Mike McCarthy critical of Cowboys players for reaction to Andy Dalton hit

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Andy Dalton was on the receiving end of a dirty hit on Sunday that knocked him out of the game, but his teammates didn’t exactly rush to his defense. Head coach Mike McCarthy sees that as an issue.

Dalton looked like he was briefly knocked unconscious after Washington linebacker Jon Bostic delivered a vicious head shot (video here). Not one Cowboys player confronted Bostic over the play. McCarthy was asked about that after the game and spoke about the importance of teammates protecting one another.

Mike McCarthy on no Cowboys players getting in Jon Bostic's face after his dirty hit on Andy Dalton: "We speak all the time about playing for one another, protecting one another. It definitely was not the response you would expect."

— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 25, 2020

The Cowboys fell to 2-5 with their blowout loss to Washington, but the NFC East is so bad this year that they are still very much in the hunt. You wouldn’t know that by the way they played, and their reaction to the hit on Dalton was one of several instances on Sunday where it appeared they have given up.

Between anonymous players blasting the coaching staff and no one showing any fight when Dalton was drilled, it’s obvious the Cowboys’ issues aren’t merely schematic.