FRISCO, Texas – What's the quickest way to get over a demoralizing loss on a Sunday?
How about getting into work the next morning and calling it a Thursday.
Technically, it was still Monday for the Cowboys, but in the game-week clocks in their own heads, it's already a "Thursday" mentality – or better yet, just three days before the next game.
That's the mindset in a short week like this, which could come a great time for the Cowboys, who are now 1-2 after two tough home losses.
Then again, is a short week a good time for this team, especially when players such as Dak Prescott and Jourdan Lewis, and even head coach Mike McCarthy talked about having less-than-stellar practices last week as they prepared for the Ravens.
Practices and meetings are the best time to clean up some the "details" that Lewis said is missing from the team right now. But those are heavily limited in a game like this with the Cowboys practicing on Monday and Tuesday, before a light walk-through Wednesday and then it' s on a plane for New York.
The Cowboys' offense, which struggled to score just two field goals until the fourth quarter on Sunday, finally got hot in the fourth quarter – racking up three touchdowns and 19 total points to nearly rally back for the win. Dak Prescott said that offensive momentum needs to carry over to Thursday.
"It's important to continue to roll that over into this short week as far as getting the taste out of your mouth," Prescott said. "If we win or lose, just being able to get right back to it, not being able to celebrate a win or dwell on a loss, understanding that next game's just as important."
Prescott said he told his teammates after Sunday's loss to enjoy their "Sunday, Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday" all in one night and it'd be a Thursday schedule when they walked in on Monday.
At least the Cowboys have a history in short weeks, having played the Thanksgiving Day game each year, but even that is a home game.
However, there is one interesting note about this upcoming game – the Cowboys have never played a road game on just four days rest like in team history. All Thursday games have either been at home and/or with more than four days of rest.
So that's just one more hurdle this team has to climb, but as tight end Jake Ferguson said on Monday, there's good and bad to playing on a short week, especially after a tough loss.
"I think there's pros and cons," Ferguson said. "Cons being guys not getting their bodies back (to full strength). Pros being maybe (bouncing back from a loss) a little bit, but there's no doubt in my mind that we will be ready, we'll prepare, we'll prepare the right way and that's just what we need to do. And I think on a short week too, so there's no excuses."
