The Cowboys haven't been to an NFC Championship game since 1995, and that streak will continue for a 28th straight season following their 19-12 loss to the 49ers on Sunday.
A big reason for the loss is because Mike McCarthy made some very questionable calls in the second half. One of those calls came in third quarter when he decided to punt on fourth-and-5 from San Francisco's 40-yard line in a 9-9 game. Another questionable call came late in the fourth quarter when he called for another punt. This time, the Cowboys were facing a fourth-and-10 from their own 18 with under 2:20 left to play.
The game also ended on a bizarre final offensive play for the Cowboys that had no chance of succeeding. Needless to say, McCarthy was definitely frustrated when he walked off the field, and that showed when he appeared to shove a cameraman.
Camera: Sports media tomorrow.
— Collin Brennan (@sports_collin) January 23, 2023
Mike McCarthy: Me. pic.twitter.com/nVhEmSThQe
Although the photo appears to show a pretty solid shove by McCarthy, the cameraman involved in the incident responded to the picture by saying it wasn't nearly as bad as it looked.
According to the videographer, Noah Bullard of NBC 5 in Dallas, the shove was more of a "hand to the lens." Bullard also noted that McCarthy met with him after the game to privately apologize for the incident.
Thank you to everyone that has reached out regarding the Mike McCarthy incident. I can see how the photo appeared like he pushed me but it was more of a hand to the lens. I did meet with coach McCarthy privately in his office and he did apologize. @NBCDFW #DallasCowboys pic.twitter.com/LuOfPVRqhq
— Noah Bullard (@noah_bullard) January 23, 2023
This isn't the first time a cameraman has had a rough interaction with a player or coach this year. Back in October, Raiders receiver Davante Adams was charged with violating a public ordinance after he pushed a cameraman to the ground following a 30-29 loss to the Chiefs in Week 5.
Adams hasn't faced any punishment yet for that incident, but that's only because the NFL is apparently waiting for the legal process to play out before deciding on a possible punishment, according to NFL.com.
As for McCarthy, he's not going to have to deal with anything close to that since Bullard already seems to have forgiven him for the incident. However, he is going to have to deal with another long offseason of answering questions about what went wrong in another Cowboys' playoff loss.
