Category: Mike McCarthy

McCarthy history speaks to where TE is in Cowboys’ offseason priorities

Looking at Mike McCarthy’s last seasons in Green Bay we can predict how much he plans to use 12 personnel with the Dallas Cowboys in 2023. | From @ReidDHanson

As the Cowboys mull over their roster and make decisions regarding pending free agents, they must decide what kind of offense they intend to run.

Are they a passing offense that leans on 11 personnel (three receiver sets). Are they a running offense that goes heavy on the line and uses multiple running backs? Or are they something in between and an offense that uses multiple tight ends?

Looking back at Mike McCarthy’s past could give insight to what the new offensive playcaller intends to do. It can indicate how he intends to build the team and how he wants to invest resources (both in free agency and the draft).

Using tracking data at nfelo we can see the frequency in which Dallas used certain personnel groupings. Looking at first-down packages to adjust for in-game context, we can see how frequently the Cowboys leaned on 12 personnel.

In 2022, Dallas used 12 personnel on 31% of their first-down snaps. This rate ranked No. 6 across the league. In McCarthy’s last full season with the Packers, he used 12 personnel just 15 percent of the time, ranking No. 29 in NFL.

That season was hardly an outlier, with Green Bay going 12 personnel just seven percent of the time the season prior (second to last in 2016). All which indicting a McCarthy offense isn’t one that favors multiple tight end sets.

At face value, this doesn’t bode well for Dalton Schultz’s future in Dallas. Schultz is a free agent in March, and figures to command top-of-the-market money. With the rising talent of Jake Ferguson, Sean McKeon and Peyton Hendershot lurking in the shadows, McCarthy may not see a need for a pricey veteran.

McCarthy may intend to field an attack that greater resembles his old Green Bay teams in 2023. Then again, his previous personnel packages could be a byproduct of what he had to work with and not preferred strategy.

“Marty Schottenheimer used to say it all the time, ‘Think of players, not plays’ ” McCarthy reminisced back in Green Bay.

Perhaps McCarthy gained the reputation as a receiver-heavy play designer because he just always seemed to have more receivers than tight ends. In Dallas, he has access to the level of tight end depth he rarely had with the Packers.

The catch is if McCarthy wants to keep his tight end personnel, he’s going to have to do something about it. Schultz is a free agent so McCarthy will have to lobby the front office to keep or replace the personnel.

If he wants to move back to what made him famous with the Packers, he’s going to be more interested in receivers and less inclined to spend limited resources on redundancies like extra tight ends.

Will McCarthy scrap the frequent use of 12 personnel in 2023?

His past indicates he will move away from it but given the shallow depth at receiver in Dallas right now, a major overnight swing would be difficult.

The Cowboys initial moves (or lack thereof) in free agency will be very telling with what McCarthy plans to do as an offense. Will Schultz walk? Will Dallas sign any viable veteran depth at tight end or receiver?

How they handle free agency should be very indicative to what they’re planning in 2023

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Here’s what Mike McCarthy taking over Cowboys play calling really means

It’s hard to imagine Mike McCarthy wasn’t compelled to keep Kellen Moore when he took the job, but what’s transpired this week seems to conflict with every move. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys are up against it when it comes to the salary cap. They’ll be able to make some adjustments, of course. But with several of their stars due for new contracts soon and their recent disdain for playing in the first few waves of external free agency, it’s unlikely there’s going to be a major effort to transform the roster. In the effort to take the next step from back-to-back 12 win seasons but only one playoff victory to show for it, something else had to be done.

So the Cowboys have shaken up their coaching staff in a major way. Seven of Mike McCarthy’s assistants were either fired or didn’t have their expired contracts renewed. No matter how it’s sliced, there’s a statement being made about the expectations the front office has for this team in the short-term future. That starts with the report that McCarthy will be calling his own plays in 2023.

WATCH: McCarthy pushes camera after Cowboys loss; Jerry says job safe

Emotions ran high following the loss as Mike McCarthy appeared to push a videographer exiting the field; Jerry Jones stands by his coach. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Emotions were running high throughout Cowboys Nation in the moments immediately following the team’s ouster Sunday night from yet another postseason.

That goes double for the team’s embattled head coach and longtime owner.

