Mike McCarthy hopes his history with Kellen Moore and Vic Fangio will help against the Eagles
The Cowboys coach discussed his confidence in Cooper Rush and much more, including his connections to a couple of Eagles coordinators.
The last time the Eagles won in Dallas Cowboys territory was in 2017, during their Super Bowl season. Now the Birds head for Dallas riding a four-game winning streak. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are on a three-game skid and will turn to veteran backup quarterback Cooper Rush after Dak Prescott suffered a hamstring injury in the team’s loss to the Atlanta Falcons.
“We’ve always invested all the time and energy into the quarterback,” Dallas coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Wednesday. “Now, it’s Cooper’s turn, and Dak will be part of that process and we’ll rally around him and make sure that we do everything we can to make sure he’s prepared. … Our focus is to go into this and have a game plan to beat the Eagles defense, and we have great confidence in Cooper.”
The 3-5 Cowboys are prepared to face the Eagles at home, where they have lost all three of their games this season, two by large margins. Despite that — not to mention his starting quarterback heading to injured reserve — McCarthy is still entering the NFC East matchup with playoff goals looming in the back of his mind.
“I think the biggest thing for us is to beat Philadelphia,” McCarthy told reporters. “It’s a division game. It’s an important game. I think the way these schedules are laid out, all of those things will take care of themselves if you just stay focused on winning one game at a time. That’s what we need to do. We need to play better, number one. Keep it about ourselves. And we always got to win our division games. Let’s be honest, it’s hard to get in [the playoffs] without winning division games.”
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In order to defeat the Eagles, McCarthy is hoping his history with the team’s new defensive coordinator, Vic Fangio, can help. McCarthy and Fangio faced off numerous times over their coaching careers, especially when McCarthy was coaching in Green Bay and Fangio was the Chicago Bears defensive coordinator.
“I think the biggest thing is just to have an understanding [of him],” McCarthy told reporters. “I’m sure it’s a two-way street. … I think it’s very, very important to understand the coordinator, know his history — and we all remember the games that you call against each other, the ones that went well and the ones that didn’t go so well.
“At the end of the day, when I get onto the tape and look at Vic, it’s like, ‘OK, what’s he doing in Philadelphia, how is he using these pieces, how is he different with his secondary pieces than he was in Miami or even Chicago and really, frankly, in San Francisco?’ Because I think that was his best defense that I’ve seen him coordinate. There’s history between everyone in this league if you’re blessed and fortunate enough to line up and compete. You’ve got to make it specific to what he’s doing in Philadelphia. … I’ve always felt Vic does a hell of a job.”
Fangio isn’t the only coordinator McCarthy has history with. Eagles offensive coordinator Kellen Moore, who downplayed the matchup against his former team on Tuesday, was previously in Dallas for four seasons, including three with McCarthy. He spent last season as the Los Angeles Chargers offensive coordinator before joining the Eagles this offseason.
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“Just being honest with you, when you look at Kellen with the L.A. Chargers and compare it with Philadelphia, obviously there’s a lot of carryover from their old offense to what they’re doing now. … Just look at the film, the facts, how they’re using players,” McCarthy told reporters. “I believe in offensive systems, very much so. I’ve been fortunate to learn a West Coast offense from some of the best coaches that I’ve ever been around. And it’s a system that has the opportunity to continue to grow in variation and put your players in position to be successful.
“Frankly, I see him doing that in Philadelphia. Saquon [Barkley] is playing as well as I’ve seen him play, and the way they’re running the ball and some of the things they’re doing is reflective of how he played in the past and you can see the things that [Moore]’s brought to the table.”
On Sunday, McCarthy can forget the film. He’ll get a close-up look at Moore’s Eagles offense, which has been one of the best in the NFL the last four weeks.