Mike McCarthy stood by his decision to go for it on fourth down instead of attempting a 53-yard field goal in overtime. His kicker, Brett Maher, agreed: “We’re here to win games. I think that was a good call.”
— Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy knows the ins and outs of Lambeau Field better than anybody having coached for parts of 13 seasons with the Green Bay Packers.
Facing fourth-and-3 from the Green Bay 35-yard line on the first possession of overtime Sunday, McCarthy passed on trying a 53-yard field goal into the wind, with Dak Prescott instead throwing incomplete. Six plays later, the Dallas Cowboys lost 31-28 to the Packers, falling to third place in the NFC East.
“We were right on the line for a field goal,” McCarthy said. “Hey, to be honest with you, I thought we needed to go for it. I mean I called it on second down, especially with the way the game was going. Big play, penalty. Big play, penalty. Big play, penalty. So our thing was just keep playing. We had good calls. I’m fine with the decision obviously on fourth-and-3. Just didn’t convert.”
Had Brett Maher made the field goal, the Packers still would have had an opportunity to win on the next possession, and they had scored touchdowns on two of their final three possessions of regulation.
