As the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys, Mike McCarthy has never started the season 1-0. In 2020, they lost on the road to the Los Angeles Rams. In 2021 and 2022, Dallas lost to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. On Sunday, it will be the first time the Cowboys play a division rival to open the season under McCarthy, and for the fourth straight year, they will be playing on Sunday Night Football in Week 1.
What does that all mean? McCarthy consistently preaches that winning against a divisional opponent is like winning two games because it counts towards your overall record and is a division tiebreaker come playoff seeding.