The Crows out-possessed the Power for much of Showdown XXXVI, winning on hit-outs, clearances and inside 50s (52-56) even though Port booted 12 of the last 15 goals of the game.
Even though the ball entered Adelaide's forward 50 more often than it did Port's, the Crows' forward line – led admirably by Eddie Betts with four goals – produced just two other majors through James Podsiadly and Lewis Johnston.
But Mackay told AFL.com.au the most damning statistic was the game's contested possession count, which his side lost 154-128.
With the opposition winning the hard ball, he said it would have proved difficult for the forward line to read the play, leading to confusion and a lack of function.
"I think in the end our main problem was winning the ball around contests," Mackay said.
"We got beaten in contested possession and that's the first thing we have to tick off. I think a lot of things stem from that.
"That makes us look like we have issues up forward and down back - it's pretty basic footy (winning contested possession), but it's what we need to do.
"It's the cornerstone of our game, so if we don't win that everything else doesn't stack up as well as we wanted to."
Mackay was one of "seven or eight players" named by coach Brenton Sanderson whose performance on Saturday enabled them to walk off the ground holding their head high.
The rest of the side would need to ask itself "serious questions", Sanderson said.
As well as contested possession, Mackay criticised his team's ability to hang onto the ball in general play.
Throughout the game the Crows were made to pay for what Sanderson described as "fundamental skill errors".
"We gifted them a lot of easy goals – they're a good side, you can't do that," Mackay said.
The Crows will enter next Saturday's clash against the Sydney Swans as one just six sides yet to post a win this season.
The start might be far from ideal, but veteran defender Brent Reilly said the players weren't panicking and had already switched their focus to the Swans this weekend.
"It's not the best start but we have played two good quality opposition teams," he said.
"We're up and about, upbeat about things that are coming up, those two games are past now and all we have got to worry about is this week and the Sydney Swans.
"Sando spoke to us this morning and you need to move on.
"I have been in the game long enough now to know you can't dwell on losses for more than 48-72 hours so we need to move on and we have."
