The Dallas Cowboys have been eliminated from the playoffs. The last play in the game against the San Francisco 49ers causes question marks and especially ridicule. Head coach Mike McCarthy then offers an explanation for the woeful effort – and gets support from Cowboys owner Jerry Jones.

The Dallas Cowboys’ playoff journey was over in the Divisional Round. In a game dominated by defence, they lost to the San Francisco 49ers with 12:19.

The Cowboys still had the last drive, but it ended in a wild play that left many question marks on their faces.

With only six seconds left on the clock, running back Ezekiel Elliot lined up alone as a centre at the line of scrimmage and snapped the ball back to quarterback Dak Prescott. Next to him only Malik Davis, the rest of the O-linemen and receivers were placed on the outside of the field.

It came as it had to: Elliot was quickly brought down by a tackle, Precott under pressure got the pass loose by an emergency throw, but wide receiver KaVontae Turpin was tackled downfield and time ran mercilessly to zero.

Mike McCarthy: “Not the play we planned “

As confusing as the play seemed to the outside world, it was probably the Cowboys themselves.

Head coach Mike McCarthy addressed the scene rather curtly at the postgame press conference. “I don’t want to go into too much detail, but obviously that wasn’t the play that was planned. It was more of a gimmick. A situation that we run as a last play in practice just in case.”

McCarthy didn’t find the perfect words of explanation, but the internet had its fun with the Cowboys’ failed play.

That entire last Cowboys drive… pic.twitter.com/nSyfdlZbsJ

– Jeremy Werner (@JWerner247) January 23, 2023

The suggestion may not be so far-fetched that Dallas forgot a little bit how to play football in the final minutes of the game.

The Cowboys just never know the rules at the end of games.

– Ryan Clark (@realrclark25) January 23, 2023

Some also understood McCarthy’s statement to mean merely:

Mike McCarthy explaining the Cowboys’ last play of the game pic.twitter.com/DqvOk8izWc

– Caesars Sportsbook (@CaesarsSports) January 23, 2023

Dallas Cowboys: Backs for McCarthy

However, the head coach got backing from Jerry Jones, the owner of the franchise, despite the defeat. In a post-game interview, he told reporters that the Cowboys have no plans to fire McCarthy.

The former Green Bay Packers coach has been with Dallas since 2020, has a 30-20 record in the regular season, but is now 1-2 in the postseason.