LANDOVER, Md. – Dallas head coach Mike McCarthy voiced his disappointment after his team failed to respond to the illegal hit that knocked quarterback Andy Dalton out during the Cowboys loss to Washington on Sunday afternoon.
McCarthy said he was bothered that his players didn’t go after Washington linebacker Jon Bostic for his headshot on Dalton in the third quarter.
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“We speak all the time about playing for one another, protecting one another,” McCarthy said. “It definitely was not the response you would expect.”
The hit on Andy Dalton that sent him to the locker room 😬
— Complex Sports (@ComplexSports) October 25, 2020
Bostic was ejected. pic.twitter.com/6RnlR0WFyJ
Dalton suffered a concussion on the play and Bostic was ejected from the game. The Cowboys said Dalton was alert after the game and flew home with the team.
Dalton was nine of 19 for 75 yards before being concussed. “He doesn’t really remember what happened,” said rookie Ben DiNucci, who was two of three for 39 yards in relief of Dalton after the game was out of hand.
Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott wished he and his teammates had a better reaction — within reason.
“We’ve got to find a way to not cross that line, but we’ve still got to protect our guys,” Elliott said. “But doing that you’ve got to be careful because we’re already down a bunch of guys that to be going in throwing punches and you get kicked out the game, you can’t help the team from the sideline. You can’t help the team from the locker room.”
Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence wondered after the game if this Dallas team has any fight left in it.
“We need to build a stronger backbone, fight and also make sure that we brought everything possible to come out with a victory,” said Lawrence.
The Cowboys lost 25-3 and fell to 2-5 on the season. They next travel to Philadelphia for another key NFC East game. Dalton’s status for the game is unclear.