Cowboys Watermelons & Whataburger: 'We Like To Smash Things'
FRISCO - There is absolutely nothing wrong with an NFL team telling cool, inside stories about "smashing watermelons'' and gorging on Whataburger ...
Unless said team loses.
On the night before Sunday's critical NFL Week 17 home victory over the Eagles, coach Mike McCarthy again "went Gallagher,'' calling the week's team captains, including Amari Cooper to the front of the room, where they swung sledgehammers at watermelons.
“It was a pretty big hammer,” Cooper said. “With us being crazy football players, guys just really like smashing things.”
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And then, in the middle of the 37-17 win that keeps Dallas in the NFC East title hunt (and the playoff berth that goes with it, the Cowboys "went Whataburger.''
We know about the "watermelon smash,'' because McCarthy unveiled the pep-talk fun the night before the win at Minnesota.
But what, besides the fact that it is an official team sponsor (always on-brand, these Cowboys), does a "Whataburger double with cheese'' have to do with winning football?
Michael Gallup scored a touchdown just before halftime. And then immediately after the half, CeeDee Lamb scored one, too. McCarthy has before mentioned the idea of the “double-double” phenomenon - scoring to end a half and then scoring again to start one.
But this ain't Pittsburgh and this ain't Green Bay. So, suddenly, the "double-double'' is a Whataburger.
“That’s a 'Whataburger double with cheese' in our book,” said new Texan McCarthy.
All of the Cowboys receivers "ate'' here. Cooper caught four balls for 121 yards. Gallup caught six for 121 and two TDs. CeeDee Lamb caught three for 65, one for a score to go along with his rushing TD.
It was the stuff that early season "three-1,000-yard-receivers'' dreams were made of.
“We were clicking,” quarterback Andy Dalton said. “Our guys match up well versus anybody.”
Next, they match up with the Giants in New York. A Week 17 win next Sunday, combined with a Washington loss to Philly, and the Cowboys will feast their eyes on a Round 1 home playoff game.
Do the 6-9 Cowboys have in them another 377-yard passing day? Another outing with 513 total yards of offense?
That's for Sunday. McCarthy seems excited about the upcoming midweek meeting at The Star.
"there’s going to be a lot of a hamburgers flying around Wednesday,'' he said, as it seems that "Whataburger'' is more than a slogan; it's a reward. "It’s something all the guys were screaming about on the sideline. It’s great to finally hit one of those.”
These are wonderful stories for a team to tell following a win. A losing team might look a little silly revealing such "motivational'' goofiness, especially because "losing'' meant it wasn't very motivational.
But Dallas, now on a three-game win streak? They hit the double-double. They smashed the watermelon. Next they try to do both at the Giants.
