Mike McCarthy explains controversial decision made against Carolina Panthers

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy defended his decision to decline a major penalty called on the Carolina Panthers during the first half on Sunday. The Panthers were flagged for illegal hands-to-the-face and the penalty would have pushed them back for a long second down.

Mike McCarthy’s reason for declining penalty

Following the game, McCarthy revealed the reason for the decision, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota.

“Mike McCarthy on declining the first-half hands-to-the-face penalty on Carolina when Randy Gregory’s helmet came off on second down: ‘It’s third-and-12. We expect to win that matchup there. That’s an opportunity for a three-and-out there.”

McCarthy’s decisions in regards to his defense have been the subject of question for these previous two weeks. Against the Philadelphia Eagles, he was criticized for not using his first-half timeouts to get the ball back to his offense.

His decision to not accept a big penalty against the Panthers goes against conventional coaching in the NFL. Typically, a defense would be happy to accept a penalty that pushes the offense back yards and forces them into a long first-down situation.

But McCarthy decided that declining the penalty for the third-and-12 that they had would give the Panthers less opportunity. While his decision may not have cost the Cowboys a win, it failed on the drive itself as the Panthers picked up the first down on the very next play.

McCarthy would later receive additional criticism for pulling cornerback Trevon Diggs from the game in the third quarter. After a huge game with two interceptions in the third quarter, McCarthy made the decision to bench Diggs for “player management” reasons.

The Cowboys’ 22 point lead began to wither without Diggs in the fourth quarter but ultimately held at eight points.

Timeout management against the Eagles

The Cowboys may have managed to beat the Eagles with ease in week 3, but head coach Mike McCarthy still received criticism for some questionable decision-making.

Late in the first half, the Eagles’ final drive of the half was put in third-and-unmanageable territory following an offensive holding call. With one minute and ten seconds remaining, Jalen Hurts completed a 19-yard pass to running back Miles Sanders, bringing up fourth-and-5, a clear punt situation for the Eagles. If the Cowboys had simply stopped the clock with a McCarthy timeout, quarterback Dak Prescott would have just over a minute to try scoring some insurance points in what was then a 20-7 ballgame.

But McCarthy didn’t call timeout. This decision allowed the Eagles to let the clock tick from 1:10 all the way down to 0:20 before finally punting, giving Prescott and the Cowboys no chance but to kneel the ball.

“We decided to take the conservative approach,” McCarthy said of his decision-making. “I was very comfortable with the command that our defense had in that game, just not even giving them a chance to put us in a backed up situation.”

Ultimately, it didn’t end up costing McCarthy and the Cowboys, who still cruised to a victory over the Eagles. But in a late-season game, or even if the Cowboys find themselves in a similar position come playoffs time, it begs the question of whether McCarthy would make a similar decision.

Against the Panthers, McCarthy quickly used his timeouts within the final two minutes to get the ball back into quarterback Dak Prescott’s hands before the half. Their drive didn’t result in anything, but McCarthy was more aggressive with his decision.

On3’s Simon Gibbs contributed to this article.