What Dallas Cowboys’ Mike McCarthy, Dak Prescott, others said after humiliating Lions loss

What were coach Mike McCarthy, quarterback Dak Prescott and other Dallas Cowboys’ reactions after losing 47-9 to Detroit on Sunday. Here is everything they said, courtesy of the Cowboys media relations staff:

Coach Mike McCarthy

On the performance today

“How do I explain it? I think clearly, you know, number one, we were beaten today. They’re a very good team. I think you know the facts are, they’re further ahead of us right now at this time in Week Six. A lot of moving parts, but I think just staying to the obvious facts, we’re not taking care of the ball, we’re not taking it away. I mean, that’s number one on the list of basics as far as how we train, where we put our time. We got to start there. I didn’t do a very good job today. As far as some of the answers that our guys needed. We needed to score points coming into it was the mindset, part of taking the ball and getting out there starting fast. Red zone and third down was a huge issue again today. It was going to be an emphasis for us as a staff anyways on the bye week. So, we got to be better, better there situationally. But, you know, I think it’s like any game, it starts up front. They won the battle at the line of scrimmage, clearly won the turnover ratio battle. You’re not going to beat anybody with those kinds of numbers. We got to get back to basics as far as how we play, where we train, where our emphasis is, you know, off the pad. Now the other part of it is, we’ve got a lot of moving parts as far as players in-and-out. I think it’s going to serve us very well moving forward. I’ve been in this spot before with young players playing early. You can see the connection was definitely not as high as you’d like it to be, but we’ll improve in that area through these guys playing. The benefits of playing so many young guys this early will come forward, but that team’s playing very good right now. They’re a very good team. They were hot coming in here. They’re further ahead than we are right now. We’re 3-3.”

On if he though Dak Prescott pressed during the game

“I think really the passing game you can start with the protection. I think he was, you know, he was on his back foot all day from the get-go. And we had a couple things that were not clean, as far as a chip, check down, release and so forth were mistakes. Young players, but we need to be better, at the end of the day we need to take care of the football.”

On starting Tyler Smith at left tackle today

“Tyler Guyton is not 100 percent. I think if you saw there at the end we went to Asim Richards over him. So that’s just kind of where he is medically.”

On if he thought his defense was as physical as it needed to be today

“Well, the plan was to come in and try to get the run defense done with a two shell. And obviously that puts us, you know, more stress on the front seven. They’re obviously excellent at running the football, and were able to take advantage of it. So, you know, we wanted to come in and hold a lid on it and try to be selective with the calls. I think if we were scoring touchdowns early, you know, maybe we go down a different road.”

On if the Cowboys 3-3 record is an accurate reflection of the team

“You are what your record is. I think we’ve had some out of balance games that when you get in out of balance games and you’re on the wrong side of it, you have the numbers that we have. Our turnover ratio is as low as I can ever remember it here. That’s not who I am as a head coach, and that’s not where we invest our time. You have to have ROI. I don’t care what level of football you play. Football’s not going to change, and that’s why they call it football. And we’re not taking care of the football, and we’re definitely not taking it away. We need to improve there. And we’ve had, what, seven turnovers in seven days, maybe eight.”

On what’s happened to the team at home this year

“Well, I think the thing is, you know, it’s just when you think you’ve seen it all in this league, it’s just the way the ball bounces sometimes. We’ve started off 3-0 the road too, we could have that conversation. I’ve always believed that home was such an advantage. I spent some time last night on some things. So, we’ll tweak some things. It’s just you can’t keep doing the same things over and over again. But it doesn’t matter you play home, away, in the parking lot. If you give up the damn ball five times and you’re not taking it away you’re not going to win the game. So that’s irrelevant to the way we’re playing.”

On Dak Prescott and CeeDee Lamb

“They doubled CeeDee pretty much most of the day. And then definitely Jake Ferguson saw some doubles too. We got to continue to do more in those areas. Not getting the run game really kind of put us on our heels. And that’s not fair for, you know, our alignment. But you know, the combination of run and pass is where you want to be. But once again, I think they I think they were ahead of us at the line of scrimmage.”

On if there’s been anything specific between being on the road and at home so far this season

“We’ve played winning football on the road. We’ve played three good teams. We have three good teams that have come in here and played well against us. It’s the National Football League. It’s not who you play, it’s when you play them. And you know, that’s part of where we are. You know, we have, our lineups are changing. This is a good experience with some rough moments and this definitely was a rough moment today”

On what he has to say to the fans at AT&T Stadium today

“Trust me, we’re disappointed too. We’ve got unbelievable fans. Not only here at home, but on the road. It’s unbelievable to pull up to a hotel or come out in pregame and see the fans. So yeah definitely, we definitely want to play better at home. I think that’s only natural.”

