Jason Garrett’s questionable decision to spike ball late costs Cowboys

Fans of the Dallas Cowboys are going to have a few questions for head coach Jason Garrett after Sunday’s loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Round.

Garrett got conservative at the oddest possible time and settled for a field goal late in the game. He decided the Cowboys should spike the ball on first down while in field-goal range. Fine, but the offense proceeded to pick up seven yards on second to set up a third down from three yards out.

Whoops.

Garrett’s decision still allowed the Cowboys to secure a field goal, but it created one huge problem—Aaron Rodgers had plenty of time to get the ball back.

Cowboys fans know the rest. Rodgers drove down the field and Mason Crosby knocked through the game-winning field goal.

Twitter’s opinion on  Garrett? Not great:

Not taking anything away from the Packers, but several dicey Jason Garrett time management decisions helped them.

— Paul Charchian (@PaulCharchian) January 16, 2017

This one is on Jason Garrett. That spike? With that much time & 2 time outs left? Run a play. Run clock.

— Tom D'Angelo (@tomdangelo44) January 16, 2017

That L is on Jason Garrett and wasting a down to spike the ball when you have a timeout, settling for a field goal and giving ARod 40 sec

— Garrett Perkins (@barstoolperk) January 16, 2017

An NFL coach should know this, but it’s worth pointing out—when you have a chance to make sure Rodgers doesn’t touch the ball…you do it.

It’s not like there weren’t warning signs. Rodgers threw for 356 yards and two touchdowns. He was on fire for the past month and change, so with timeouts available, even a Madden user might have thought it wise to drain the clock.

Dallas has a bright future. Dak Prescott threw for three scores and Ezekiel Elliott ran for 125 yards. An early exit for a rookie-led team isn’t the most shocking thing in the world. But the scapegoat was always going to be Garrett—he just made it wildly easier than usual.

In an offseason of “what if?” talking points, Garrett’s decision to spike the ball reigns supreme.