During Sunday’s loss to San Francisco 49ers in the wild card round, the Dallas Cowboys were unable to overcome a variety of issues. Penalties were the biggest problem.
Dallas was able to continue a long-running trend of 14 penalties totalling 89 yards against 49ers. The Cowboys ranked first in the league with 127 penalties during the regular season.
They were penalized 1,103 yards, which was second only to the Las Vegas Raiders. It’s not surprising that Mike McCarthy , the head coach, has made penalties a major focus of his offseason.
McCarthy said today that penalties would be the Cowboys’ number one focus. McCarthy told reporters today that penalties will be the Cowboys’ “No. 1” focus over the next few months, admitting that his team had committed too many violations this year.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy: “Our No. 1 focus going forward is the penalties. There were far too many.”
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) January 19, 2022
Some speculations have swirled that McCarthy might not be back in 2022 following the season’s conclusion. However, the Cowboys aren’t indicating they will be moving on from the veteran coach.
Even if they did have to, McCarthy’s problems could be passed on to his successor. The next Dallas manager must ensure that the team is more disciplined than in 2021.