Looking closely at last week's loss to the San Francisco 49ers, we can clearly see plenty of errors on the team. Lots of blame has been thrown around the community lately due to the performance we all saw.
The Dallas Cowboys' problem came from the coaching, as I stated in an article about how Head Coach Mike McCarthy is the problem.
Looking back at this article, no regret is present as he still is to blame for what happened. If that article wasn't enough to convince you, then another example of his failure is upcoming.
Mike McCarthy lost this game far before it ever even happened.
In the last week of the season, McCarthy made the decision to play all his starters in a near-meaningless game against the Washington Commanders.
This game completely screwed up the timeline and forced the Cowboys to play with extreme exhaustion in their system against the 49ers.
The only reason McCarthy played starters like Dak Prescott, Tony Pollard (who suffered a broken leg in last Sunday's loss), and Micah Parsons was due to the fact that there was a small chance the Cowboys could clinch the #1 seed in the NFC.
I won't go through the trouble of how that could have occurred, but at the time it was very unlikely.
McCarthy had the opportunity to rest his starters and throw in backup players. If he were to do so, Prescott, Pollard, Parsons, and more players would have been well-rested before the playoffs.
The Dallas Cowboys could have 100% won that game against San Francisco. The talent meter favors the Cowboys immensely over the 49ers.
The only problem was how the players felt deep down.
When you end your season on an emotional, terribly played football game, then what follows will simply be a mindset of defeat and exhaustion.
Looking back on the divisional round game, it is very noticeable to see our players breathing harder, and exerting more effort in their actions. I could also easily tell that the Cowboys were a bit slower than the 49ers.
This again can be chalked up to not resting at the end of the season.
As stated in an earlier article titled “Should the Cowboys play their starters against Washington,” I believed that the Cowboys should rest their team against the Commanders. The reason is so that everyone can be fully healed up and feeling good come playoff time.
McCarthy needed to let his players heal up.
I don't believe that Pollard wouldn't have broken his leg last Sunday if he rested beforehand.
This is something that McCarthy should remember for the end of next season and take into consideration. Rest is always best, especially in a physical game like football.
