The season is finally over for the Dallas Cowboys. In a way, Cowboys fans should feel relieved. You never want to miss the playoffs, of course, but it's easy to imagine the fate the NFC East champions will meet in January. Even still, the way the Cowboys lost their season finale to the New York Giants was quite painful.

The Dallas Cowboys are on to a pretty exciting offseason which will include Dak Prescott's negotiations (again), a busy free agency, and the NFL Draft, in which they hold the 10th overall pick.

But before we move on to renewed hope, Super Bowl dreams, and new "This Is Our Year" T-shirts, let's discuss the Cowboys' last game of the season. It truly was the epitome of the season for this 6-10 team that will finish third in one of the worst divisions in NFL History.

More specifically, let us discuss Head Coach Mike McCarthy's decisions. The Cowboys will surely stick to McCarthy after his first season in Dallas. After all, how much can you say about a coach in his first year with a franchise? Not to mention, a season in which the team was hit with plenty of injuries including that to its starting quarterback.

But McCarthy's decision-making was questionable at times in the season and Week 17 was no exception. Two in particular come to mind.

With almost nine minutes remaining in the third quarter, Ezekiel Elliott broke the plane for his sixth touchdown of the year. Before the PAT, the Cowboys were down 15-20. Instead of going for two to make it a three-point game, McCarthy sent Greg Zuerlein in to kick the extra point. 16-20, Giants.

Prior to the extra point, the Cowboys needed a touchdown to regain the lead. After the extra point, the Cowboys needed… a touchdown to regain the lead. Mike McCarthy said after the game it was too early to go for two but was it? If so, what exactly were the Cowboys waiting for? Losing a game early is no better than losing a game late.

While I still believe Mike McCarthy can win with the Cowboys down the road, I still wonder if he's as invested in analytics as he claimed to be in the offseason. If he was, he wouldn't have hesitated to go for two. Heck, forget analytics, call it simple logic.

Some, like David Howman, have speculated the issue could involve Jerry Jones asking McCarthy to tone down the analytics stuff after not getting the desired results in September, even though the decision-making was not flawed then. Maybe, maybe not, but the Cowboys should continue to invest in data to make better in-game decisions. Of course, they need to use it, too.

Two things:

1) Jerry Jones definitely has a burner account on here

2) He definitely told Mike McCarthy to tone down the analytics stuff after everyone was bullying the Cowboys for it in the first month

— David Howman (@_DH44_) January 3, 2021

Another controversial decision McCarthy made last Sunday had nothing to do with analytics. Instead, it had to do with not throwing the red flag on a crucial play that cost the Cowboys three points. In the middle of the fourth quarter, the Giants successfully kicked a 50-yard field goal to extend their lead to 23-19.

Had McCarthy thrown the flag before the snap though, we could be talking about a punt or a 60-yard field goal attempt. One play before, the officials ruled Dante Pettis caught a 10-yard pass from Daniel Jones but it clearly wasn't actually caught. McCarthy defended not challenging the play afterward by saying the play was too close. But then again… was it?

We often joke around saying no one knows what constitutes a catch in the NFL. Cowboys' fans know this better than anyone. I don't even have to tell you why. But Pettis clearly used the ground to complete the catch in New York. It was close, sure. But not enough to keep McCarthy from throwing the red flag in that spot.

McCarthy is not solely responsible for not challenging the play. Every head coach in the NFL has a crew upstairs that gets a clearer view like fans do when watching on their TVs. But it's his crew.

Of course, the Dallas Cowboys didn't lose only because of McCarthy's decisions but plenty of other factors as well. Andy Dalton had one of his worst performances of the season throwing bad pass after bad pass in the first half, taking six sacks, and throwing a game-ending interception.

The Cowboys will undergo plenty of changes before the 2021 season, but don't expect Mike McCarthy to go anywhere anytime soon. Perhaps that's for the best, but decision-making needs to improve if this team is going to make it big.

Featured Image Via Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports