Mac Engel: Mike McCarthy will not go 'gentle into that good night.' Cowboys have hard call on coach.

“Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy” doesn’t have the sound of something that will endure beyond the first few weeks of January, but after what we just saw on Sunday, rule out nothing.

The Cowboys upset the Washington Commanders on Sunday to snap their five-game losing streak, 34-26, but the stat sheet, play-by-play, box score and eyewitness accounts can’t do justice for the chaotic clown show that was this mess of a game.

Between turnovers, missed field goals, blocked field goals, a blocked punt and overall terrible play by both teams, the first half set the game of football back by an estimated 811 years.

The final 8:11 of the fourth quarter, however, was something you had to see in real time as the teams combined for 41 points in that stretch.

This included: Cowboys kick returner KaVontae Tuprin’s 99-yard kick return for a touchdown. And, the Cowboys giving up an 86-yard touchdown pass from Washington’s Jayden Daniels, which would have tied it at 27, but Austin Seibert missed the extra point.

The win “improves” the Cowboys record to a still awful 4-7. It’s also another data point in favor of the head coach.

Do not rush to Vegas to bet on Mikey Mike returning for a sixth season as the head coach of the Cowboys. Do not rush to Vegas to throw your money away betting against him, either. The man is a survivor, and the wild card remains his wildcatter boss, Hall of Famer Jerry Jones.

On Sunday, Mike continued to make his case to remain in his job and to sign a contract extension by coaching his inadequate roster to a win against a superior, if overrated, opponent.

From 35,000 feet, all the Cowboys, who were 10-point underdogs against the Commanders, did on Sunday was damage their chances to have a top five pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. The team needs real talent more than these sorts of wins.

But since acquiring talent is not in McCarthy’s job description, he’s trying to give his team a real chance to win.

From field level, the Cowboys coaching staff and the players kept McCarthy’s chances alive to keep his job. This team is not good, and they have also not quit.

“Effort” kept Jason Garrett around as head coach of the Cowboys through many a trying times. It’s not something management can toss in the toilet when evaluating a head coach.

The Cowboys players are still playing for McCarthy and his staff, as much as they are trying to land another contract in the NFL.

In McCarthy’s five years as the head coach of the Cowboys, he has been without his starting quarterback for long stretches. The team collapsed after quarterback Dak Prescott suffered a season-ending ankle injury, in McCarthy’s first season, in 2020.

When Dak was (mostly) healthy, in ‘21, ‘22 and ‘23, the team finished 12-5 and made the playoffs in three straight seasons. The Cowboys finishing 4-1 with Rush as the starting quarterback in 2021 saved that entire season.

After a steady exit of decent second-tier players in successive offseasons, the lack of personnel caught up to the Cowboys in what Jerry has called a “soft” rebuild. Couple that with the season-ending hamstring injury to Dak suffered on Nov. 3 at Atlanta, and this “All In” season has become all about the draft.

The Cowboys have six games remaining, and should defeat a New York Giants on Thanksgiving Day. The Giants have quit. That’s six wins.

If the Cowboys continue to play hard, reaching seven, and possibly eight, wins is on the table. Their remaining schedule is loaded with so many bad teams that it’s doubtful every game will end in a tie, even if it should.

A seven, or eight-win team out of this bunch should always be an indictment on the front office for assembling a roster that was never talented enough to be considered good enough to contend.

A seven, or eight-win team out of this bunch would be an achievement for McCarthy, and his staff.

Beating Washington on Sunday will do nothing, ultimately, but hurt this team’s chances of moving up in the 2025 NFL Draft order.

It will, however, serve the head coach well in his efforts to remain in a job that most people think he will be out of by the end of January.

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