Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
McCarthy making a familiar journey
MINNEAPOLIS — Coach Mike McCarthy has another first-place, high-scoring team he’s taking to Minnesota for a prime-time game in a sure-tobe raucous environment, with fans riled up about the prospect of a signature Vikings victory against a longtime franchise nemesis.
The Green Bay Packers? They’ll probably be watching on TV, wrapping up a restful weekend after playing the NFC-leading Arizona Cardinals.
The Dallas Cowboys, of course, are under McCarthy’s direction these days. After a rough first season together that was spoiled by quarterback Dak Prescott’s broken ankle and the stress of covid-19, they’re thriving with a 5-1 record that’s dominating the underwhelming NFC East.
The Vikings (3-3) have the ability to keep up with a formidable offense of their own when they meet tonight in the NFL’s national showcase game. They’ll have the advantage of the distracting crowd noise. They’ve got a proven defensive strategist on their side with Coach Mike Zimmer, too.
“He always makes you work more than the norm,” said McCarthy, who is 8-6 at Minnesota after 13 years with the Packers, plus a 31-28 win by the Cowboys last season at U.S. Bank Stadium with no crowd due to the virus.
The Cowboys employed Zimmer for 13 years, including as defensive coordinator from 2000- 06. His former team has given him and his staff plenty of work over the last two weeks, with the bye providing previous extra time to plot against an offense that leads the league with averages of 6.58 yards per play and 34.2 points per game.
Prescott’s status is uncertain because of a calf strain suffered on the touchdown pass he threw to beat New England in overtime on Oct. 17. He has been practicing on a limited basis and made clear he’s fully confident he’ll be healthy enough to play.
The Cowboys, with an unspoken eye toward their weak division, will be plenty cautious with their assessment to ensure he’s not vulnerable to reinjury.
“It’s a journey, and I want to be playing in that last game,” said Prescott, the first Cowboys player with at least three touchdown passes in four consecutive games. “It’s not fully my decision, because there is a bigger picture. It is more than just this one game.”
The ultimate call whether Prescott plays lies with McCarthy and Britt Brown, the team’s associate athletic trainer and director of rehabilitation. Prescott spent plenty of time with him after the broken ankle and became friends with Brown as a rookie in 2016.
“Whether that’s getting us ready to go for the games or making the calls in me playing this week,” Prescott said, “he takes a lot of pride in what he does, and he does his job as well as anybody does.”