Having watched his team turn in an uninspiring performance in a 19-12 loss to the 49ers, a game that ended with questionable clock management from the Dallas sideline and a bizarre final last-gasp play that was snuffed out by the San Francisco defense before it ever had a chance to materialize, coach Mike McCarthy wasn’t in the mood for photo ops as he exited the field at Levi’s Stadium on Sunday evening.

The 59-year-old coach blocked a local TV camera with his hand and even appeared to push the videographer away as he made his way to the visitors’ locker room.

The photographer, from Dallas’s KXAS-TV, explained via Twitter that it was more of a “hand to the lens” than a push and that McCarthy apologized in private.

McCarthy also chose to categorize the moment differently when asked about it, bristling at the use of the word “shove” in a reporter’s question.

“I obviously didn’t view it like that,” he stated to close out his postgame press conference. “That’s not how I saw the interaction. At all.”

Any physical contact whatsoever, though, is considered off-limits in such a situation and speaks to the clear frustration that got the better of the head coach as another promising 12-5 regular season ended with a whimper.

“Obviously just extremely disappointed,” McCarthy told reporters afterward, referring to the team’s on-the-field performance. “This has been an incredible journey with this group of men. We just came up short tonight to a very good football team.”

But despite the continuation of the Cowboys’ long championship drought, owner Jerry Jones maintains that he is not considering a change at the top of his football flowchart.

“No. No. No. Not at all,” Jones said in the tunnel after the loss.

“But this is very sickening to not win tonight.”

Jones’s pained expression was mirrored in the faces of many Cowboys players after the defeat, with some openly shedding tears.

McCarthy described the state of the locker room as “raw” as he addressed the media.

“This is not really the time to pick apart. I understand you’ve got a job to do, but that’s not where we’re at right now.”

Where the Cowboys are at, though, is home. Out of the postseason before the conference championship round. Again.

But in the moments after their division-round loss to San Francisco- one year and six days after coming up short to the 49ers in the wild-card round- McCarthy chose to look at that detail differently, too.

“Factually, we’ve taken one step closer to our goal. That’s what the comparable would be from last year to this year. I think they’re a different team than they were last year. I think they’re a better team than they were last year. I said this earlier in the week; I thought we’re a better team than we were last year.”

That difference, though- like many- feels like splitting hairs the day after.

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Safe Returns: Jones says McCarthy job as Cowboys HC not in jeopardy as playoffs begin

The owner says there is no outcome Monday versus the 8-9 Buccaneers that would put McCarthy’s status as Cowboys head coach at risk. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Mike McCarthy wasn’t hired to rack up 12-win seasons.

He was brought in as head coach to turn the Cowboys into a team that is, to borrow the phrase owner Jerry Jones used back in July, “viable in the playoffs.”

Now, with a second straight postseason berth, questions have once again surfaced about McCarthy’s future with the organization if the Cowboys don’t make- at the very least- a deep run through the NFC bracket.

Jones, though, isn’t ready to make Monday night’s wild-card showdown with Tampa Bay any sort of make-or-break moment for his third-year head coach.

“No. I don’t even want to- no. That’s it,” Jones told Shan & RJ on 105.3 The Fan during a Tuesday morning call-in when he was asked if McCarthy’s job could be at risk with a playoff loss to the 8-9 Buccaneers. “I don’t need to go into all the pluses or minuses, but I’ve got a lot more to evaluate Mike McCarthy on than this playoff game.”

Despite a 12-5 regular-season campaign, the confidence of Cowboys Nation has wavered in recent weeks. There was the blowout of a poor Indianapolis squad that actually wasn’t a blowout at all over the first three quarters. That was followed by a four-point squeaker over a one-win Houston crew. A mistake-filled overtime loss to Jacksonville. Two consecutive slugfest wins over teams starting backup quarterbacks. And, of course, the top-to-bottom terrible showing in Sunday’s finale against a depleted Washington roster that had zero left to play for.

Dallas’s recent body of work is concerning enough that the Cowboys opened as favorites by only three points to a sub-.500 team.

But Jones expressed belief that the team will rally around each other as well as their coaching staff.

“I have real confidence, all the confidence in the world in Mike and our offensive line coaches and our offensive personnel, our coordinator. I have all the faith in the world that we can make the kind of adjustments we need to make this week,” Jones explained. “I can see us playing better. Got to play better at Tampa, but I have a lot of confidence in our coaches to get that straightened out.”

