FRISCO, TX — A convincing win will always be appreciated by Mike McCarthy, as would any win, for that matter, but the Dallas Cowboys' head coach and offensive playcaller isn't trying to hang a banner for their 33-17 manhandling of the Cleveland Browns in Week 1.
Quite the contrary, because McCarthy views it as an opportunity to get better.
"I think September football is what the league experiences." he said. "You don't have the time that you used to have as far as fundamentals, and things like that, but everybody's on the same schedule so it's not as if one team has an advantage over the other. It's just something to be aware of and coach against."
That September football, as he labels it, usually involves a bit of rust and that usually leads to mistakes, though most of the errors made by the Cowboys were in the realm of penalties and not actually giving up big plays on a regular basis.
But having finished the contest with 11 penalties accepted, costing them a total of 85 yards of field position, it's something McCarthy has already begun stressing as the Cowboys turn the page to the New Orleans Saints in the home opener for Week 2.
"You want to play cleaner football," he said. "We had way too many penalties. Who the hell wants to be part of a game that has 20 penalties? So we'll spend time on that. We'll make sure we're clear with our players on what's being emphasized.
"… It's ebb and flow of every year, it's about corrections and solutions."
That said, McCarthy knows better than most how difficult it is to win games in the NFL, so he's taking nothing at all away from how superb the outing was overall, in all three phases of the game — rather he's admitting the Cowboys didn't play perfect football or anything near it.
If they had, they might have scored 60 points at Huntington Bank Stadium.
"Regardless of September football, you gotta find ways to win," he said. "You can't lose sight that it was a hell of a win for us. It's the first road win. A tough environment and a very talented football team. … There's a lot that went well and in a clear victory for us, and I'm very happy for the start of the season but … we've got details to work on.
"We've got a lot of work to do."
They'll try to reestablish one of the best home records in the NFL when the Saints come marching in, having had it disrupted in January by the Green Bay Packers. But Dak Prescott and the offense, as well as Micah Parsons and the defense, thrive at AT&T Stadium, far more often than not, and that's the version of his team that McCarthy is expecting to see on Sunday.
And one that will make sure the officials keep the yellow laundry in the hampers.
The fact remains the Cowboys are trying to finally push deep into the playoffs, and that means enjoying the regular season wins they earn while understanding it all has to build toward something greater.
That is what being rooted means, after all.
