Dallas Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy dismisses Ron Rivera criticism, stands by win guarantee
After missing the last 10 days with COVID-19, Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy returned to The Star on Thursday feeling good, confident and borderline cocky about his team’s prospects for Sunday’s NFC East showdown against the Washington Football Team.
The Cowboys (8-4) remain in first place but their once sizable lead in the division has diminished over the last month when they lost three of five games and two of the last three. Washington (6-6) has won four straight.
McCarthy, understanding the talk about Washington potentially overtaking the struggling Cowboys, basically guaranteed a win on Sunday.
“We know what people think of us,” McCarthy said. “We know who we are and where we are. We’re going to win this game. I’m confident about that.’’
McCarthy, who gave his team a video history of the Washington-Dallas rivalry on Thursday, scoffed at the notion he was possibly providing bulletin board material.
Depending on the outcome, McCarthy has added a chapter or footnote to the historic rivalry.
“I mean, what am I supposed to say?” McCarthy said. “Yeah, we fully — I fully expect to win every game I’ve ever competed in. I mean, that’s what sports is all about. That’s what the NFL is (about). Trust me, I understand how hard it is. They’re working hard, we’re working hard. But we’re clearly planning on going to Washington to win the game. There’s no doubt about that.”
Washington coach Ron Rivera didn’t take too kindly to McCarthy’s guarantee. He said McCarthy made a big mistake.
“I think that’s the big mistake, is because as far as I’m concerned, you do that for a couple of reasons,” Rivera said to his team’s website. “One is you want to get in our head. Secondly, he’s trying to convince his team. So, again, I think that’s another mistake. Because he’s now made it about him and what he said, it’s not about his players anymore.
“So I think that’s a big mistake. That’s why to me, you don’t do those things. What you do is you focus in, you get ready and you play football. We show up on Sunday and we’ll see what happens.”
McCarthy has no regrets about his guarantee and no concerns about Rivera’s comments.
“It’s irrelevant what anybody thinks about what I said,” McCarthy said when asked about Rivera’s comments on Friday. “I was talking about my team. I can always coach my own team. And that’s where I’m at with it. We have great confidence in what we’re trying to do. It was an honest answer to a question.
“We’re committed. We understand the urgency this time of year. We understand the importance of this game. And we know who we’re playing. Like I said, it was a clear, honest answer. So we feel good about it.”
Cowboys owner Jerry Jones backed up McCarthy on his radio show on 105.3 The Fan. He likes the fire and competitiveness his coach is showing after being out 10 days with COVID-19 and missing the Saints game last Thursday.
“I don’t get hung up on the bit about the guarantee,” Jones said. “That should be his attitude. He expects to win. He thinks we will win. I expect that. I would be shocked if he couldn’t make that kind of statement. “Having said that — he’s raring and ready. He’s been penned up and that’s reflected in his demeanor as well as how he articulated his feelings.”
The Cowboys play Washington again on Dec. 26 at AT&T Stadium after a game at the New York Giants on Dec. 19.
Dallas has won seven of the past 10 games in the series but Washington swept the Cowboys last season in McCarthy’s first year as Cowboys coach.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott missed both games in 2020 with a fractured ankle. He is 7-1 against Washington.
Prescott and his teammates didn’t think McCarthy’s guarantee was a big deal. They said he only voiced what everyone was thinking and feeling inside the Cowboys locker room.
“[Expletive] yeah!,” responced Prescott when asked about McCarthy’s statement.
He said it doesn’t put the team in a bad spot in an already hostile environment.
“Obviously if you’re preparing for this game and you’re a Dallas Cowboy, if you’re a fan, you expect to go in and win each and every game. I don’t think he’s said anything different than everyone in this building’s thoughts. He just voiced it.”
Prescott said it was more about McCarthy setting the tone for the week on first day back and making sure everybody understands where his mind is.
“We know obviously what this game means,” Prescott said. “We know what playing the Washington Football Team means. Now, we have to make sure we’re accountable for our words. We’ve got to go out and go win. Simple as that.”
This story was originally published December 9, 2021 at 11:35 AM.
