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The Dallas Cowboys struggled to move the ball on offense during Sunday’s blowout loss to the San Francisco 49ers, but head coach Mike McCarthy believes the team’s strength lies on the other side of the ball.
While speaking to reporters on Tuesday, McCarthy gave a lengthy answer when asked about the team’s struggles from Sunday night, declaring that the Cowboys defense is the engine behind the team’s success:
“We want to score as many points as everybody and we’re not playing not to lose, so don’t mix the message here. But we play to our defense. That’s the strength of our team. And by doing that, the time of possession, taking care of the football, those are two things that I thought were improvements from past years, the first month. Clearly, it was not (against the 49ers).”
Dallas fell to 3-2 after its 42-10 loss to San Francisco. The Cowboys mustered just 197 yards of total offense while surrendering 421 yards to the 49ers.
Sunday’s game aside, Dallas has been one of the top defenses in the league for the past few years. This season, the team ranks fifth in the league with opponents averaging 292.0 yards per game. However, the team’s offense hasn’t been on the same level.
The Cowboys rank 17th in the league in yards per game with 327.4. McCarthy took over play-calling duties this offseason following the departure of offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, but he hasn’t been as effective. Dallas averaged 354.9 yards per game in 2022.
Despite the struggles, it doesn’t sound like changes are coming any time soon. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was asked during a radio appearance if he approached McCarthy about giving play-calling duties to offensive coordinator Brian Schottenheimer and he said, “No, in any way. No.”
McCarthy will try to lead the Cowboys to a better performance when they return to action against the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday Night Football. Los Angeles has a high-powered offense that ranks fifth in the league this year with 388.8 yards per game, so Dallas will need to be ready to keep up on both sides of the ball.
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