The constant hot-seat whispers seem to always surround this team, even after an overall successful season. But until the Cowboys can get over this 27-year speed bump and finally make it back to the NFC title game, the questions will linger.

And despite this latest dismissal of the topic from Jerry Jones, nothing will definitively answer those questions- at least for another week- quite like actually being viable in the playoffs and notching a win in Tampa.

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Speaker McCarthy weighs in on upcoming vote; topics in house address

From the HoF to being open and honest about the fragility of NFL careers in response to Damar Hamlin’s injury.. words from Ware, Woodson, McCarthy and Prescott. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys are headed to Washington this week. While the nation pops their popcorn and settles in as political theatre plays out in the nation’s capital over the Speaker of the House vote, Thursday was another day of preparation for head coach Mike McCarthy and his team ahead of their Week 18 tilt against the Commanders.

McCarthy was among several press conferences speakers at The Star in Frisco, the house, err home of the Cowboys. Also appearing on Thursday were DeMarcus Ware and Darren Woodson, two of the 15 finalists for February’s vote for Hall of Fame induction. Here are some of the top quotes from everyone’s time behind the microphone.

McCarthy, Cowboys wait to learn when they’ll play in Week 18

The Cowboys don’t know if their season finale vs Washington will be played on Saturday or Sunday. They may not find out until Monday. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Mike McCarthy loves schedules. He loves knowing what’s going to happen when, down to the minute if he’s able to pinpoint it.

But right now, the coach’s entire first week of 2023 is up in the air, and he’s even unsure if his team will have six days or seven days of prep before their regular-season finale versus the Commanders.

“The last communication I was given was that we’ll probably know Sunday night. I don’t know whether we play Saturday or Sunday,” McCarthy told reporters Friday, the day after a 27-13 win over the Titans to keep their division-title hopes mathematically alive. “I think you know me well enough; I have two schedules sitting here right on my desk as far a six-day or a seven-day [version] going into the Washington game. Hopefully, we’ll get that information by Sunday night.”

But not even that is guaranteed.

When the NFL released the season slate back in May, Week 18 was listed as a question mark for all 32 teams. Two games will be played on Saturday- at 4:30 p.m. ET and 8:15 p.m. ET. Everyone else plays on Sunday- either in one of the two normal afternoon timeslots, or in the Sunday Night Football regular-season finale at 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.

The league, of course, wants to ensure that the matchups with the biggest playoff implications get the most TV exposure.

If the Eagles beat the Saints in Week 17, the Cowboys are locked in to the NFC’s No. 5 seed, and their Week 18 trip to FedEx Field becomes just a formality, at least to Dallas. The Commanders could still have a wild-card spot to play for (assuming they beat Cleveland in Week 17), but it’s hard to imagine that alone would make it one of the premier contests of the weekend, especially since the Cowboys would likely hold most of their star players out.

Joe Ferreira, a former league employee who has worked on scheduling and playoff scenarios since the 1990s, tells The Philadelphia Inquirer that the NFL prefers to announce the final week’s schedule during the second half of the Sunday night broadcast. But this year, since playoff scenarios may change with the Monday night result, the league may announce Week 18’s two Saturday games and Sunday’s primetime matchup first, and wait until Monday Night Football to divvy up Sunday’s early- and late-afternoon slates.

“That way, at least fans know if they’re going to a game on Sunday afternoon vs. Sunday night vs. Saturday,” Ferreira told the paper.

It’s believed that if the Eagles lose to the Saints in Week 17, the NFL would schedule Week 18’s Cowboys-Commanders and Giants-Eagles games to be played simultaneously on Sunday afternoon.

For now, McCarthy says his coaching staff will have their prep work for Washington finished by Monday, when the players return to the facility after their long weekend off.

He hopes to also know by then which of the two schedules on his desk he’ll be using.

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McCarthy imploring Cowboys to ignore massive point spread vs Texans: ‘Don’t take the cheese’

The Cowboys will take it easy by design ahead of Sunday’s game vs a 1-10-1 opponent, but McCarthy doesn’t want his team to overlook Houston. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The 9-3 Cowboys just scored the most points in any NFL game this season and are near the top of pretty much every legitimate set of power rankings out there. The 1-10-1 Texans are currently in possession of the top draft slot next spring and haven’t won a game in two months.

It’s no big surprise, then, that Dallas is favored heavily to win when the two teams square off Sunday; some sports books currently have the Cowboys pegged as 17-point favorites. That’s the biggest point spread in the league so far this year.

