Mike McCarthy criticizes offensive player following loss vs Chiefs

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has some choice words about one of his starting offensive linemen’s performance in Sunday’s loss to the Kansas City Chiefs. The Cowboys’ offense as a whole did not play well against a defense that is questionable at best. But in McCarthy’s eyes, left guard Connor McGovern had a performance to forget.

McCarthy said that McGovern “played OK” in his first start for Connor Williams.

“He had some tough spots,” he continued. “Obviously, it wasn’t a great game for us upfront as a whole. We can all do better. …I see him as the left guard this week”

Kansas City Chiefs defensive lineman Chris Jones had a career day, mostly at the expense of McGovern. Two of his 3.5 sacks in the game came when matched up against the Cowboys’ left guard. Jones filled the stat sheet against Dallas on Sunday. He finished the game with five tackles, four them solo, two tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, three hits on the quarterback, a past deflection, and a fumble recovery.

His fumble recovery came on a play, in which McGovern missed a blocking assignment, allowing Frank Clark a beeline shot at Dak Prescott. And his pass deflection came in the closing minutes of the game, resulting in an interception sealing the Chiefs victory.

McCarthy did say although McGovern did not have a great showing against the Chiefs, he will remain the Cowboys starting left guard for Thursday’s game against the Las Vegas Raiders.

McCarthy updates Ezekiel Elliott status

Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy offered an encouraging update on the knee injury to running back Ezekiel Elliott on Monday. Although the issue has been bothering Elliott for a month, he will continue to play through it.

“The conversation with the trainers, I have no reason to think he won’t go,” McCarthy said.

Elliott, the fourth overall pick out of Ohio State in 2016, has seemed to regress over the past couple of seasons. After averaging more than 95 yards per game in each of his first three seasons, the running back hit a career low with 65.3 in 2020. That total has risen slightly this year, but is still just 69.5.

At least some of the dip in production can be attributed to Dallas’ increased trust in Tony Pollard, who account for 31.4% of the Cowboys’ carries. Elliott is still the leader with 52.6%.

The Pro Bowl running back has still managed to find the end zone often, with seven rushing scores this season. That number is tied for sixth in the league and already better than the six he had in 2020. He is eight touchdowns away from his career high of 15.

The Cowboys are set to take on the Las Vegas Raiders at 4:30 p.m. ET on Thanksgiving Day in AT&T Stadium. They will hope to bounce back after suffering a loss to Kansas City in Week 11.