On if this is a good week to have the bye week

“I don’t think there’s ever been a bad time for a bye week. I just think the fact that this game is, you know, it’s challenging. It’s a 17-game season, so I get it. When a schedule comes out you look at how it lines up. But just based off where we are, you know, as far as injuries and things like that, I think it’s, it’s a good time for a bye. I’ve never really got caught up in what it is. You kind of lay out your plan based on how you think it’s going to go. I’ve always as an offensive coach, has pushed things to a bye week, you know that’s no different. So, we’ll do that. You know, we have studies that we do, a big project that we’ll do with our players when they get back. So that’s all about continuing education and really just staying on top of it. I think we need to do better. We got work to do, obviously.”

On if it’s time to reevaluate the personnel with the running game

“I think that as far as the running back room, that’s what you’re talking about. I think that we got to take a look at what we’re doing run blocking first. You know, I don’t think we gave those guys clean looks today. I don’t think we gave good looks today. So based on who was playing, or how we’re playing, what I was calling, what we designed, so all that would be looked at. Absolutely.”

On if getting guys back from injuries will solve some of the issues

“That doesn’t just solve it. We’re not playing to the rhythm of tenacity that you need. With that comes confidence, which comes with winning. What we accomplished in Pittsburgh, it was a chunk of confidence. Still, there was a lot there to correct. I mean, let’s be honest. We were able to overcome things that we did in that game. They were playing really well. We didn’t overcome anything today.”

On what rhythm of tenacity means

“Playing together. We’re not in a rhythm right now. We haven’t lined up with the same lineup, you know, two-or-three weeks in a row. Most often we’ll have offensive lines that, you know, play together every day, practice together every day, and, you know, compete every day. That’s a good offensive line. The numbers through history will tell you that, no different in the defensive front. No different than the secondary, pass rush, all those things. So that’s why you just keep working on it.”

On what he can point to other than injuries to explain the wild swings the Cowboys’ defense has been on

“I think you’re making the point that I feel like I’ve been talking about. We’re up and down right now. If you want to put it on a grid, use mathematics, the analytics. I mean, the ebb and flow of what we’re doing is there’s way too many highs and too many lows. This is all over right now. There’s none of us that feel good about how we performed today. That’s where it’s important for every one of us, starting with myself, they need to look in the mirror. They need to stick together. They aren’t going to get any help, you know, especially any help. We don’t need any help; don’t want any help. So, we just need to stay after it, keep working, and I’m very confident we’ll come out the other end.”

QB Dak Prescott

On Dak’s performance....

Started off the first two drives, felt great. Go down, get a field goal. Second drive, feels good as well. Get down there. Anticipated a little too much. A little too early. A guy made a great play, initially driving on the flat. He’s got the flat in man. Threw it early. Zero blitz was protected however, I let it hang a little bit. A guy comes off of that and makes a great catch. You can’t turn the ball over in the red zone. And then from there, I don’t feel like there was really another positive play after that for us to build off, to get anything going. Very frustrating.

On if he feels he has to play better....

Yeah, simple as that. I don’t want to say that I have to play perfect by any means, but I’ve got to play better. Better than I did, and close to it, especially when you’re playing a team like that. As talented as they are, they’re hot right now, good on defense, great on offense.

On if this loss raises concerns about the team....

No. I mean, we’ve got to get better, simply. Obviously going into the bye week, we’re 3-3, six games under us. A long season to go. I’ve been in worse situations, I guess you can say in teams, and they got it going. Teams that got on a streak, I think about 2018. It’s about us sticking together. And I think after a loss like this, there’s no better time to test the character of that.

On how this loss changes how the team approaches the bye week....

The schedule is the schedule. Get in there tomorrow, clean it up, look at it and be honest with one another. Everybody [including] myself. I’m sure Coach said the same. Look in the mirror, figure out what we can do, how we can be better for this team. Put better units out there, and collectively make sure that when we get on the road the week after this bye, that we’re a much better team than what we put out there today and try to build from that.

On if he felt this was a humbling/concerning/shocking game....

