The Dallas Cowboys faced the Washington Commanders in a seemingly meaningless game in Week 18.
The Commanders were eliminated, and the Cowboys still had a small shot at winning the NFC, but there wasn’t all that much at stake.
Until it was.
Mike McCarthy’s team looked terrible and out of sync from start to finish, losing a game against a rookie QB playing his first snaps in the league.
That’s not the kind of look and momentum you want ahead of the playoffs, especially with so many analysts doubting America’s Team again.
That’s why Cowboys star CeeDee Lamb wants his teammates to just put that ugly loss in the rearview mirror and turn the intensity up a notch:
“We all gotta flip the switch, understanding that we can’t lose anymore,” Lamb told the media, per Cowboys Insider Bobby Belt.
CeeDee Lamb: "We all gotta flip the switch, understanding that we can't lose anymore."
— Bobby Belt (@BobbyBeltTX) January 9, 2023
Team owner Jerry Jones believes the loss could’ve been a blessing in disguise, and he feels like it was a positive catalyst for the team’s energy going forward:
“We get to suck on that all week,” Jones said, as quoted by Todd Archer of ESPN.com. “If that doesn’t make you want to get ready to go in about six, seven days, nothing else will. That was as thorough a butt-kicking as we’ve had this year, and we’re going to find out if that’ll get you ready or not. It should with what these guys are made of.”
The Cowboys will now hit the road to face Tom Brady and the 8-9 Tampa Bay Buccaneers, and McCarthy could be coaching for his job this time around.
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