And Mike McCarthy hopes his players don’t know any of the aforementioned facts.

“Talked a lot of trash about the media today in the team meeting,” the Cowboys coach joked Wednesday at The Star. “‘Don’t listen to them,’ and all those good things. ‘Don’t take the cheese.’ This is a good place. It shows things are very productive with your football team when you have to address this type of deal.”

McCarthy and the Dallas coaching staff are walking a fine line this week, trying to maintain the edge that has the team outscoring opponents 122-42 over their past three outings, while also giving players a bit of a break with a “winter schedule” that includes less time on the practice field and, at least for this week, no padded practice.

“We actually talked about it in the team meeting. We need to practice the right way,” McCarthy explained, careful to make it clear that the team is not overlooking their in-state rivals.

“Like I told the team today, I don’t know if there’s a coach in the NFL- coordinator or head coach- that I’ve gone against more than [Texans head coach] Lovie Smith. I have a lot of respect for how his teams play, how his defenses have played over the last couple decades. I think we’ve just got to really stay in tune on the things that we need to do to win the game.”

That has included preparing for two different Houston quarterbacks.

The Texans benched 2022 starter Davis Mills after going 1-8-1 in the team’s first ten contests. Kyle Allen stepped in for two games and struggled in back-to-back losses. It was announced earlier in the week that Mills would be re-installed under center for Sunday’s game in Arlington.

McCarthy has chosen to focus on the positives that Mills brings to the Texans offense rather than his 11 interceptions and 29.7 QBR score.

“He’s someone that we really liked coming out of Stanford. He’s got good tape. There’s a lot of good things. They’re a traditional West Coast offense with [veteran offensive coordinator] Pep Hamilton, you see the multiple personnel groups every play,” McCarthy said. “In my view, it’s the most quarterback-friendly offense in this league. We’ll definitely be challenged there.”

With three defensive players not participating in Wednesday’s practice session and another three limited, the Cowboys- despite their recent successes and rise in the standings- don’t need any more challenges, no matter who they’re facing.

“At the end of the day, we’ve got a full seven-day preparation for the Texans, and I’m very confident we will max it out. Then we’ve got to get up Sunday and go get it,” McCarthy said.

There are few things more dangerous than an opponent who’s down on their luck and playing like they have nothing to lose.

The coach knows it. He’s hoping his players remember it.

“It’s the National Football League, and we all recognize that. It’s so damn hard to win a game in this league, regardless of the point spread. You can never lose sight of that.”

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‘It’s not one against the other’: McCarthy confident in both Pollard, mending Elliott

The Cowboys coach considers himself “blessed” to have two quality RBs and knows Tony Pollard can carry the load if Ezekiel Elliott can’t go. | From @ToddBrock24f7

Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott had “a good day of practice” on Thursday, according to head coach Mike McCarthy, taking full reps in the team portion of work even though he was officially listed on the practice report as limited.

Whether or not Elliott suits up for Sunday’s showdown with the Packers at Lambeau Field has yet to be decided, but McCarthy feels confident in his rushing attack no matter what.

“Tomorrow will be the final test” for Elliott, McCarthy told reporters in his press conference on Friday.

If the two-time rushing champ can’t go due to the knee sprain he suffered in Week 7, it will be the Tony Pollard show once again.

“Whatever they ask me to do, whatever they need me to do, I got it,” Pollard said this week, echoing the sentiment he carried into the team’s most recent outing against Chicago.

Pollard tied career-highs in rushing attempts and rushing yards in the 49-29 win and scored a personal-best three touchdowns. But while his numbers were outstanding, questions arose about his durability as a smaller-built back.

Cowboys running backs coach Skip Peete suggested that Pollard had hit a wall by the time he crossed the goal line the third time against the Bears, claiming that 30 offensive snaps was probably the 209-pounder’s limit.

“I definitely can do more” than 30 snaps, Pollard said this week, per Michael Gehlken of the Dallas Morning News. “I’m pretty sure he didn’t mean exactly a 30-play cutoff.”

As ProFootballTalk points out, Pollard was in on 41 snaps versus Detroit, toting the rock on his final one for a 25-yard gain late in the game. And seeing a 52-snap workload against San Francisco in 2020, Pollard turned a 40-yard touchdown on his last play.

