McCarthy – Cowboys ‘relishing’ chance to bounce back from blowout

FRISCO, Texas — A day after the most decisive home loss since 1988, Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy tried to take a comprehensive look.

The Cowboys suffered the fourth-largest home loss in franchise history in Sunday’s 47-9 defeat to the Detroit Lions to fall to 3-3 overall. The finality of the loss and how poorly the Cowboys are playing may be enough to affect the team’s mental state, but McCarthy still has faith in the roster.

“At the end of the day, if we don’t fully believe that it’s going to be about us, it’s always going to be about us and it plays into who we are, what we do, and how we do it, then we’re not going to get where we want to go,” McCarthy said. “And I think we will.” that. I think this is an opportunity we relish. I know I enjoy it. And I think they enjoy it too.

“So this is where a lot of good can come out of. I’ve been here before. I think this is a really good opportunity for our leadership. I think it’s an excellent opportunity for our young guys to continue playing. It’s an excellent opportunity for these guys to build on some of the things they’ve done so well because “This will pay it forward. In my experience, when you play with young players that much and you play with that many different players the long game certainly has a chance to be very bright.”

This is the fourth time a McCarthy-coached team has started a season with a 3-3 record, and his first with the Cowboys. The Green Bay Packers were 3-3 in 2010 when they ended up winning the Super Bowl. The 2012 Packers reached the divisional round in the postseason, while the 2008 team missed the playoffs.

The Cowboys play the San Francisco 49ers on October 27 and could see the return of defensive end Micah Parsons (ankle), linebacker Eric Kendricks (shoulder) and cornerback Darron Bland (foot).

McCarthy’s news conference on Monday came about two hours later than scheduled because the meetings took longer than expected.

“When you have the opportunity to step back and really look at everything, I think that’s important for all of us, and it’s part of the message to the team, and I gave them a number of questions today in terms of things to think about and do,” McCarthy said. They’re thinking, make sure they look in the mirror and make sure they fill in the blanks.” “Because why are we at this ebb and flow? Why do we perform seven days ago the way we performed at 1 a.m. (against the Pittsburgh Steelers) and then come home and perform the way we performed? So those are the types of things we have to work on, focus on.”

While this isn’t the worst start to McCarthy’s tenure with the Cowboys — they were 2-4 in 2020, his first year, en route to a 6-10 finish — the 38-point margin was the largest defeat since he took over in Dallas. The previous worst defeat was a 38-10 defeat to the Arizona Cardinals in 2020, but it was the second double-digit loss at home in three games this season, after losing to the New Orleans Saints 44-16 in Week 16.

After the game, Jerry Jones was asked about a possible coaching change and the owner and general manager said he was not considering it. McCarthy, who has a 45-28 record and has taken the Cowboys to the playoffs the past three seasons, is in the final year of his contract.

“I think it’s just part of the job,” McCarthy said when asked how he cuts through the noise about his job security. “When people ask me anything about the team, part of the job here, it’s part of the job.”

After the game, quarterback Dak Prescott endorsed McCarthy, which the coach appreciated.

“I think it shows how he feels and I think it speaks to our relationship,” McCarthy said. “But yeah, I mean support is a nice thing.”