Last week, Dallas Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer made a late-game mistake that ultimately cost his team the game. Heading into a game against the Houston Texans, it sounds like he’s taking accountability.
While Schottenheimer has taken ownership of the loss publicly to reporters, he has reportedly taken an extra step by taking accountability directly to the team, too.
Schottenheimer’s Mistake
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During last week’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, Schottenheimer was guilty of “overcoaching” quarterback Dak Prescott late in the game.
On the team’s final offensive play of the game, Schottenheimer instructed Prescott to go through just one read and throw the ball away if it wasn’t open, rather than allowing his quarterback to go through his progression and then throw the ball away if nobody was open. The result was ugly: Prescott threw an uncatchable pass in the direction of George Pickens, taking just four seconds off the clock on the play.
Not only did the decision hinder the Cowboys’ chances at getting a go-ahead touchdown, but it also left far too much time on the clock for the Baltimore Ravens, who were able to get into field goal range and kick a game-winner to win the game in regulation.
It was a frustrating decision, especially after the Cowboys largely outplayed the Ravens throughout the game.
Schottenheimer Takes Accountability
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After the game, Schottenheimer took accountability for the mistake publicly, saying that he was “man enough to take mistakes.”
“I make a lot of mistakes,” he said. “I’m certainly not perfect. … I hurt our chance to win that game, and I’ll be better.”
As the team prepared to bounce back from the loss, it sounds like Schottenheimer was willing to own up to his mistake to the team directly, too, as NFL insider Ian Rapoport of ESPN reported that Schottenheimer opened a team meeting early this week with an apology for his error.
“According to those in the room, Schottenheimer took accountability for the Cowboys’ late-game loss last Sunday to the Baltimore Ravens in Rio de Janeiro,” Rapoport [reported for ESPN](https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/50095892/brian-schottenheimer-owned-rio-mistakes-cowboys-meeting) this week.
“Schottenheimer’s point was that if a coach is going to hold players accountable, he must apply the same standard to himself. As one person in the room noted, real leaders lead from the front.”
Rapoport reported that the team responded, “in a positive way.” We’ll have to see how they bounce back against the Texans.