Mike McCarthy makes a promise he can't keep after the Cowboys' loss to the 49ers

You know the mood is bad when Dallas Cowboys fans couldn't even bring themselves to look forward to Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers.

Even though the 49ers are decimated by injuries, it didn't matter. They were still dominating Dallas until Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb brought the Cowboys within one point late in the fourth quarter. They even had a chance to take a touchdown lead, but Prescott threw four straight incompletions to effectively end the game.

The same things that have plagued Dallas all season reared their ugly head. They got hurt against the run, couldn't run the ball on offense, Prescott had two more turnovers, special teams penalties piled up and CeeDee Lamb proved he was the ultimate offensive player.

This is an indictment of everyone: Mike McCarthy and the entire coaching staff, the performance of the players and the roster construction of the front office.

The formula to beat the Cowboys is clear. Regardless of that and the team's shortcomings, McCarthy preached a predictable message after the loss.

“…We did some things, but we had to stop the run and commit to the run for four quarters,” said McCarthy, vJon Machota of The Athletic, among others. “As long as this pattern does not work coherently, we cannot play to our strengths.

“That’s a big part of complementary football. We're losing turnover week after week and not being able to stop the run and stay on that run for four quarters. That's how we have to play. This is how we will play. We have to get better at this.”

That's typical McCarthy coaching language, but the Cowboys aren't going to magically start playing complementary football.

It felt like Dallas' run defense improved throughout most of the game, especially in the first half. Then you look up at the end and they allowed 223 rushing yards. Christian McCaffrey didn't play and it didn't matter. Third-string rookie Isaac Guerendo rushed for 86 yards at a 6.1 yards per clip after taking over for the injured Jordan Mason.

The returns of Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and Marshawn Kneeland from injury will help significantly, but the issues existed when they were healthy.

Regardless, it's impossible for the Cowboys to stay true to the race. Not only do they often fall behind in the second half, but the running game no longer has any juice. Dallas ran 19 times for 56 yards on Sunday night. The formula worked for two and a half quarters before the wheels came off.

The worst thing is that Prescott is turning the ball over at a high rate again. That's not conducive to victory for most top-tier teams, let alone a deeply flawed roster. Prescott has cared deeply about the football in the past, but he is pushing to make a difference because the offense lacks an explosive element.

McCarthy's formula simply isn't sustainable for an entire game, largely due to his own coach, personnel issues and poor performances up and down the team.

While we understand the message McCarthy is trying to send, he made a promise he can't keep after Dallas fell to 3-4.

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