Mike McCarthy makes a mistake, fails to challenge a bad spot by officials on key play

CeeDee Lamb had a first down. At least it looked that way to everyone but the officials and, apparently, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy.

There was a baffling sequence at a key moment in the second quarter of Sunday night’s game between the Cowboys and Philadelphia Eagles. On a third-down catch Lamb stretched out and looked like he had the first down. The officials, who can be way off when they’re guessing on where the ball should be spotted, placed it short of the first down.

That was the first mistake. Then McCarthy made it worse.

The Cowboys rushed to the line to go for it on fourth down. Instead of taking the time to decide on a challenge or choosing the right play, Dallas rushed a snap and passed instead of sneaking it ahead for the first down. Cooper Rush had nobody open on the rollout and threw incomplete. It was a comedy of errors.

What will make Cowboys fans furious is that had McCarthy challenged, he almost surely would have gotten a first down. Lamb clearly had the first down before he landed.

“There is no question, Mike,” NBC rules analyst Terry McAulay said on the broadcast to play-by-play announcer Mike Tirico. “That was absolutely a first down. The ball clearly broke the plane when the elbow was down.”

It really wasn’t that much of a debate. The replay showed Lamb had the first down.

McAulay pointed out that one official had it as a first down but adjusted when the other official marked it poorly and short of the first down.

“She adjusted to the line judge at the bottom of the screen, which was incorrect,” McAulay said.

The officials screwed up to begin with, and then McCarthy added a couple of mistakes of his own.

The Eagles got a gift field goal after that to take a 17-0 lead. Cowboys fans who relentlessly criticize McCarthy had yet another reason to tee off.