'We Need To Win!' Cowboys' McCarthy Reveals Week 1 Importance

Cowboys boss Mike McCarthy is loading up on the importance of Week 1 and "Sunday Night Football'' at the Giants. "This is really one game,'' the coach says, "that we need to go win."

FRISCO - The sentiment can always be revised should - horrors! - the Dallas Cowboys kickoff the 2023 NFL season on "Sunday Night Football'' against the New York Giants with a loss.

An 0-1 start is not "doomsday.'' The march toward contention for a title will not have ended. All the eggs in one basket will not have been scrambled.

But for the moment? Yes, Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is loading up on those eggs.

"This is really one game,'' McCarthy said this week here inside The Star, "that we need to go win."

"Need''? Well, it would certainly be helpful. QB Dak Prescott has talked of the importance of getting off to a "hot start,'' and that can be about both the psychology of 1-0 (vs. the psychology of 0-1) and about the standings-related value of this particular situation.

"It's a competitive division and we're expecting it to be that again with all four teams having the opportunity to be in the playoff hunt,'' McCarthy said. "It's Week 1, it's a division game ...''

And, the Cowboys know, it's on the road. Against a playoff-caliber team in the Giants. And on a message-sending national-TV stage. That's a lot of "Omnia'' to "Carpe,'' coach! (We explain, with the news of McCarthy's team theme, here.)

"These division games are so important toward the success in the division record ... it gives you the effect of playoff opportunities,'' McCarthy said, adding, "We've had extra time to spend on the Giants.''

Will that pay off? McCarthy is claiming "the competitive spirit of the team is higher than I've ever seen in my four years here.'' The front office is claiming this is a roster that is a match for any Cowboys group since the 1990 Super Bowl seasons. And the eggs, for now, are in a Giants-focused basket.

"This is Game 1,'' McCarthy said. "Win that first game, especially on the road ... it always seems a little tougher than the others. I think that's really where my mindset is at."