Mike McCarthy responds to calls for Cowboys to bench veterans, play young players

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy is not ready to give up on the 2024 season despite the team losing the last five games. While speaking to reporters after the loss to the Houston Texans on Monday night, McCarthy was asked if he would bench veteran players to look at the younger players on the roster.

“Nah, this is it, man. We got seven losses. We’ve got to go,” McCarthy said, per Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network. “Backs against the wall. We got to fight, scratch, claw. We’ve got to do everything we can to go win the next game. That’s where my mind’s at. That’s what I’m going to coach and that’s the expectation.

“We’ve got to win. We deserve to win. You know, we deserve the opportunity to win. And that’s about putting the best people out there. And right now we’re young. So, those guys, our young guys, they’re getting a lot of experience. But we need to do whatever the hell we need to do to win.”

Understandably, McCarthy wants to do everything he can to help the Cowboys win, which means continuing to play the veterans. But the team has the second-worst record in the NFC and has to run the table to have a chance to reach the postseason.

Mike McCarthy talks about playing young players during the game against Texans

One big challenge the Cowboys have going forward is not having quarterback Dak Prescott. The Cowboys placed him on injured reserve this week and will miss the rest of the season due to a hamstring injury. Cooper Rush has started the last two games and has thrown 399 yards one touchdown and one interception with two losses.

In the game against the Texans on Monday night, younger players had to play because of the injuries the team suffered before and during the game. And despite the Cowboys losing to the Texans 34-10, McCarthy believes playing the young players was a good thing.

“There is good coming out of this,” McCarthy said, per the Cowboys’ official website. “You don’t see it because we’re not winning games, but there’s young men that are getting an opportunity to do more and I do believe it’ll pay forward. It needs to hurry the hell up, because we need it in six days.”