Rivera responds to McCarthy’s guarantee of a Dallas win originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
Washington Football Team head coach Ron Rivera has never been one to get involved in off-the-field skirmishes but took note of Mike McCarthy’s guarantee of a Dallas victory earlier this week.
“I think it’s interesting. I don’t think it’s important,” Rivera said. “I think that’s the big mistake, is because, as far as I’m concerned, you do that for a couple of reasons. One is you want to get in our head.”
McCarthy’s comments have certainly stirred the pot ahead of the NFC East matchup in Week 14. Rivera has made sure his players are focused on nothing but football ahead of the matchup.
“And so I’ve told our players, ‘That’s interesting, it’s not important. What’s important is our preparation, getting ready to play on Sunday.’ Secondly, he’s trying to convince his team.
“So again, I think that’s another mistake because he’s now made it about him and what he said. It’s not about his players anymore. So, I think that’s a big mistake. That’s why to me, you don’t do those things. What you do is you focus in on, you get ready and you play football. We show up on Sunday and we’ll see what happens.”
A few Washington players echoed Rivera’s opinion earlier this week, essentially brushing off McCarthy’s comments and choosing to focus on their own game plan.
Guarantees aside, the Cowboys and Washington have been trending in opposite directions of late. Dallas has dropped two of its last three contests, save a 10-point victory over the injury-riddled Saints last Thursday. Washington is riding high on a four-game winning streak, most recently taking down a Raiders squad that defeated the Cowboys earlier this season.