Mike McCarthy reacts to tablet-slamming moment in loss to Falcons: 'I'm embarrassed'

Mike McCarthy reflected on a tough moment that happened during the Dallas Cowboys vs. Atlanta Falcons game on Sunday. While speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the Cowboys head coach said he shouldn’t have slammed his tablet after a failed fourth down play.

“I’m embarrassed by it,” McCarthy said about the tablet slam. “It’s something that at my age, clearly there is no excuse for. That’s not what I represent. I’m embarrassed as the leader of this team. … That was definitely a moment that I wish I had back.”

Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy on this moment in Sunday’s game: “I’m embarrassed by it. It’s something that at my age, clearly there is no excuse for. That’s not what I represent. I’m embarrassed as the leader of this team. … That was definitely a moment that I wish I had back.” https://t.co/qqOyVTMYOt

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) November 6, 2024

McCarthy’s tablet slam is more of an indication of how the Cowboys season has played out. After the 27-21 loss to the Falcons on Sunday, the Cowboys are 3-5 and three and a half games behind the Washington Commanders for first place in the NFC East with nine games remaining in the season. The Cowboys are struggling on both sides of the ball due to a lack of execution and injuries to multiple star players including quarterback Dak Prescott, cornerback DaRon Bland and pass rusher Micah Parsons.

“Well, we just really have got to keep the focus narrow, and I felt like we were doing that coming into this game,” McCarthy said after Sunday’s game, per the Cowboys’ official website. “We need to win a game. I know what everybody wants to talk about, long-term. We have five losses, so I clearly understand where that puts us as far as what it would take, but we’ve got to get to winning.”

Mike McCarthy explains why the Cowboys are losing

McCarthy added, “We’re making too many self-inflicted wounds, and the disappointing part about it is some of the pre-snap penalties are totally unacceptable. We came in here wanting to go no-huddle, up-tempo, turbo on the ball type of things. You see in the first series, it was effective, and I wish we got more to it.”

Things are not going to get easier for the Cowboys as the next three games are against teams with winning records. On Sunday, the Cowboys will return home to face the Philadelphia Eagles. Next week, Dallas will stay at home to take on the Houston Texans on Sunday Night Football. And on Nov. 24, the Cowboys will be put to the test when they face star rookie QB Jayden Daniels and the Commanders.