'Guarantee'? WFT Makes 'Big Mistakes' But Fights in Loss to Cocky Cowboys

This NFC East showdown came with one obvious prediction: This was going to be a 'football war,' and not a 'war of words.'

LANDOVER, Md. - In Washington, George Allen used to do it.

In Dallas, Jimmy Johnson used to do it.

There is nothing wrong with even kinda “guaranteeing” a victory, as present Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy did in the days leading up to meeting the Washington Football Team here in this Sunday Week 14 face-off at FedEx Field.

There is also nothing wrong with WFT coach Ron Rivera slapping back, labeling McCarthy's boast a "mistake'' while also holding special meetings with his players to make certain they don't fall into a psychological trap.

What determines if pregame babble matters?

The postgame score.

Dallas 27, Washington 20 is what matters.

“We’re going to win this game,” McCarthy said earlier this week. “I’m confident in that.”

Washington's Rivera then fired back, ripping McCarthy’s ploy as “a big mistake.”

“You do that for a couple of reasons,” Rivera explained. “One, you want to get in our head. Secondly, he’s trying to convince his team. He’s now made it about him. I think it’s a big mistake.''

Did Dallas get into the heads of the WFT? Did McCarthy inspire his team by demonstrating confidence? Or did he stir up a hornet’s nest of inspiration for the opponent?

On this day during which the WFT winning streak halts at four, the Cowboys moved to a record of 9-4, which is better than WFT's 6-7. And on this Sunday? The Cowboys' performance was - at least for a while - at a league-best level, Dallas building 24-0 edge midway into the third quarter on the strength of the defensive playmaking of Randy Gregory (with his first career interception leading to Dak Prescott's TD pass to Amari Cooper) and Micah Parsons (with two sacks, one with a strip that allowed a 37-yard Dorance Armstrong scoop-and-score.)

By that time, the Cowboys were maybe sitting too comfortably ... and warmly, thanks to them having their own "hot-seat benches'' shipped in to FedEx Field. No, that wasn't a cocky move, as flashy as the branded "Dragon Seats'' benches are; it was, rather, a nod to how some of the usual equipment in this building is as erratic as WFT itself was.

Until Rivera's guys stormed back.

Washington fans and media go back and forth on the subject of Heinicke as "The Answer.'' The Dallas defense corralled him and limited his weapons. But keyed by a late-game pick-6 by Washington's Cole Holcolm, the WFT did not die.

Rivera repeatedly insisted McCarthy’s remarks are “not important.” But the more the WFT said that … maybe the more important the remarks grew to be. And maybe Rivera's team avoided embarrassment - and almost caused embarrassment for the Cowboys - by vocally standing up for his thoughts.

In the end, there is nothing wrong with an NFL coach predicting victory ... as long as he's not wrong. In the end, it is Washington that made most of the "big mistakes'' that it could not overcome

cowboys bench in washington - by Bret Kelly, CBS11

Dustin Bradford/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images

Justin Tafoya/Getty Images

Chris Unger/Getty Images