The 5 exceedingly stupid decisions in the final 3 minutes that made Lions-Cowboys an instant classic

Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Goff fell into a pattern against the continuous pressure created by the Cowboys’ pass rush. The veteran quarterback didn’t scramble or buy time. Instead, his time to throw dropped to 2.6 seconds per dropback, leading to a litany of short throws. 26 of his 34 attempts came hit targets fewer than nine yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

This led to predictability. And with 2: 05 remaining in the fourth quarter of a 17-13 game, Dallas safety Donovan Wilson turned that pattern into production.

.@donlwilson6 INT in the CLUTCH! ✖️

📺: ABC/ESPN & NFL+ pic.twitter.com/KWo8Oxo0Y1

— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 31, 2023

Goff didn’t step up in the pocket or look downfield. He whipped the ball to a short out route under pressure, failing to realize Wilson was right there, waiting to pounce. This left the Cowboys one first down from effectively icing this game.

Except…

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

McCarthy’s biggest drawback as an NFL head coach has been his abject inability to understand how to manage a game clock. Sometimes he fails to give his offense enough time to operate in a comeback effort. On Saturday, he created the space for Detroit to turn a 3.8 percent win probability into a potential game-changing drive.

McCarthy had the ball with 2: 05 remaining in the game, already firmly in field goal position. He threw the ball on first down which, given the fact the two-minute warning loomed, is totally fine. The clock was about to stop anyway.

But tight end Peyton Hendershot got called for tripping, costing Dallas 15 yards and moving the team to the brink of field goal range. That’s a problem, but not a fatal one — in fact, it gave the Cowboys a chance to burn even more clock without a first down.

Three runs from the Detroit 44 yard line would likely put Brandon Aubrey, perfect on field goals this season, to kick a 50-something yard field goal. But McCarthy threw a high percentage pass on first-and-25 to move the ball to the 33.

Perfect. Time for two runs that would exhaust the last of the Lions’ timeouts and set Aubrey up for something like a 45-yard kick with a little over minute to play.

That is not what Mike McCarthy did. He dialed up a second-and-14 pass play Dak Prescott was forced to ditch out of bounds. And while a third-and-14 pass was complete to keep the clock running, it wasn’t enough to generate a fresh set of downs.

Aubrey’s 43-yard field goal was good, but Detroit got the ball back with 1: 41 to play, zero timeouts and the ball at its own 25-yard line in a 20-13 game — 40 more seconds than it could have had. The Lions promptly drove the length of the field in nine plays.

Amon-Ra St. Brown’s touchdown came with 23 seconds left on the clock — seconds that wouldn’t have been there had McCarthy just ran the damn ball after Wilson’s interception.

Fight to the finish #DETvsDAL |📺 ABC/ESPN pic.twitter.com/FW5Nau86aw

— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 31, 2023

Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

OK. Phew. This one is a lot to unpack. Let’s start with what we know. This play, gorgeous in its design, should have given the Lions a 21-20 lead with 23 seconds to play.

TAYLOR DECKER WITH THE BIG MAN TWO POINT CONVERSION!!!!!!!! BUT IT DOESN’T COUNT NOOOOOOOOO pic.twitter.com/bSa4Fh1XB0

— Mr Matthew CFB (@MrMatthew_CFB) December 31, 2023

Except the play didn’t count, because offensive lineman Taylor Decker didn’t report as eligible before the play. That’s a five-yard penalty for illegal touching and a replay of the try.

Except, well, maybe Decker *didcheck in after all.

so who didn’t report then? pic.twitter.com/5U1sB2kLXk

— Nick Baumgardner (@nickbaumgardner) December 31, 2023

Yeah, it’s a lot to sort out. Someone screwed up, and at best it looks like a miscommunication between player and official. Decker, in his postgame interview, refused to throw anyone under the bus for fear of a hefty fine from the league offices, but maintained he’d done “what [he] was supposed to do.”