Decoding McCarthy, Week 6 - Signs of life just in time.

Fourth Quarter Dak performance saves game, but scheme is still looking for solutions

Much of this season has been “off” for the offense and while patience is required in any build, there isn’t much to be found because the league isn’t waiting for you to sort issues.

So, on Monday, the Cowboys won a hard fought game that they should be proud about figuring out. Many teams in this league lose that game, so the desperation of this Dallas team – and in particular, its QB – pulled one out of the fire just in case.

That is the very essence of this sport. There are days where things are easy and many more days where things are hard. You better be able to win your share of those ugly ones where both teams are playing each-other to a draw and whoever can make that one extra play can leave with best deodorant in sports, a win.

We know the margins are so small, but the ramifications are huge. Some games, you hope your franchise QB can just “figure it out” and win the ugly one. If this is your normal mode of winning, you are in trouble. But, if he can save you a handful of times a year when everything is breaking around him and he can still secure a victory, then you have an excellent QB.

That was this game.

The Cowboys entered the fourth quarter having run 40 plays to that juncture for just 204 yards and 10 points. They had converted 2-8 on 3rd downs and were in a massive mess that might cause a catastrophic loss.

What happened next was the ultimate “figuring it out.”

Two drives, 22 plays, 139 yards, and 10 huge points. It was winning time and the Cowboys were the team to make just enough plays to win the game at the finish line.

That is a very neat an important trick so they deserve a lot of credit for doing just that. But, man, nothing is easy right now for this offense and it is difficult to say they figured out a whole lot in this game other than extending hope.