Mike McCarthy has been an NFL head coach for almost 20 years with two separate teams now. Somehow, the Dallas Cowboys leader still doesn’t have a hang of how to properly use timeouts in the middle of a game.
On Sunday against the Cleveland Browns, that cost his kicker Brandon Aubrey dearly.
As Tom Brady worked through apparent anxiousness, the Cowboys tried to close out the first half with points by attempting a 66-yard field goal attempt. Aubrey showed he more than had the leg, squeezing the monster kick through the uprights, seemingly tying the NFL record for the longest field goal ever. For a moment.
The issue is that Dallas was called for an avoidable delay of game penalty because McCarthy weirdly didn’t call a timeout. (Note: He had TWO of them.) When this kick attempt became 71 yards, the Cowboys elected to just go into the halftime locker room.
C’mon man:
Wow
Brandon Aubrey would have tied the NFL record for longest FG with this attempt… But there was a delay of game penalty.
: FOX pic.twitter.com/DpDiVfcRkz
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) September 8, 2024
Look, the Cowboys were kicking the Browns’ butts. In the grand scheme of things, making an extremely long field goal attempt while already up three scores shouldn’t mean much for Dallas.
Even still, not calling a timeout before aiming to take the super-long field goal is so classic McCarthy it’s not even funny. It’s a basic game management mistake that shouldn’t happen for someone as experienced as he is. Seriously, there was no benefit to keeping that timeout — it’s the last play of the half, and that’s what you lined up! Just give your kicker the chance you promised!
Against the Browns, this mistake cost the Cowboys nothing. Against better teams down the line, it’s worth wondering whether McCarthy will unwittingly step on a rake again.
