Mike McCarthy ‘very frustrated’ by Cowboys abysmal turnover ratio

The Dallas Cowboys have turned the ball over a lot and their defense isn’t taking it away, leading to a lot of frustration.

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Most of us knew the Dallas Cowboys weren’t going to be as good in 2024 as we’ve seen over the past three years. While they were able to lock up Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb long term, they failed to do much else in the offseason — other than lose starters in free agency.

What wasn’t expected was for them to look as bad as they have. Dallas is currently 3-4 and has suffered several embarrassing losses. That’s left the coaching staff searching for answers, with Mike McCarthy zeroing in on turnovers.

Dallas currently has a minus-8 turnover ratio with Dak Prescott taking a lot of heat. He’s definitely had issues, throwing eight interceptions in just seven games. It’s not all on him, however, as the defense has struggled to take the ball away.

MORE: Jerry Jones expresses confidence in Cowboys' turnaround

The issues with turnovers has had an impact and McCarthy admitted he’s “very frustrated” by the situation.

“Personally, I’m very frustrated,” McCarthy said via Jon Machota of The Athletic. “If you want to be known for something as a football team, it’s taking care of the football and taking it away. I know my experience in the league would reflect that. To quote (Cowboys offensive coordinator) Brian Schottenheimer, Marty Schottenheimer is probably turning over in his grave right now watching us play, being minus-eight.”

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott / Kelley L Cox-Imagn Images

Dallas was +34 from 2021 through 2023, which is why McCarthy still believes they can turn it around. He stated that they can’t change the past but will look to improve in the future, keeping turnovers at the front of their minds.

“It’s a focal point, but we can’t change yesterday. We can only work on today and improve moving forward.” - McCarthy via Jon Machota

Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator Mike Zimmer / Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images

As frustrating as the interceptions from Dak have been, the defense’s inability to take the ball away has been detrimental. With Dan Quinn as their defensive coordinator, they were always among the best in the game at forcing turnovers.

That hasn’t been the case with Mike Zimmer. To be fair, he’s been without DaRon Bland and the opposing QB has a lot of time to pass with Micah Parsons out. Even so, this is an issue that has to be solved if they want to stop the bleeding and start winning games.

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