Cowboys coach Jason Garrett made an enormous mental mistake at the end of his team’s game against the Cardinals Sunday that cost his team a victory.
With seven seconds on the clock in a tie game, Dallas kicker Dan Bailey set up for a 49-yard field goal attempt that likely would have won the game. Bailey booted the ball straight through the uprights. The only problem is that a timeout was called right before the snap, and it came from his own sideline. Jason Garrett signaled for a timeout, effectively icing his own kicker.
Of course, you might guess what happens next. Bailey’s second field goal try hooked to the left and fell short, sending the game into overtime. The Cardinals then won on a dump-off pass to LaRod Stephens-Howling who went 52 yards to the house.
In a game filled with mistakes, none will compare to Garrett’s coaching gaffe. Not only did he screw up his own kicker, but the Cowboys allowed nearly 20 seconds to run off before spiking the ball, leading to the eventual timeout. They should have run another play prior to the attempt, but they used poor clock management.
Garrett reportedly took the advice of kicking coach Chris Boniol to call the timeout. He apparently wanted to get a “clean operation” on the field goal attempt. Whatever their excuse, it was a poor decision.
Another thought is that Bailey took it easy on the second field goal attempt because he believed the Cardinals would also call a timeout to ice him. For the Cowboys, the only positive aspect of Sunday’s loss was that the Giants lost too, keeping Dallas atop the NFC East.