Humbling. Humbling for sure. That’s the NFL and humbling within the game. As I said, you go down first drive, feel good. Feel like you should have got a touchdown, but you settle for the field goal. You come down again, and in the same situation, think you’re going to score and turn the ball over, and then, as I said, from there, can’t get anything going. Humbling, humbling for sure. Concerning? I’m not a guy to hit the panic button. I get to have the ball in my hands. I get to lead this offense. I get to lead this team. Hard for me to say that, and then shocking? I can agree to that to some extent just on the way that they came out and played harder than us in every phase. Obviously, you never prepare for that or think that can happen the way that it did today here at home again. Now dropping three at home, a place that we’ve been great at.

On how the team can be a more physical team....

We’ve got to practice harder. Simple as that. You can’t turn it on, on Sundays. I know I’ve said that before to the guys. We’ve just got to reiterate that every day at practice, in our preparation. We’ve got to practice harder, prepare harder and come out here and play harder. That’s a choice. Coach McCarthy always says, physicality and the finish is a choice, and we’ve got to choose to do it better than the other team.

On the difficulties with the run game....

It doesn’t help when you get down in a game, obviously. And you see the other offense rolling as they are. It’s a good time for the bye week and for us to figure that out, honestly.

On if the frustration comes from knowing the talent in the running back room....

Yeah, definitely frustrating. All of it is frustrating. I mean, that whole loss is frustrating. As you said, knowing the people that we have in the room, the experience and the type of guys that we have, we’ve got to be better and then knowing that when you get that going, love play-action pass. Love play-action pass. So, then that opens up. So, there’s a lot when you get the run game going, that you’re able to do off of that.

On the timing of the chemistry with CeeDee Lamb....

I mean, just off the top of my head. It was a tough day in the sense. I mean, it wasn’t just about me and CeeDee. Yeah, sure, there was one throw here, a route there, he would tell you. A protection that wasn’t great on one. If I had an answer, I promise you, we’d be a lot better and as I mentioned, the same in the run game. It’s a great time for us to figure it out and how to get better. But just reiterating, the people in the room, in that locker room, the trust I have in them, the faith I have in them. You’re talking about a guy that’ll double down with those guys and go to war every single day. Restart this one and run it back, whatever. A lot of faith in those guys in the locker room and let’s get it right.

On offense changing when team gets in a hole….

We can. Run the ball as much as we want to. It’s hard to stick to the run that way. You’re putting pressure on the offensive line. Just drop back, pass protection play-after-play against two great pass rushers. Forced to make continuous covered throws when the defense knows that you’ve got to do that. But it starts with us. We’re putting ourselves in that hole. I’m not blaming the defense. We’ve got to start off faster. Right there, if I don’t throw the interception, right? It’s 10-3 us, right? And who knows how the game goes. It’s pressure on them now and that’s the NFL, and just like that, they score and the pressure is on us. We go three-and-out. They score. We see how well they’re moving the ball and we’re forced to play different than any team wants to in that position.

On practicing harder….

Well, we have high standards and obviously people around us do as well. We want to win. We want to win. We want to play physical. We want to be great. So, it takes everyone looking in the mirror and saying how can I [get better]? How can we get better and help this team? As I said, it starts with practice. It starts with our preparation. It starts with being on the field and then the time away from the facility, what are you doing? How are you spending your time? Are you studying the game? Are you putting yourself in every situation and position to be ready for and to be great in those moments? We’ve got a lot of guys, myself included, have to answer those questions and be better. Period.

On message to the locker room….

Look in the mirror. Look in the mirror. Go watch these six games over the bye week. Take a few days off, reset and be ready when we get back into that building Monday to refocus and do every single thing that you can to help this team. Everybody has a role, whatever that role may be, make sure you understand what it is and it’s carved out. And if it’s bigger than what it was a few weeks ago, if it’s smaller, whatever it may be, figure out a way just to be the absolute best in it. And as you said, 11 games left. We’re gonna take it one at a time. San Fran’s next, so as we watch these six games, go ahead and get a jump start on a couple of their games and be ready to, as I said, to refocus after this reset.

On Aiden Hutchison….

Obviously, that’s tough to watch, as you said, having experienced it, knowing where he is in that moment. Hated it. Hated every bit of it. But for me, initially, I just told him to keep his head up. It’s part of the story. I promise, the way that this guy started his career, the guy he seems to be, not knowing him, he’ll be better after it. I know it’s probably hard to imagine right now. Then the last part, I just told him it’s part of the story. It’s part of his story. Hell of player. I mean, hell, he did it going out on a sack. So, I mean, game changer, wishing him the best in his recovery. I know it’s going to be a mental challenge as much as it is physical, but the way that he started his career, and the player that he seems to be, I imagine he’ll be just fine and recover from it.

