The Dallas Cowboys bowed out of the playoffs last weekend. They suffered a narrow defeat against the San Francisco 49ers. Also because there was no time left for a spike at the end. Mike McCarthy now defends himself against the accusations and defends his call.

Munich/Dallas – There are 14 seconds left to play in the Wild Card Playoff Game between the Dallas Cowboys and the San Francisco 49ers, the “Niners” lead 23:17 at AT&T Stadium and the Cowboys have no timeouts left.

Instead of trying a pass play or a shot into the end zone, quarterback Dak Prescott, on instructions from his coach, opts for a planned run over the middle. In the end, there is no time left for a spike to stop the clock, and the Cowboys lose.

McCarthy fends off criticism of playcalling

After that, criticism poured in from all sides on McCarthy for the playcall. However, in a media roundtable on Wednesday, he defended himself against the accusations. “It was the right call from our point of view,” said the 58-year-old. “It’s called for 13 seconds, there were 14 seconds left, so it was the right call from our perspective.”

The 49ers played coverage on defence to protect the sidelines. Three pass rushers, seven pass defenders on the sidelines and a safety deep in the middle. A so-called “prevent” defence, in other words. “We wanted to get inside the 30-yard line to set up for the last playcall.” From the 40-yard line, where the Cowboys originally stood, it could have been two Hail Marys, a long, inaccurate pass into the end zone.

Prescott was also in the firing line as he gave the ball to his centre Tyler Biadaz instead of the referee, McCarthy also took that one in his stride. “The centre can spot the ball, so can a receiver. The statement that only the referee can spot the ball is wrong,” McCarthy said. However, he conceded, “Of course one of the referees has to touch the ball.”

According to the rulebook, one of the umpires, usually called the Umpire, must determine the official location of the ball. Ramon George, the umpire’s name, had pushed the ball a little further back than the centre had placed it, so that there was ultimately no time left for the spike. Prescott’s straddle meant that the ball had to be put back where he had started it, as he was not allowed to tackle it from then on. However, the Cowboys had put the ball too far forward.

Length of run not according to plan

If McCarthy could find a flaw in his scheme, however, it was with his quarterback. “I talked to Dak. Actually, he should have given himself up after about ten yards. “

Dak Prescott ran a QB draw with 14 seconds left and handed the ball to the centre, who placed the ball himself.

However, the ref is supposed to spot the ball.

The move cost Dallas a chance at a game-winning play. The 49ers advance.

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– The Athletic (@TheAthletic) January 17, 2022

Not only would there have been more time, but none of the opposition would have been allowed to tackle him and if they had, there would have been a penalty that would have stopped the clock. Prescott ended up running for a 17-yard gain in space.

Instead of a trip to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Cowboys now have to end their season. For the San Francisco 49ers, it’s on to Saturday night against the Green Bay Packers