Dallas Cowboys 'Need Win No. 7!' Coach Mike McCarthy Predicts 'Best Shot' from Panthers

Dallas Cowboys 'Need Win No. 7!' Coach Mike McCarthy Predicts 'Best Shot' from Panthers

The Dallas Cowboys took care of a wounded New York Giants team in devastating fashion at AT&T Stadium in Week 10. Now, the challenge comes to doing that on the road.

The Carolina Panthers, while 1-8, present a tricky assignment for coach Mike McCarthy's high-flying Cowboys. Despite Carolina's poor numbers on both sides of the ball, Dallas needs to be wary of not looking too far ahead.

“We've had (the loss at) Arizona, we've had games in the past, so it's still the NFL,” McCarthy said. “You know, they've played a Thursday night game, they've had some time off. We understand where the record is, they have some change going on over there (Panthers coach Frank Reich is taking over his own play-calling, so we're anticipating their best shot. 

"That's the way we got to look at it. We're going there to win, but we're going in there to play our standard and keep growing and building as a football team because you're only guaranteed so many opportunities. We need the seventh win.”

One key to the Cowboys avoiding a loss in this potential banana-skin game will be the play of Dak Prescott, as he has thrust himself (prematurely?) into the MVP conversation with his play over the last four weeks.

The Dallas Cowboys will look to build on their win over the New York Giants when they travel to face the Carolina Panthers on Sunday / Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Prescott has thrown for 1,354 yards, 12 touchdowns, and just two interceptions as he, along with the "Texas Coast Offense," has exploded to life.

Dak Prescott: 'I've Never Felt So Free!'

With Prescott in a confident mood, many expect Dallas to continue on its merry way against the Panthers. What has been the catalyst for Dak's impressive run of form over the last four games?

“I’ll always go back to ball security and extended plays because, as a quarterback, you have to take care of the football,” McCarthy said. “He's doing a great job of spreading the ball around. He's running the offense, he's not forcing the ball to try to get the ball to players. I think he's just really stayed the course, he doesn't blink, and I think that's what we all love about him, he stands in there, takes hits, plays the position the right way.”

In the midst of an "easier" schedule before a gauntlet of teams that includes the Seattle Seahawks, Philadelphia Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Miami Dolphins, and Detroit Lions, the Cowboys - who have won 12 straight at home but are just 5-8 in their last 13 road games - need to "run our own race,'' as they've put it, and stack wins.

As McCarthy stated, Dallas "needs" that seventh win, and Prescott and the offense are key to putting away a poor Panthers team early. The last thing the Cowboys want is to be dragged into a dogfight in enemy territory ... and they seem aware of that.