Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys will take on the Chargers on Monday night, where they’ll be faced with former offensive coordinator Kellen Moore.
The Cowboys parted ways after last season, and McCarthy has taken over play-calling duties. How does McCarthy feel about taking on Moore this Monday?
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Why the Cowboys Let Kellen Moore Walk
After the Cowboys finished last season 12-5 and fell to the Niners once again in the Divisional Round, the decision was made to part ways with Moore.
In the reunion game Monday, the stakes are high, as things would look even worse for McCarthy if his offense struggles and the Chargers thrive. So far this season, the Chargers offense has looked solid as the team sits at 2-2, and Moore has found plenty of success as the team ranks fifth in the league in yards per game and sixth in yards per play.
Charger’s QB Justin Herbert has also gotten off to a good start as he has completed 71 of his pass attempts for 1,106 yards and seven touchdowns. The team’s .500 record is largely due to defensive performance, not their offense.
In his interview Friday with 105.3 The Fan, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said he was responsible for the team letting go of Moore.
“Well, I had everything to do with that,” Jones said. “I wanted, and Mike wanted too, but I wanted Mike — normally, with Mike’s background, when he came in, he would have come in in charge of the offense and specifically calling the plays. I normally would have done that. But we didn’t do it because we had Kellen, and we thought that was the best way to win games.
“I don’t have to speculate; I know exactly what we did, and I know the same dynamics, the same decision-making last year decided to go forward with Mike calling the plays.”
Also on 105.3 The Fan Friday, McCarthy said he expects some differences between the Chargers offense and the offense the Cowboys had under Moore.
“I think there was a system in place, and to my understanding, they may have kept some of the languages the same for their offensive players, but he’s running some familiar concepts,” McCarthy said. “But he’s going a different direction too; he’s got players that he’s tailoring his games to, but yeah, there’s some similarities.”
MORE: Dallas Cowboys Depth Chart
The Athletic’s Jon Machota reported that McCarthy said there is no personal element regarding facing Moore on Monday.
“There’s no bells and whistles for this one,” McCarthy said. “This is Game 6. My focus has always been, and it’s the way I view schedules. I think a lot of NFL scheduling is it’s not as much who you play; it’s when you play them. (Chargers are coming off their bye week) … He has an excellent opportunity that he’s doing a very nice job with.”
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy when asked if there is a personal element Monday night with him facing former Cowboys OC Kellen Moore and people making comparisons about their offensive performance: "No, not really. There's really no bells and whistles for this one. This is Game 6.…
— Jon Machota (@jonmachota) October 13, 2023
The Cowboys are looking to respond in a big way after an embarrassing 42-10 loss to the 49ers last week. The Chargers will certainly be an interesting matchup for the team to attempt to bounce back in, as all eyes will be on either offense and their performance.
Should Moore’s offense out-perform McCarthy, it would be another embarrassing loss for the franchise as they believed they were better off without him.