As Tom Brady watched the Dallas Cowboys offense try to climb out of a 28-6 third-quarter hole, the seven-time Super Bowl champion acknowledged his analysis might sound trite. “To say, ‘We want to start fast,’ well, of course — we know that,” Brady said. Then he explained why an early lead means more than just a lighter day at the office.
“You get to play on your terms; your whole playbook is useful,” Brady said last weekend during the “At this point in the game, [the Cowboys] don’t have their whole playbook. You’ve got basically some downhill runs and then dropback passes, which plays to the strength of this defense.” The Cowboys’ game formulas have routinely reflected wide scoring margins during head coach Mike McCarthy’s time at the helm.
Since McCarthy arrived in 2020, 48 of the team’s 70 games have featured a lead or deficit of at least 14, a Yahoo Sports analysis of Pro Football Reference data found. All three of their 2024 games have fallen into that category. The against the Cleveland Browns marked their 28th victory in 29 games where they have led by at least 14 under McCarthy.
Dallas’ Week 2 and 3 losses to the New Orleans Saints and Ravens brought them to 17 losses in 19 games when they have trailed by 14 or more at any point. In short: Get ahead early, and the Cowboys overwhelmingly win. Fall behind early, and the Cowboys’ narrow deficits but rarely overcome them.
Dallas’ strength while playing ahead and struggle to retake leads sp.
