Mike McCarthy explains why he didn't call timeout in Monday night time-crunch

The Dallas Cowboys on Monday may have managed to beat the Philadelphia Eagles with ease, but head coach Mike McCarthy still displayed 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 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.

‘Call timeout, Mike!’ Peyton irked with McCarthy

In last night’s Manning Cast, hosted by Peyton and Eli Manning, Peyton was visibly frustrated by McCarthy’s clock management.

“Dallas ought to call timeout,” Manning said, speaking to the television as if McCarthy could hear him. “Dallas needs to call timeout! Call timeout, Mike!”

Peyton Manning isn't enjoying the Mike McCarthy clock management:

"Call timeout, MIKE!" pic.twitter.com/LvOAxnza8T

— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) September 28, 2021

Safe to say that McCarthy didn’t hear Peyton’s cries for help. The Cowboys ended up kneeling after the Eagles burned nearly a minute of the remaining time in the game, which left Prescott with just 11 seconds on his own ten-yard line.

Prescott and the Cowboys had a big second half, too, including two fourth-quarter touchdowns, which effectively mitigated McCarthy’s clock management decision. Prescott completed 21 of his 26 passing attempts on the night, good for 238 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and no interceptions. Prescott did fumble the ball twice, however, but was able to recover one of his mishaps.

McCarthy’s offense was able to use a balanced attack against the Eagles. Six different receivers finished the night with multiple catches, including 2018 fourth-round tight end Dalton Schultz — Schultz had a career night, hauling in six of Prescott’s seven targets for 80 receiving yards and two touchdowns.