man?
Allright, what do you think?
Well, now that you know the result of it is easy to say, hey, I would have taken the field goal and got in those three points. But at the same time, based on everything that you've seen the last couple of weeks, and even in this game between between Dak how well he's throwing and Ceedie Lamb, the game that he's been having, it makes sense why you would take that kind of risk. So I don't blame I don't I'm not upset by it. Yes, you're getting points, however,
whether it's six or three, you want them. But at the same time, I understand uh completely the reason and why he made that call.
Yeah, I would have been more upset if he would have gone to a less reliable receiver in that situation, if he would have gone to one of his other guys that aren't.
He was.
You know, he was struggling at times, and those are the types of game that you're like, Okay, if let's say he throws it at him and then he drops the ball again, then you like, why you've seen him not catch the ball in this game. He wasn't necessarily having a great game, So I agree if it had been somebody else rather than CD or even Cooks, Cooks was having a good game.
Yeah, The fact that he called up his guy right and the play got him open, like everything says this was the right call because they knew what the result would have been ninety five percent of the time, it just so happened. It was the five percent where it didn't work. And so I agree, Like I at the moment before the play, I said, give me the three points. But after I saw the play itself, I was like, I'm not so upset about that.
He drew up.
He knew he had a play. Like that's the whole thing for me for play callers, do you know you have a play in those situations, if you know you got to play, go for it. And they had a play and it should have worked. It just didn't this time. And that's just you know, the human frailty, right, the people not being perfect. It's fine like that call. I can be okay with, yes, but we're about to get to the one I'm not over with under any circumstance.
When we just talked about.
So so left in the fourth quarter, this game is razor tight, and they they threw for a pass. It was third and three at the Seattle fourteen. Uh, they'd already they they end up.
Throwing the pass.
They stopped the clock at one They could have run the clock down to right above one minute if they had run the ball there. I even I'll take you one step further. Nick and I were talking about this during the game. I would have run it and then if things worked out where I got two yards, I'd gone for it on four down. Run it again, right, because.
That's where that's where I'm at.
Yeah, because I'm like that you that's a better way of you kill the game. That exactly, that's exactly. What What do you guys think about the play? Play call the desire? I mean, go for a pass on third down in that situation.
I'm thinking, I don't want to cover. I don't want to cover DK Madcalf anymore. I don't want to cover any Smith and Jigba.
I don't want that enough. I've had enough. I've had enough.
I don't want to cover. You know, it's a minute forty left. I don't want to cover these guys anymore.
I'm tired. They've wore my ass out.
You know.
If i'm dan Quinn, I'm like, you're talking like you were out there on the field running.
But that might have been the conversation.
It might have been like I put this game away. Throw the ball, just throw it.
I don't care.
I don't want to have to deal with him again.
I'm sure, Mike. I'm sure Mike in his mind's like I wanted to end the game, and I'm with you. I'm like, listen, you know, we talked about four minute offense this week. We talked about that ability.
The Cowboys haven't been in a lot of four minute offense games, and this was an opportunity.
And Pollard was feeling a little bit.
And you know, they got some surge the one time the line pushed him for like another four or.
Five yards running tiring just like that.
I mean, just just everybody moving and you're thinking, you know, when you get Zach Martin probably in the huddle, like, guys, here we go, let's get this, you know, but you got two plays, get four yards and if you want to end it right there, yes, end it that way. But to throw some low percentage fade and keep more time on the clock. If I'm dan Quinn, I just start crying at that.
Literally, terror are you sending me back out there?
I click over the mic and I go, thank you, appreciate you, buddy, Yeah, thank you, Because I was tired of playing against those guys yesterday. At the end, I didn't want to do it anymore, you know, yeah, but if you want to end it for me, end it by running and running again.
If we get stopped, you know what that's on. That's on.
Now we got a minute. I suppose a minute forty six. I feel a lot better about a minute, right, a lot.
Better, especially when they got seventeen yards on the first play they throw it and it goes out of.
Bounce and you're like, going, why did you want to throw the ball right there?
Right?
You know?
Magic Mike was in his bag for the most part of yesterday.
