Cowboys' Mike McCarthy Won't Take Over Play-Calling Duties Amid 2-6 Start

With his team in the midst of a 2-6 start, Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is not considering at least one personnel change on the offensive side of the ball.

According to ESPN's Todd Archer, McCarthy will not take over play-calling duties from offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. 

"Absolutely not," he said Monday. "That's a non-topic." 

McCarthy is in a unique situation in his first season with Dallas, two years after he led a Green Bay Packers team to a 4-7-1 record in his 13th season with the team. According to Archer, McCarthy had never had a team fail to score a touchdown in consecutive games before Sunday's 23-9 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles.

The Cowboys lead the league in passing yards with 293.1 yards per game, but their average of 23.1 points per game ranks ninth-worst. But Dallas was on its third quarterback in four games during the Week 8 loss, with captain Dak Prescott, who had never missed a game prior to his ankle fracture, done for the season, backup Andy Dalton in concussion protocol and rookie Ben DiNucci in under center. 

The seventh-round pick out of James Madison was 21-of-40 passing for 180 yards with no interceptions against the Eagles and was sacked four times. Dalton should be back in action against the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. 

"I think like anything in life, the game of football will teach you humility in every form or fashion you can imagine," McCarthy said. "To me, it's just part of the course of the season; it's part of our challenge. I believe we will be better off because of these hard times."