On Friday, McCarthy brushed off any notion that Pollard wouldn’t be able to handle a full load if required.

“Tony Pollard’s a man. He’s in great shape. I think Tony,” said McCarthy, “could be a No. 1 feature back.”

His stats sure seem to support that. Pollard’s in the top 20 among all rushers this season, and his average of 6.2 yards per carry is currently leading all NFL running backs who have more than six attempts.

Elliott lags in per-rush average by two yards, but at 443 yards so far this season, he still ranks 23rd leaguewide in just seven games played and is 16th in total carries.

For what it’s worth, NFL Network’s LaDanian Tomlinson picked Pollard to go off in Week 10, making a bold prediction that he’d rack up 200 rushing yards against the Packers on Sunday.

Of course, that would be much harder to do if he’s splitting time with Elliott. But McCarthy says observers are getting too caught up in the idea of which Dallas rusher gets more snaps or more carries than the other.

“I don’t look at it the way everybody wants to look at it,” the coach explained Friday on 105.3 The Fan. “It’s not one against the other; it’s the benefit of having both of them. Obviously, Tony’s numbers speak for themselves and his style of running.

“But the thing about Zeke, especially in the game like we’re getting ready to play here on Sunday: there aren’t too may people who want to tackle Ezekiel Elliott, let’s be honest. I go back to the first time I saw him play in 2016 up there [in Green Bay]. He came ripping past our sideline, and I was like, ‘Holy hell…’ He’s a powerful runner. Those are things that don’t show up on a stat sheet, but Zeke brings a toughness, an attitude, you talk about a great teammate. There are so many other great qualities that he has that do not show up as rushing attempts.”

Even in street clothes, Elliott was Pollard’s biggest cheerleader during the Week 9 win. He may be again this weekend if Pollard gets a second straight start. Or Elliott may play, knee brace and all, and share backfield duties with Pollard. The Cowboys don’t know.

And right now, with the ground game humming, McCarthy doesn’t particularly care.

“We’re so blessed to have two outstanding running backs,” McCarthy said. “The most important thing is to get both those guys their touches, but the reality is, it gives us a chance to go attack a defense and not really worry about who’s in the game.”

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McCarthy savors Cowboys’ fight in Week 6 loss: ‘There’s always value when someone cracks you in the jaw’

The Cowboys’ comeback bid fell short Sunday, but the fact that they fought on after a brutal 2nd quarter is encouraging moving forward. | From @ToddBrock24f7

The Cowboys gave up their first touchdown Sunday night on the first play of the second quarter. It touched off an avalanche of points by the high-powered Eagles offense that nearly buried the visitors from Dallas.

And although the Cowboys grabbed their shovels and started digging, things proved to be just a little too deep. They left Philadelphia on the short end of a 26-17 final score.

But what the Cowboys found while they were clawing their way to daylight could come in very handy before the season is over.

“I think there’s always value when someone cracks you in the jaw, and you fight back and have a chance to win the game,” McCarthy said in his postgame press conference. “That’s what this league is about, and frankly, you can’t get to where we want to go without going through it.”

Where they want to go is where most of the teams will be of a similar caliber. The silver lining is that the Cowboys may have just seen the best of the bunch.

“This is the most productive football team we’ve played to date,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy confirmed.

And the second quarter sure proved it. Up 7-0 after five seconds of the quarter had elapsed, the Eagles defense picked off Cooper Rush on the Cowboys’ very next offensive snap, setting up passer Jalen Hurts on a short field.

Four minutes later, it was 14-0. The Cowboys went four-and-out, blowing a fourth-down play that replays indicated they shouldn’t have had to try. Eagles’ ball on the Dallas 34. The Cowboys defense stiffened, but before the second frame had reached the midway point, Philadelphia led 17-0.

“That’s a difficult offense to play against,” McCarthy continued. “We knew we were going to have to stop the run to get this game tilted the way we want to play it. That’s the challenge they give everybody. I thought our guys did a good job against Hurts.”

Overall, Hurts didn’t do a ton of damage. While he tossed two touchdowns (the first time this year Dallas has given up multiple TDs to any opponent) he ended the night with just 155 passing yards and gained only 27 on the ground.

And statistically speaking, the Cowboys defense actually kept the whole Eagles offense mostly in check. They held Philadelphia to just 286 total net yards, the lowest tally of the Eagles’ six wins by over 70 yards.

