Mike McCarthy: Cowboys head coach gives thoughts on opening against Tom Brady

On Thursday night, Mike McCarthy and the Dallas Cowboys will open the 2021 NFL season against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

While many would think McCarthy would be concerned about the challenge the defending Super Bowl Champions present, the Cowboys’ front man views it as an opportunity.

“Frankly, I think it’s awesome for our younger players to experience this right out the gate,” McCarthy said. “When you have a chance to play against a championship quarterback; championship quarterbacks are different. They pose a whole different challenge to you.

“When you play the championship quarterbacks, you know that they’re always going to be in the game. They’re always going to be pressing your defense and they’ll definitely factor in the end of the game. I think with that, just as much experience as you can have as a young defender will definitely pay dividends moving forward.”

Brady enters Thursday’s NFC contest boasting a 230-69 record as a starter in the regular season. Those 230 wins are the best in NFL history.

He’s also led 12 consecutive division winners (11 AFC East titles with the Patriots and last year’s NFC South crown with the Bucs).

McCarthy does have the 2010 Super Bowl win as part of his resume, but expectations for the 2021 Dallas Cowboys are high. They finished 2020 with a disappointing 6-10 record, and with Dak Prescott reportedly fully healthy and feeling better than ever, Jerry Jones expects immediate results.

Currently, though, McCarthy is looking to turn the Cowboys around after a 6-10 2020 season that saw the head coach finish with a losing record for a third-straight campaign dating back to a pair of losing years that ended his Packers run.

Mike McCarthy on Tom Brady’s accomplishments

The Cowboys frontman didn’t hold back when asked about what impresses him most about Brady.

“Well, I think, like anything – a lot of things, about his game – but longevity. It’s difficult to win a championship in this league,” Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy told reporters Friday when asked what he appreciated most of Brady’s game.

“It’s so difficult to win a Super Bowl and the fact that he’s won seven is just unbelievable. But I think my personal belief, the biggest challenge in this league is to have continued success. To have success and to play at that level for such a long period of time, to me, I think that’s a tremendous quality. And he’s living it and he eats it every day. You can just see just the way he goes about it from what you know, from what you hear about, not only his approach and where he is today, but to be able to do it at such a high level for such a long time, that’s what I’m impressed with.”

Cowboys fans expect to win, and while all of this praise aimed at their opening opponent is certainly deserved, the Cowboys are still tasked with winning the game after the man they’re praising.

Either way, if Dallas pulls off the upset — all of these outside narratives heading into Thursday night won’t matter.