'I'm a Dallas Cowboy!' Coach Mike McCarthy Admits to 'Regret' with Green Bay Packers

'I'm a Dallas Cowboy!' Coach Mike McCarthy Admits to 'Regret' with Green Bay Packers Ahead of NFL Playoffs

FRISCO - Wild Card Weekend is almost upon us, with the "drama'' - coach Mike McCarthy's own words - about to unfold on the field.

And in preparation for the Dallas Cowboys' Sunday home meeting against the Green Bay Packers, McCarthy seems quite focused on not repeating what he concedes is a past Cowboys vs. Packers.

"Last year,'' McCarthy said, reflecting on a regular-season game at his old stomping grounds at Lambeau Field, "I thought it was important for me to talk about (my time in) Green Bay at the beginning of the week with the team.

"I regretted it.''

It was honest when he did it for that 2022 regular-season game, which saw the Cowboys up 28-14 before Aaron Rodgers led the Pack's 31-28 comeback win.

And he's being honest now.

"That doesn't even need to come into our energy base, but you live and learn,'' McCarthy said of altering this year's approach. "This game is about our commitment. It doesn't matter who we're playing. That's where I am. There's just no time for that. … 

"It will not help us win. And if it will not help us win the game, I'm not interested."

Dallas is the No. 2 seed, Green Bay the No. 7 seed. And the 12-5 Cowboys, winners of 16 straight at AT&T Stadium, are favored by a touchdown. Some in the locker room have talked about wanting to "win for Coach.'' 

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Said team leader Dak Prescott: "As much as everybody else knows what this game means for the Dallas Cowboys, it's got something a little special as well. It's important to get it for our own (well-)being, but the way that we do it will be punctuation for him."

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That's fine, it seems to McCarthy, if the emotion is organic.

But he's not going to try to stir it up, insisting he will "not participate'' in the "drama.''

"At the end of the day, this is my team — I'm a Dallas Cowboy," said McCarthy.