Cowboys Must Fire Schottenheimer After OT Meltdown Loss To Hapless Cardinals

With a 10-point lead on the lowly Arizona Cardinals and only 3:54 remaining Sunday at AT&T Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys had a win probability of 98.7%.

And then the sky fell. On the game. On the season. And perhaps on a head coach.

In one of the worst, most inexplicable collapses in franchise history, they lost 33-30 in overtime in a horrendous meltdown that should cost not just one - but two - Cowboys’ coaches their jobs.

My Top 10 Whitty Observations:

10. SCRAP SCHOTTY! – Jerry Jones has fired only one head coach – Wade Phillips in 2010 – in midseason during his reign. But after this colossal clusterf*ck, it should be two. Right now. Today. A home loss to a crappy, crippled Cardinals team using a backup quarterback and No. 2 running back is unfathomable, embarrassing and unacceptable. The Cowboys led this one 14-0 early, 24-10 to start the fourth quarter, 30-24 with 1:09 remaining, and still somehow lost on Chad Ryland’s 42-yard field goal in OT. Brian Schottenheimer should be fired, and failed defensive coordinator Christian Parker should go with him. If this isn’t it, it’s impossible to imagine what rock bottom looks like. Blow it up.

9. CURSE, CONTINUED - Crazy as it sounds considering the Cards’ lousy history, the Cowboys have still never beaten Arizona at AT&T Stadium. Make it 0-5. Since winning Super Bowl XXX in the Cards’ home stadium, Dallas is 11-16 against Arizona including five losses in a row and eight of the last nine. The last time Dallas beat the Cardinals at home Bill Parcells was the coach and Drew Bledsoe threw a touchdown to Keyshawn Johnson: Oct. 30, 2005.

8. BENEFICIAL BOUNCES – Cowboys led 7-0 after the first quarter despite gaining only 24 yards on 11 plays and fumbling inside Arizona’s 2-yard line. How? The defense produced a goal-line stand and a takeaway. Shemar James snagged a deflected pass for an interception. And then backup tight end James Mitchell made a nice recovery of Javonte Williams’ fumble into the end zone. When I see 84 with a star on his helmet, can’t think of great tight ends from the past such as Jean Fugett, Doug Cosbie and, of course, Jay Novacek. None of those Pro Bowlers, however, ever recovered a fumble for a touchdown.

7. SAD STAT – Even against two journeymen backup quarterbacks, the Cowboys’ defense couldn’t stop the Cardinals, much less dominate them. Parker’s inept group allowed 30 points in the second half and has now surrendered 20+ points in a franchise-worst streak 15 consecutive games. Yuck. In this one they turned somebody named Tyler Allgeier into Jim Brown and Gardner Minshew into Tom Brady.

6. RISK VS. REWARD! – Number of games Schottenheimer has coached in the NFL: 25. Number of challenges he’s won: 1, on 6 attempts. I’ll say it again, I appreciate his rah-rah enthusiasm but question his coaching instincts. For example: Why go for 4th-and-1 on your first possession at your own 32? The reward is only a first down at your 33-yard line in a tie game early. The risk? Surrendering easy points if you don’t make it. Caleb Downs bailed his coach out with a fourth-down goal-line tackle, from his knees no less

5. DO THE RIGHT THING – Cowboys held a moment of silence for Cornell Green, who passed away recently. Good, but now they need to make a very loud statement and put him in the ring of honor. He is, after all, one of the best athletes in franchise history.

4. THREE AND OUT – After a Quinnen Williams sack and key open-field tackle by DeMarvion Overshown to force a punt, the Cowboys had their chance to dodge a fatal bullet and win in overtime. Dak Prescott is paid to at least get Brandon Aubrey in field-goal range. Instead, he had a pass batted down and then absorbed a third-down sack. Three plays. Minus-5 yards. Punt. Hard to pin much of the blame on an offense that scored 30 points, but that’s a series in which Prescott just has to produce.

3. THE PARKER PROBLEM – Secondary Injuries notwithstanding, this one had to make Matt Eberflus crack a smile. Because Parkers’ defense wilted in the second half against Minshew. In two quarters of football, Minshew completed 17 of 23 passes for 188 yards and three touchdowns while scoring 30 points in six possessions. The Cardinals scored touchdowns on four consecutive drives, including busted coverages on embarrassingly open scoring passes to Trey McBride and Michael Wilson in the final 2:11. Parker was hired to replace Eberflus and fix a problem. So far, nothing he’s done resembles any part of a solution.

2. SILVER LINING? – When Ryland hooked the extra point to allow Dallas to sneak into overtime, I thought the Cowboys would take that luck and parlay it into a unlikely win. But, honestly, this is probably best. Schottenheimer doesn’t get to gloat about a “we found a way” win, and all the warts don’t get camouflaged by an escape. Ryland’s pulled PAT – the first in the NFL by a team that tied the score in the final 10 seconds of regulation since 2022 – reminded me of the 1997 game when Eagles’ holder bobbled the snap to abort a game-winning 22-yard field goal and hand the Cowboys the win. But this time, they weren’t lucky enough.

1. KNOCKED DOWN AND OUT – Why should Schottenheimer not see another game as Cowboys’ head coach? Because he’s 10-14-1 in 2+ years. Because his team can beat Tanner McKee but not Minshew six days later. Because they’re 3-5 with the only wins over Washington (1-4-1), Houston (2-5) and Philly (2-5). Next week the Cowboys should get another layup against a 2-6 Colts team that lost at Jacksonville, 42-7, on Sunday. But after this epic debacle, Schottenheimer shouldn’t get another chance to shoot an air ball.