Following the Dallas Cowboys’ disheartening 48-32 playoff loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round at AT&T Stadium, Terry Bradshaw didn’t mince words in his assessment of the team. Despite having a personal relationship with Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy, Bradshaw, a FOX NFL personality, expressed his belief that the Cowboys have underachieved.
Bradshaw acknowledged his liking for McCarthy but pointed out that three seasons of finishing 12-5 should be sufficient. He suggested that, given Jerry Jones’ age at 81, the team owner might be contemplating a coaching change. According to Bradshaw, the Cowboys, on the whole, have not met expectations.
“I have a relationship with Mike McCarthy. I’m not going to lie to you, America — I like him. I like him a lot. It’s hard for me to say negative things about him. But at three seasons of 12-5 you would think would be enough. As he walked off that field, and Jerry Jones being at 81 years of age, saying maybe to himself, ‘I’ve got to make a change now at head coach.’ Does he do that? Because this is a football team that, honestly, they’ve underachieved,” Bradshaw quipped.
RELATED: Cowboys Legend Michael Irvin Under Investigation By Texas Police Over Mystery ‘Allegation’
This sentiment was echoed by another FOX NFL personality, Howie Long, who highlighted the recurring theme of the Cowboys’ underachievement. Long emphasized the frustration among detractors and characterized the team as talented but consistently falling short.
McCarthy, in his fourth season as the Cowboys’ coach, experienced a mix of results, going 6-10 in his initial season and then achieving three consecutive 12-5 records. Despite the impressive regular-season performances, the team faltered in the playoffs each year, facing Wild Card losses in 2021 and 2024, and a Divisional Round defeat in 2022.
The repeated 12-5 finish without advancing beyond the Divisional Round has fueled perceptions of the Cowboys as a team that falls short of expectations, as both Bradshaw and Long noted.
