'A Healthy Victory!' Dallas Cowboys Change Practice Plan To Fit Coach Mike McCarthy Priorities

'A Healthy Victory!' Dallas Cowboys Change Practice Plan To Fit Coach Mike McCarthy Priorities

On Thanksgiving Day, the Dallas Cowboys defeated another NFC East pretender, the Washington Commanders, with a 45-10 score. After the game, Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy noted one of the many priorities achieved in the win that pushes his team to 8-3.

“Overall, it was a healthy victory for us,” McCarthy said. “It looks like we’ve come out of the game pretty healthy, which is probably the most important part of this .. outside of the victory.”

It is no surprise that McCarthy is concerned about keeping his roster in healthy shape as costly injuries could make or break an entire season for an organization. Indeed, a close examination of how the coach has supervised this recent crunch of games - which continues with a Thursday visit from the Seahawks next week - demonstrates his willingness to juggle and bend to those priorities.

In the last couple of weeks, there have been ample days of rest, of light practices, of permission to vets (like Tyron Smith) to simply take the day off.

And maybe as a result (Cowboys Nation crossing its fingers), Dallas has been pretty lucky/pretty good in the injury department. ... and when things have gone wrong, depth met the challenge.

Notably, cornerback Trevon Diggs tore his ACL in Week 3 of this season. However, DaRon Bland stepped up in his place and has now broken the record with the most pick-sixes in a season in NFL history, acquiring his fifth this year against the Commanders.

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Also, Leighton Vander Esch is out for the year with a neck injury, but owner Jerry Jones called his linebackers' play "outstanding'' in the Washington game. (Even still, the research is being done on free agent Shaq Leonard.)

“To me, it’s all part of the way you train,” McCarthy said of trying to prevent injuries. “It’s part of your training environment. Risk assessment is at the forefront of every time you put together a practice plan.”

And so the head coach has bent that practice plan in a way that has helped Dallas work toward true contention in 2023.