Mike McCarthy fires back at the media after win vs Washington

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy took exception to a question during Sunday’s postgame press conference, calling out the media for its narrative on the 27-20 win over the Washington Football Team. The Cowboys jumped out to a 24-0 lead at halftime but were outscored 20-3 in the second half before the defense forced a late fumble and the offense ran out the remainder of the clock.

During the postgame press conference, a reporter asked Mike McCarthy about the Cowboys’ struggles to close the game, setting off a rant against the media narratives.

““That’s your narrative,” McCarthy said, via The Athletic’s Jon Machota. “This isn’t fantasy football. I would’ve liked the game to be more open (in the second half), but at the end of the day, things happen. It’s a great team win.”

The Cowboys moved to 9-4 with the win and pushed Washington back below .500 at 6-7. Dallas now holds a three-game lead over the NFC East’s Philadelphia Eagles and Washington Football Team with four games remaining.

Cowboys troll Washington throughout game

If you didn’t know about the rivalry between the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Football Team, you do now after the past week. The two teams have taken shots back-and-forth at each other all week, and the Cowboys have continued the trolling of Washington into gameday.

Typically, road teams in the NFL just use the sideline benches that are provided by the home team. But the Cowboys wanted none of that in this weekend’s trip to FedEx Field. The Cowboys flew in their own sideline benches, opting to use those, with their logo on it, rather than the ones Washington would have provided.

According to Mitchell Tischler of NBC Sports Washington, this is the first time that an opposing team has brought their own sideline benches at FedEx field.

ESPN’s Todd Archer reported that the Cowboys were informed that the heaters on Washington’s benches kept going out last week, leading to the Cowboys bringing their own.

“Here’s the deal on the Cowboys’ benches today: Cowboys got word from Seattle that the hotseat benches provided for them at FedEx Field kept going out during the game,” Archer tweeted. “Cowboys partnered with company in Cleveland that shipped them to FedEx Field so wouldn’t be an issue today.”

Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy made headlines earlier in the week for his comments that were essentially guaranteeing a win over Washington. That drew a response from Washington head coach Ron Rivera, who said he believes the comment from McCarthy was a “big mistake.”

“You do that for a couple of reasons. 1. You want to get in our head. Secondly, he’s trying to convince his team,” Rivera said of McCarthy’s guarantee of a Cowboys win over Washington. “He’s now made it about him. I think it’s a big mistake.”