He absolutely was, But I cannot be more passionate about the hell no on that on that fade, in that situation, and we talked about it like before we went on the air. You you run the ball because they're out of timeouts. You burn it down to what one minute? One minute in one second, put you in fourth and short, and then you make your decision. Maybe you kick the field goal, maybe you go for it. I just said I love the aggressive aggressiveness. I probably would be going for it.
You can even throw you down because if you stop the clocket doesn't matter the.
Minimum you at minimum you have to burn those forty seconds off of their play clock right, And I'm with Brian, it was exhausting to watch Metcalf and then yes, And keep in mind, not long before Lockett had just given you a gift with the drop, So you maybe that doesn't turn into a drop the next time.
Maybe that's a walk off touchdown.
So in that situation, run the ball on third down, salt the game away, punch them in the face, and finish the game on fourth down, if you're going to do it that way. But the fade route to stop the clock, if even if it had worked, I mean, I would have celebrated it working, but I still would have you died.
With decision at all.
I had visions the way these officials were calling pass interference yea, and every play was a forty eight yard pass interference penalty. And I just had visions of that Raiders game on Thanksgiving that one time where Sean Hockley's crew just kept calling illegal contact dp I, DP I dp I any You're like going, we can't survive this, We can't.
We can't let them throw I mean, we see what happened.
They they threw the ball open guy one time and he got seventy three yards and it was the fastest.
Anybody's run all year in the league. He was moving.
But that's what I'm saying, that's that's that, that's the nightmare I was living at that moment.
You know, I just did not want to when Mike went killing on that play.
Kill say what you lose that game?
Game you you're oh, yeah, people would have been talking about that.
Nobody would have.
Been talking about anything else. Those that press conference would have been Patrick Walker, Dallas Cowboys.
Dot Com, what the hell?
What was what was your thought process?
And by the way, they asked him about that in the press conference, I was in the locker room.
I was in the locker room.
Okay, I don't know if they asked, so they didn't ask him about it.
I think on the walk off he said something okay, but you know, not to check in with Nick on that.
But yeah, I was in the locker room and I was wondering if somebody was I.
Assumed somebody was hoping somebody was going to ask him. But then again, you'd been like, well stop being so damn nrgative. Well I'm trying to learn football.
Yeah, my thought would be, just walk me through your thought process. I want to understand why you made that decision in that situation. And I'm sure he probably said, we trust I trust my guy, I trust my quarterback.
I'm trying to right.
We had been we had been driving the ball all night, and so I'm trusting that Dak's gonna make this play, and the receivers are going to make this play and we're going to get you know, we're gonna get the first down. And honestly, I don't know that the play was designed for him to make the throw that he made. I often, I haven't gone back to look at it Yeteah.
I wonder if there was another place he was supposed to be going first, and then because it wasn't open, he ends up just kind of throwing in, saying, hey, I'll give my guy a chance maybe to make a play.
I don't know that that was just the play desire. Maybe I just peeped at the transcript. No one asked McCarthy about that in the rest fade.
Because nobody wanted to be the negative guy.
So, I mean, because it all worked out in their favor. But other than that, I mean, he might call it a masterclass of a game. A couple of things he want back that one. Yeah, that's definitely one. Definitely one.
Yeah, No, I had a thousand percent agree with I. Thank you for the laugh.
Brian and I shared this thing. You get tired of playing those guys. I shared this tired at the end, I was tired.
I was just it was exhausted.
It was an exhausting post one in the morning doing that.
Well, you've seen all throughout the game. That's a tough one too. How to rely on the defense, which is crazy because for the longest time, the longest time, recent years, you've been able to have the defense to be the one that you can rely on. And then now you're as we watch questioning, oh God, can the defense hold up and make the stops when needed right at the end,
And they did. But at the same time, based on the game how it was going, you shouldn't have been leaving that up to chance on like what the defense can do for you, whether they can stop them or not. So high risk. I guess, uh hy rewards this is.
And Patrick, you're right about what Mike did is a fall.
