Mike McCarthy explains his questionable decision before halftime

The Dallas Cowboys escaped with a win on the road Monday against the Los Angeles Chargers. A different result might have magnified one questionable decision Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy made during the game.

Dallas held on for a 20-17 win at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif. Earlier in the contest, the Cowboys were facing 1st-and-10 at the Chargers’ 17 with just 14 seconds remaining in the first half.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott completed a 3-yard pass to running back Tony Pollard that left eight seconds on the clock. Dallas called a timeout after the play ended, which temporarily stopped the clock.

However, McCarthy was seen mouthing to referee Tom Stephan that he wanted to keep the clock running before the timeout was called.

“Why’d you stop the clock?” McCarthy told Stephan.

so with 8 seconds left and 2 timeouts Mike McCarthy really told the ref he didn’t want to call a timeout until 3 seconds so he could settle for a FG????? pic.twitter.com/33IPGVpyE7

— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) October 17, 2023

McCarthy left three seconds on the clock and sent out kicker Brandon Aubrey to kick a 32-yard field goal. The Cowboys led 10-7 at the half.

Some online observers noted that the Cowboys still had two timeouts remaining before Pollard’s catch. The team could have taken one final shot at a touchdown before settling for a field goal.

The Cowboys coach was asked about the decision to forego the opportunity for a touchdown and opt for a field goal right away. McCarthy explained that he took a conservative approach in order to secure a lead at the break.

“We just decided to play it safe,” said McCarthy. “I just felt the way the game was going — I think we had a holding penalty earlier on the series. I just wanted to make sure we got the points and get out of there.”

Mike McCarthy on using one of his final two timeouts to end first half: "We just decided to play it safe. …I just felt the way the game was going — I think we had a holding penalty earlier on the series. I just wanted to make sure we got the points and get out of there."

— Michael Gehlken (@GehlkenNFL) October 17, 2023

It’s hard to fault McCarthy given that the Cowboys won by three — the exact number of points Dallas secured on the controversial field goal.

Given how the New York Giants messed up their pre-halftime scoring opportunity the night before, things could have been ended up a lot worse for the Cowboys.