Stephen A. Smith calls out Mike McCarthy after Cowboys' critical loss to Eagles

Mike McCarthy's Dallas Cowboys fell agonizingly short of beating the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday, 28-23, with the game decided by inches on several occasions. While Dallas lost, Dak Prescott played perhaps one of the best games of his career as he threw for 374 yards and three touchdowns.

But in the wash-up of the game, things don't look so good for McCarthy as several missteps on his behalf might have cost the Cowboys the game, according to Stephen A. Smith.

The Cowboys under McCarthy have been a heavily penalized team, and against the Eagles, 10 penalties for 83 yards was again a blight on the Cowboys' game.

But Smith had several issues with McCarthy's performance against the Eagles. He said on ESPN's First Take:

"Okay, the tight end and what I just explained, happened the clock management issues that we've been lamenting since Mike McCarthy arrived. Yes, you remember the penalty that we were talking about. These are the kind of things we've been going on for years and years and years."

"And oh, by the way, 54% of the time they're passing. 46% of the time they're running the football. I thought that Mike McCarthy needed Kellen Moore gone so he could bring more balance to the offense. That isn't happening either. So I'm looking at all of those things pointing in a different direction.”

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Mike McCarthy's Cowboys fall further behind in the NFC race

Dallas Cowboys v Philadelphia Eagles

With the loss to the Eagles, the Cowboys now drop to 5-3 on the year, while their rivals now move to 8-1. Philadelphia now holds the tiebreaker over Dallas, but winning this game was more important if we look at the upcoming schedules.

The Eagles have the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers. The Cowboys, meanwhile, have the New York Giants, Carolina Panthers and Washington Commanders.

So all is not lost, and Dallas can, in theory, still reel in the Eagles if things go their way, but right now, that seems like a tall order.