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Todd Archer, ESPN Staff Writer
FRISCO, Texas — Coach Mike McCarthy likes roller coasters, but he hopes after the bye week his Dallas Cowboys can have a smoother ride after an up-and-down first six games.
“Just in this short range of games, the peaks and valleys have been different than I’ve been part of as a head coach,” McCarthy said.
For the Cowboys, the anticipation brought on by the click-clack of the roller coaster as it lurches toward the top has been equaled by the fear of steep falls.
They opened with dominating wins against the New York Giants (40-0) and New York Jets (30-10), which was followed by a lackluster 28-16 loss to the Arizona Cardinals. The following week, they handed coach Bill Belichick the worst loss of his coaching career, beating the New England Patriots 38-3.
Then came the debilitating 42-10 loss to the San Francisco 49ers that exposed every flaw, followed by a 20-17 win against the Los Angeles Chargers that defensive coordinator Dan Quinn told the other coaches was “gritty; it just wasn’t pretty.”
“It’s really part of your journey, part of your path. To think you control that, that’s not realistic,” McCarthy said. “Every team has a goal to get through this journey and win the Super Bowl. Clearly, that’s how your year starts, but everybody has a different path. It’s important for us to keep our eyes forward and to keep moving forward.”
At 4-2 for the second straight season, the Cowboys are in decent position to qualify for the playoffs for a third straight year, something they have not done since the Super Bowl days of the 1990s.
It’s a position that could have been better had the Philadelphia Eagles lost to the Miami Dolphins. However, the Cowboys can have a large say in the NFC East race with two games remaining against their division rival.
McCarthy has broken the season up into trimesters because of how the schedule breaks. The Cowboys just completed the first trimester with four of their first six games on the road, including three prime-time games.
The second trimester starts Sunday against the Los Angeles Rams and ends Nov. 30 against the Seattle Seahawks on “Thursday Night Football” before a 10-day break leading into a hellacious December.
Four of the Cowboys’ next six games are at AT&T Stadium where they have won 10 straight games, the longest active home winning streak. The last time the Cowboys had such a streak at home was 11 straight, spanning the 1991 and 1992 seasons when they called Texas Stadium home.
The Rams game will mark their first home contest in 41 days.
“No place like home, right?” McCarthy said. “It’s important for us to maintain the home-field advantage that you can establish. I’m looking forward to playing at home.”
The Cardinals’ loss is something they might regret more than the 49ers’ loss. Arizona has not won another game this season, so the Cowboys almost have to be perfect at home.
They can ill afford more hiccups, but there is much to improve upon. McCarthy specifically mentioned pre-snap penalties, but penalties in general are an issue. They have 46 for 357 yards, which led the NFL after six weeks.
The running game is averaging 3.9 yards per carry despite having the preferred offensive line of Tyron Smith, Tyler Smith, Tyler Biadasz, Zack Martin and Terence Steele playing together for the past two games. The red zone remains an issue for the offense with the Cowboys converting on just 9 of 23 opportunities.
Defensively, they have allowed 16 pass plays of 20 yards or more despite playing offensively challenged teams like the Giants, Jets, Cardinals and Patriots. Through six games last season, they allowed just 10 pass plays of 20 yards or more.
On Monday, McCarthy held his “across the hall” sessions, where the offensive coaches meet with the defensive players and vice versa to help with the self-scout process.
“We’ve got to improve,” McCarthy said.
The next six games hold the key to the season. Win at least five, and the Cowboys will be in good shape coming into a December and January that features games against the Eagles, Buffalo Bills, Dolphins, Detroit Lions and Washington Commanders.
When the players reconvene Monday, McCarthy isn’t going to take a global view of where the Cowboys are at the moment. He wants their focus on the present. He wants to get off the roller coaster.
“I don’t pay much attention to the records. There are two things that I’ve always really focused on, your self-scout and your division,” McCarthy said. “I don’t think you ever have to look outside of your division for a barometer of where you are, especially in October.
“I go by the old adage, when you get to 10 wins, then look around. It’s probably 11 wins now because it’s a 17-game season. It’s part of our business, and there’s a lot of conversation, but I’ve never used that with the team. I don’t see the benefit of it, frankly.”
Source: www.espn.com