Then again, every single play Philly ran in that fateful second quarter (except for the final one as time was about to expire) came on the Cowboys’ side of the 50. With the Cowboys repeatedly giving the Eagles wildly favorable field position, Hurts didn’t need to chew up a lot of yardage to score a lot of points.

At halftime, the Eagles led 20-3, and it looked like the rout was on.

But Rush and the Cowboys came out swinging after the break.

“You just keep playing ball,” Rush explained to reporters after the game. “We know what we’ve got on offense, we know the talent we have, our scheme, we know what we’re capable of. Sometimes it’s going to be ugly; it’s the NFL and they’ve got good players, too. I wouldn’t say there was any panic. We just had to keep going. We kept shooting ourselves in the foot a little bit with some throws, penalties. Then we got going [in the] third quarter, showed what we were about. We love the fight.”

Rush and the Cowboys ate up 11-plus minutes of clock in the third quarter, scoring one touchdown and driving inside the Eagles’ 15 on their way to a second. The backup went 7-of-10 for 89 passing yards and a score in the third quarter alone, and another touchdown to come two plays into the fourth.

Fourteen unanswered points; a minute into the final quarter, the Cowboys had all the momentum and were improbably trailing by just a field goal, 20-17.

“It felt like we were flipping the game,” McCarthy said.

It was not to be, though, as Hurts and the Eagles got back on track and added another touchdown. Another Rush interception spoiled their best chance at a comeback bid, and the 59-yard Brett Maher field goal needed to keep even the hopes of a miracle finish alive drifted just right.

With three interceptions, ten penalties, a missed field goal, a call that should have been challenged but wasn’t, and that overwhelming and concentrated second-quarter barrage by their opponent, the Cowboys were indeed their own worst enemy Sunday night.

But the team’s valiant comeback effort in the second half of a hard-fought game was an invaluable experience that will likely pay dividends as the season wears on.

The Cowboys have posted bigger comebacks with Dak Prescott at the controls. This season’s crew has rallied late without him to beat both the Bengals and Giants. And they might have taken down the league’s last unbeaten team if they hadn’t beaten themselves instead.

McCarthy compared Sunday night’s game to getting cracked in the jaw. Now it’s time for Prescott and the Cowboys to get up off the mat.

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‘We’re nobody’s underdog’: Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy bristles at point spread vs Rams

The coach said he doesn’t use betting lines as motivation for his teams, but he may start with the 2-2 Rams favored by 5.5 points on Sunday. | From @ToddBrock24f7

While fans and TV talking heads love to lean on it as pregame fodder, the point spread established by Vegas oddsmakers prior to a game is one of those things that doesn’t carry much weight inside the building of an NFL organization.

At least that’s what those actually inside will have you believe.

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy was asked at the end of his Thursday press conference if he’s ever used the betting line as a motivational tool with his teams in the past, and his initial reaction seemed to brush off the notion entirely.

“I don’t know if I ever have,” McCarthy squinted in answer, drifting off in thought until he thought to ask a follow-up question of his own.

“What is it this week?”

Upon being told that the 2-2 Los Angeles Rams are favored by 5.5 points heading into Sunday’s matchup, the shocked look on his face said it all.

“We’re… we’re underdogs???”

The room full of reporters broke out in laughter, and McCarthy joined in incredulously.

“Well, good,” he finally said. “You just wrote my Saturday night speech.”

The reigning Super Bowl champs haven’t looked much like it so far this season, scoring fewer points than the visiting Cowboys have behind a backup quarterback and a supposedly watered-down offense.

Their wins- by a combined 12 points- have come against the Falcons and a struggling Cardinals squad, but they lost the season opener to Buffalo by three touchdowns and were held out of the end zone entirely by San Francisco on Monday night.

Dallas, meanwhile, is on a three-game winning streak; the defense hasn’t given up multiple touchdowns to an opponent yet.

The records of both teams and the stats compiled in that short sample size of games may be somewhat misleading, but McCarthy and the Cowboys obviously believe that their Week 5 clash will be a lot closer than the so-called experts are predicting.

That will apparently be the coach’s message to the team as gameday approaches, and it’s how he concluded his Q&A session with the media before heading out to oversee what was probably about to be a suddenly-ratcheted-up practice.

“I’ll just say this: we’re nobody’s underdog.”

Forget the official betting line. That just became the line you’ll hear about a million times or so leading up to kickoff.

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