At the end of the first half of Monday night’s game between the Cowboys and Chargers, Dallas coach Mike McCarthy opted not to take a timeout with eight seconds left, which would have allowed his team to take one more shot at the end zone, from the L.A. fourteen yard line.
McCarthy instead decided to let the clock run to three seconds, take a timeout, kick a field goal, and carry a timeout to the locker room.
Owner Jerry Jones, appearing Tuesday on 105.3 The Fan in Dallas, said he would have preferred to see his team try once more to score a touchdown.
“First of all, this is not an impassioned response to your question at all,” Jones said. “But I thought we should have tried another pass in the end zone, and used the clock accordingly.”
Jones then was asked whether he believed McCarthy’s decision should be regarded as a lack of faith in quarterback Dak Prescott.
“Not at all,” Jones said. “Not at all. No, that doesn’t reach that point with me at all.”
But it’s still odd. They had the time to run a play and call another timeout. McCarthy decided to take the three and head to the locker room.
It ultimately worked out for the Cowboys. Still, if the Chargers had scored a late touchdown and won by four, it would have been a major story throughout the day on Tuesday.