As far as a play caller, I think where I'm the most critical of coaches, head coaches, and not just Mike, but other ones. Know the condition of your team, know the condition if I throw my defense back out there in this situation, what could happen?
You know?
That's that's where I think we all agree about run the ball.
Run the ball, you know, and trying in the game that way in the game by playing downhill not know and but to me, I coaches sometimes they don't know the condition of their team. Sometimes you'll hear coaches say, like, we'll give example for the guy at the Commanders, he's had two times where he had Philadelphia on the ropes where he could have gone for two and ended the game.
Besais my offense was exhausted.
No, coach, Ron Rivera, you had a chance to end it right You're not the favorite in this game. You have a chance to end this game right now. Don't make your team have to play anymore. They played the best they can. It's not good enough today.
Give them one play shot at it.
Yeah, just give me, give me one opportunity to end this thing so I don't have to put my guys back out there again.
Yeah, maybe that's what kind of sorry, Maybe that's kind of what happens when you're having to do both roles of being the play caller and the head coach, you know, like maybe you're in that play caller mentality.
I'm glad it worked out. I'm really am glad it worked out.
Which goes to what I was going to say, we all, I think we all agree that you run the ball there. Yeah, in fact, but the confidence or I should yeah, the confidence that McCarthy had in dan Quinn's defense to march back out there after basically just getting you know, dragged all over the field by those guys. Uh, and then for that defense to look McCarthy and dan quinn in the face and say, we we've struggled all night.
But thank you, thank you for giving us one more chance.
Because if let's say that the Cowboys do end it on that drive, which of course we would have preferred, then the story is only that the Cowboys offense won the game only.
But at least now I'll.
Take that there. Defense is quite absolutely this defense has helped me in a lot. You know, if I'm Dan, i walk up and give Mike McCarthy.
A hug, and I'm sorry to saying, hey, boss, we didn't have it tonight, Yeah, promise will have it next week.
I'm simply saying, in this situation, after the decision to make that throw was made, kudos to the defense for saying, I see that you gave us one more shot at proving you right, and we're going to step out there and we're going to prove it.
See, Mike could have helped him by taking forty seconds off that clock that we all agree where I'm like, if I'm if, I'm if I'm Mike, I'm thinking about how do I help Dan?
We all agree with that.
Yeah, But you know, the one thing, the one in his defense for not making Mike regret that decision.
Yeah, And the one thing I will say is too, like we're talking about that and we all agree on that. But the fact is Mike probably would say, you know what, I trusted my defense and my defense held up right, And so how do you argue that? Because he's right at the end of the day, as bad as they played throughout other portions of that game, when it came down to it and they needed to make a stop, they made a stop. And so in that instance, he was kind of right.
That was his thought.
Now, again, I will never lie with the decision.
He's a much more trusting guy than me. Because I didn't trust the defense and I didn't trust those officials. I didn't trust either one of that crew, anybody, anybody. But all that time left on the clock I didn't need.
It was one play down.
And here we go.
Good to trust. Yeah what you guys, it's so good to talk to trust your team. But at the same time, is that self awareness. You got to be self aware of what's going on and what's happening in in not place. You know, the ones that have been struggling in.
Arm in a worse position than they had to be.
Yeah.
Right, So we're gonna have to go back out there with a minute left, But that's different than going out there with a minute forty five.
I'm just the Cowboys defense in the clutch made it where the storyline for this week was not that fade call to CD laft. So the defense they stepped in and they cleaned it up for like, so you're but yeah, Mike, in that situation, run the ball, run it twice.
Yeah, there you go.
Real quick before and I don't know, we're not going to get to this second commercial break, but real quick before it is it is absolutely my show. Blame the quarterback. Let's let's talk. Give me real quick, give me an idea of what you thought of Michael Parson's performance, because although he hasn't really been getting the sacks all the time, he certainly made an impact on game. What your thoughts yesterday on micah.
Yeah, they did it. I felt like they did a pretty good job on him. But to the last play.
I mean, they move him around to try and every every offensive coordinator has to identify where he is.
Protections are set off him.
