The Cowboys’ playoff struggles are the gifts that keep on giving. On Sunday, Dallas left NFL fans with yet another hilarious memento as it closed out itsr season.
Here was the situation: Dallas had six seconds left and no timeouts, and it needed a touchdown to potentially tie or beat the 49ers in the divisional round. Their only chance, it seemed, would be having Dak Prescott launch the ball into the heavens and hope one of the Cowboys’ speed demons could pull it down and get to the end zone.
That wasn’t what Mike McCarthy was thinking, though. With the ball on his team’s 24, the Dallas coach coach drew up a play so baffling that it would look out of place in a video game.
MORE: Why did the Cowboys punt late vs. 49ers?
McCarthy had running back Ezekiel Elliott line up at center. Elliott was flanked by two sets of contrasting individuals. On one side was Dallas’ speed players. On the other was its offensive line.
Unsurprisingly, the play didn’t work. Elliott’s army of one got flattened like a pancake, forcing Prescott to quickly find KaVontae Turpin just a few yards away over the middle. Turpin turned upstream and was immediately greeted by Jimmie Ward, who drove him into the ground to end the game. Dallas lost 19-12.
The final play that sends the @49ers to the NFC Championship! #NFLPlayoffs pic.twitter.com/Du5KruFQ3q
— NFL (@NFL) January 23, 2023
The play was, quite simply, pantomime. And it was a perfect encapsulation of Dallas’ playoff failings in recent decades, from Tony Romo’s muffed snap, to Dez Bryant’s incompletion that never was, to Prescott’s slide last time these teams met. It just seems as though Dallas can’t get luck to fall its way.
MORE: How Brett Maher’s inaccuracy, instability changed Cowboys game plan vs. 49ers
NFL Twitter proceeded to eat up the play call like a bag of potato chips.
Many, including former Colts safety Darius Butler, likened the play to Indianapolis’ failed trick play vs. the Patriots in 2015, If you squint, you can certainly see why.
Four years ago today the Colts gave us the worst trick play ever pic.twitter.com/rTT3pn62nX
— NFL Humor (@NFLHumor) October 19, 2019
Every Colts fan just chuckled a little.
— Darius Butler (@DariusJButler) January 23, 2023
Now, Dallas’ baffling play design comfortably takes its place among all-time play calling gaffes, right up there with Jim Zorn’s fake field goal call and not handing the ball to Marshawn Lynch.
At least Cowboys fans have that.
