Cowboys’ games under Mike McCarthy have showed a clear trend – which could doom or delight Giants

As Tom Brady watched the Dallas Cowboys offense try to climb out of a 28-6 third-quarter hole, the seven-time Super Bowl champion acknowledged his analysis might sound trite.

“To say, ‘We want to start fast,’ well, of course — we know that,” Brady said.

Then he explained why an early lead means more than just a lighter day at the office.

“You get to play on your terms; your whole playbook is useful,” Brady said last weekend during the Cowboys’ eventual loss to the Baltimore Ravens. “At this point in the game, [the Cowboys] don’t have their whole playbook. You’ve got basically some downhill runs and then dropback passes, which plays to the strength of this defense.”

The Cowboys’ game formulas have routinely reflected wide scoring margins during head coach Mike McCarthy’s time at the helm.

The game script was almost exclusively advantageous for Dak Prescott, Mike McCarthy and the Cowboys against the Giants last season. Will that continue on Thursday? (AP Photo/Jeffrey McWhorter)

Since McCarthy arrived in 2020, 48 of the team’s 70 games have featured a lead or deficit of at least 14, a Yahoo Sports analysis of Pro Football Reference data found.

All three of their 2024 games have fallen into that category.

The Cowboys’ Week 1 win against the Cleveland Browns marked their 28th victory in 29 games where they have led by at least 14 under McCarthy.

Dallas’ Week 2 and 3 losses to the New Orleans Saints and Ravens brought them to 17 losses in 19 games when they have trailed by 14 or more at any point.

In short: Get ahead early, and the Cowboys overwhelmingly win. Fall behind early, and the Cowboys’ narrow deficits but rarely overcome them.

Dallas’ strength while playing ahead and struggle to retake leads speak to more than just the psychological impact of a lopsided game or the apparent relative strength of an opponent.

The trends also reflect how scoring margins impact play-callers more broadly, and how strongly the Cowboys’ approach to…

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Author : Yahoo Sports

Publish date : 2024-09-26 04:53:43

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