So the fact that they move him around and the teams have kind of figured out though, get the ball out quick in the short quick passing game. Last couple of weeks, what do we've seen from the Commanders and then what do we see from the Seahawks kind of a short, quick passing get the ball out, don't, don't, don't, don't mess around a lot because of Michael Parsons and
what he can do. But uh, you know, when you absolutely had to have him that last play, he his he you know, he's playing all those plays and now the one.
Play you really really need him.
He really affects the game the way he did so, but but he he is up against it every single week because of what coordinators account for with him.
Whether you see him at the back end of the play with a sack or a QB hit, whatever, or you don't. He's in acting the game. The fact he's on the field impacts the game. It could be directly or indirectly by way of freeing up some of those other guys and one on one matchups and things like that. He still ended up yesterday leading the Cowboys with pressure's quarterback pressures. He had seven yesterday, so he was getting
back there. My only concern throughout the course of the game is they just could not get home on Geno frequently enough.
They were getting back there.
But that's also kudos to Gino because he that was also Kudosino, like the one on the back foot where he just lobbed it and you're just like, okay, Geno's in his bag. But Michah, he impacted the game throughout directly and indirectly, and then of course you saw what happened. And also kudos to de Marcus Lawrence on this play
as well. But when you have de Marcus impacting the game like that and then you leave Michael unblocked, you're gonna get what you get into the Seahawks got what they got, so michah definitely another good game for him.
Same.
Hey, by the way, Sean Polite needs your vote for Fan of the Year.
Yeah, so go to Yeah, Sean Plitz are a twenty twenty three Cowboys Fan of the Year NFL dot Com Fan of the Year.
Go vote for show. Vote vote.
All right, So we're gonna wrap this thing ups for your Pro Bowl.
Little deal. Jack Ferguson put him in.
Let's do it. We'll be back on Monday. We get a chance to do some some some watching this week A put that, but you're in a body bag. Oh, Mike, God, college football and pro football. Big game this weekend, Yeah, yeah, it'll be big. But big NFL game this weekend. You got San Francisco against Philadelphia. That will be fun and we'll get a chance to see there is a possibility if San Francisco wins that game, then dabtas may be playing for a tie in the NFC next week.
Win.
Oh y'all want to call that one?
No call it?
No, no, I'm saying wins San Francisco Philly. Yeah, give me a call San Francisco, phil They're in Philly.
Hu. Yeah.
Wait, are they Yeah they are Yeah, Okay.
San fran takes this one twenty for twenty.
San Francisco win. I don't know the score, but San Francisco win. I think their passing game will be too much for Philly.
Yep, I'm with that one. And as much as I hate both of them, but.
I've beat them up afterought all years. San Francisco is a better team than beat them, I think. I think this is the week when they get to win, and it's gonna set up a really juicy matchup next week.
Called Derek for tickets for next week for that Philly.
Also, it also works. I love what say to the forty nine ers just now? She was like, beat them up?
Yeah, because yeah, the Eagles will be playing the Cowboys coming off of about with the forty nine ers, whereas the Cowboys will have a mini body going into this game at home against the Eagles.
Like her, fans did a good job yesterday. But did you see Dak try and quiet the crowd at one end?
They still that's work. Don't get me started.
The fans did a good job.
Well, have it on the screen. We have it when Corey Miller, he's in charge of that he puts it up, make noise like you know when to make noise.
And else he says quiet, like yeah, be quiet.
I don't but Dak was trying to quiet the crowd.
And it was going.
But that's because it was the Seahawks in so it.
Was like a college atmosphere and there and he's like and as he's doing it, they're like, yeah, that's turning up.
Yeah, no, it was.
It was definitely an electric atmosphere out there at at and T Stadium. We'll be back there tomorrow, Texas. Let's see if we can get a win. All right, Jonas, We'll be back on Monday.
We'll tell you.
I'll talk to you about what happened in the NFC with the forty nine or Philly game. Until then for Patrick Walker, Brian brought us Ambergar Sci. I'm Derek Eagleson has been the Break Live on Dallas Cowboys dot Com Radio hook.
She's been a production of Dallascowboys dot Com and the Dallas Cowboys Football Club