WFT's Ron Rivera: Mike McCarthy guaranteeing win 'a big mistake'

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy may ultimately regret calling his shot ahead of Sunday's divisional matchup at the Washington Football Team. 

"We're going to win this game," McCarthy remarked on Thursday. "I'm confident in that."

As Mike Florio explained for Pro Football Talk, Washington head coach Ron Rivera responded to McCarthy's bold words in an interview for the club's website. 

"I think it’s interesting; I don’t think it’s important," Rivera explained. "I think that’s the big mistake, is because as far as I’m concerned, you do that for a couple of reasons. One is you want to get in our head. And so I’ve told our players, 'That’s interesting, it’s not important. What’s important is our preparation, getting ready to play on Sunday.' 

"Secondly, he’s trying to convince his team. So, again, I think that’s another mistake. Because he’s now made it about him and what he said, it’s not about his players anymore. So I think that’s a big mistake. That’s why to me, you don’t do those things. What you do is you focus in, you get ready and you play football. We show up on Sunday and we’ll see what happens." 

8-4 Dallas holds the top spot in the NFC East standings and a two-game lead over second-place Washington (6-6), so both coaches understandably are looking for any available advantages ahead of Sunday's clash. In McCarthy's defense, he added on Thursday he understood Rivera and others could attempt to use his own words against him and the Cowboys this weekend. 

"I mean, what am I supposed to say? Yeah, I fully expect to win every game I've ever competed in," McCarthy said. "That's what sports is all about. That's what the NFL (is all about). Trust me, I understand how hard it is. They're working hard. We're working hard. But, yeah, we're clearly planning on going to Washington and winning the game. There's no doubt about that."

These two teams meet again on Dec. 26, so McCarthy and Rivera won't have to wait long to once again trade verbal jabs via the media this month.