On any roster moves similar to 2018 to get a run going….

They’re two different teams. Referencing that team, I was just saying we were 3-5 before we got rolling. Don’t plan on being 3-5 with this team. However, that’s up to the front office. You know what I mean. I’ve got a lot of confidence in the guys we’ve got in the locker room, young guys coming on. You see Tolbert, play-in and play-out, day-in and day-out, game-in and game-out, getting better, making plays. We’ll get Brandin Cooks back healthy. Leave it up to those guys. My job is to make sure that I continue to push the locker room. As I said, make sure they understand their role and how to be better in their role.

On red zone interceptions….

Yeah, I just mentioned it. The guy made a great play. I anticipated a little too much.That’s where the ball’s gotta go, should go on that play. I can stare that guy down to the flat a little bit longer, hang on my back foot, maybe take a hit and then put it in the back corner. Then I’m sure it’s a touchdown. So that was completely different than last week. But, you can’t turn the ball over in the red zone. Getting in the red zone, our kicker, our team, those guaranteed points, that puts us up. I think, right? No it doesn’t right? Yeah, it would have been up 6-3. Yeah, something, but it would’ve been a lot better than the alternative and what happened. And just got to be cleaner. We’ve got to find ways to get in the end zone. I feel like we were at this point kind of last year, going into the bye red zone was a struggle. Went into the bye, figured some things out. Came out playing a lot better. I can tell you we plan to do the same. I plan to prepare over the bye week to figure out what we can do in the red zone better. But we’ve got to score a touchdown, especially with the players that we have. Another run game when we get it going that’ll help and gotta score touchdowns. You can’t beat teams like this, can’t beat great teams kicking field goals.

On importance of giving a message to Hutchison….

It’s just something that I felt in the moment. Being honest with you, I’ll probably get his number from one of the Michigan guys in the locker room and reach out again. I just know in that moment, at that time, when I was in that position, I remember a guy, Logan. He gave me some words of encouragement. But once again, when you’re in that it’s blurry. It’s blurry. So I don’t even know if you heard them. Don’t care if he heard them. I understand where he was, but it was Logan’s follow up to me that meant the most and I’ll do the same. Maybe it’s even passing or sharing the same book that he shared with me. So yeah, it’s just something I felt in that moment as I said, understanding where he was, but being the competitor he is, probably didn’t care what I had to say. Wishing him well and everything, whether it’s surgery, whenever that is and he’ll be back better. On what book…It was one with Kobe and then it was Michael Jordan Relentless.

On if he was looking at a mirror what he wants to see from the team following the bye week in the reflection....

I know what I’ll see. A winner, a leader, somebody that’s going to push his guys to be better. Myself to be better, this whole locker room. We’re not going to panic. We’re six games in, we’re 3-3. We’ve got five division games left. Those are huge. We’ve got a big one coming up against San Francisco. It’s a lot of football left. It’s about just being accountable. When I say that, trust me I’m as accountable as I feel like anybody in this world, whatever we may be talking about. Just making sure other guys feel the same, do the same and push themselves to be better.

On using the bye week to connect with CeeDee Lamb like the two may have done in August to find rhythm....

Yeah, communication, spend a couple of days putting the ball in the air. I mean, honestly it’s simple as that. Communication, a little bit of work, and understanding that these defenses are doing a good job. Let’s not discredit them. This is the NFL, when you’ve put up numbers like we have together guys aren’t just going to come out and play you one on one with CeeDee and let you have a field day. I mean, you go back and look at that film, they pretty much had two guys accounted for him the whole time, and when they didn’t, that’s where our completions came in. I missed him, I can say off top of my head on three particular throws where one was a route, one was pressure, and one was the throw. I got go back and look at the rest. We got to give credit where it’s due and just continue to push and maybe scheme up some of these double teams better as well and understand that when we get going it’s going to be hard to stop.

On why he believes In Coach McCarthy....

The man he is. The preparation that he puts into this. The leader. I’ll go to war for that guy, with that guy, every single day. And I’m not the only one in that locker room. I feel like everybody feels that. If you heard what he said after that game, that’s not something that I care to let you guys in on honestly, but strong message. Strong message. In a loss, to be able to feel that way and show those emotions and respond. I’ll follow him. I’ll follow him. I know he said it to you guys, he said it in there, he’s looking in the mirror, as we all should. Thankful for him as my coach. Period.