Mike McCarthy and John Fassel ‘dumb’ their way into a Dallas Cowboys’ win | Opinion

Two games into the season and the Dallas Cowboys are “at home” at .500.

Thanks to the NFL referees, and karma for a Chargers franchise that should never have left San Diego, the Cowboys left their home away from home, Los Angeles and AT&T Stadium West, a gaudy 1-1 on the season.

That’s right, we are two weeks into the 2021 NFL season and the Cowboys are in a first-place tie in the NFC East.

This is almost better than a Super Bowl.

On Sunday, both the Los Angeles Chargers and the Cowboys did everything possible not to win an NFL game. The Chargers simply bested their opponent at giving away the game as the Cowboys won, 20-17.

“To come in here and win this game was important for us on a number of fronts,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy told the media after the game.

Correct. The No. 1 front would be that of the head coach, and his special teams coordinator.

A solid argument can be made the Cowboys should be 2-0 this season, but McCarthy and specifically his special teams coach, John “Bones” Fassel, are lucky this is not an 0-2 mess.

The Cowboys defeated the Chargers on a walk-off 56-yard field goal by kicker Greg Zuerlein as time expired to bail out McCarthy and Bones.

It was as if McCarthy was paying homage to his predecessor, Jason Garrett, who loved long field goal tries more than a kid loves Santa.

This was an unnecessary risk, and a case study in Terrible Clock Management.

There was no reason for Bones and McCarthy to settle for a 56-yard field goal.

The Cowboys had the ball at the Chargers’ 38-yard line and faced a 2nd-and-6 with 33 seconds remaining. They also had a timeout.

Even CBS color analyst Tony Romo wondered why the Cowboys elected to just burn the clock and settle for the long field goal rather than try to advance the ball a few more yards for Zuerlein.

McCarthy said the clock he was watching went off the board. Then he said the clock offensive coordinator Kellen Moore was watching was blocked by a camera.

Kids, don’t use those on your teachers when you forget to do your homework. No one will believe you.

Credit Zuerlein, who for the second week in a row made a long field goal in the closing minutes of a game to give his team the lead.

It was Zuerlein who made a 48-yard field goal at Tampa Bay with 1:29 remaining in the game that gave the Cowboys a lead that Tom Brady would, naturally, take back.

Since McCarthy named the man named “Bones” as his special teams coach last season, he has made a name for himself with risks that only Jerry Jones would like.

There were multiple incidents like these last season, and on Sunday Bones once again showed he has not lost the zip on his crazy.

The Cowboys had the Chargers facing a 4th-and-20 from their own 46-yard line near the end of the first half.

Rather than just play for the return, Bones sent every blue jersey he could find at Chargers punter Ty Long, and Cowboys special teamer Azur Kamara nailed him for a penalty.

Only because of an upright did the Chargers not turn that gift into three points. Kicker Tristan Vizcaino’s field-goal attempt near the end of the half hit the left upright.

And if that wasn’t enough, the refs did their part to help out the Boyz, too.

The Chargers were penalized 12 times for 99 yards, including one call that wiped out a Justin Herbert touchdown pass with a little more than five minutes remaining in the game.

That TD pass would have given the Chargers the lead.

Two plays after that TD was wiped out, Herbert was pressured by Cowboys rookie linebacker Micah Parsons and harassed into throwing a ball just to get rid of it.

The officials decided Herbert was sacked, and the 18-yard loss led to a game-tying field goal.

Among so many borderline calls by an officiating crew that wanted to be the star of the game, that was the worst.

The Cowboys came into Los Angeles without three starting defensive linemen, their starting right tackle and they won a game they were not expected to win when this season began.

For the second consecutive season the Dallas Cowboys are 1-1, and that is despite the “best efforts” of some of the coaches.