Cowboys Coach Unique Reveal on Bad Losses: 'That's Where The Gold Is!'

'Hidden Gold'? The Dallas Cowboys have shredded teams this season, but have also been beaten up and coach Mike McCarthy says the negative experiences are where the team learns a lot about itself.

The Dallas Cowboys are coming off a brutal 31-10 loss to the Buffalo Bills as they look to pick themselves up off the canvas and get ready for the Miami Dolphins. ... and as they look for "gold'' of a sort.

Dallas' loss to Buffalo was its second this season in which it had been totally outplayed and beaten into submission on the road against a high-quality team (the other was San Francisco).

While winning is great, there is a thought that coaches learn a lot more about their team in the face of adversity and Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy is of a similar thought.

“Trust me, no one wants to lose. No one wants to have that kind of performance that you have to answer to kind of questions we've had to answer. But I do think the negative experiences in this journey, that's where the gold is,” McCarthy said.

Has that worked this season for the playoff-bound Cowboys?

Said McCarthy: “The one thing that we talked about in the team (meeting) was our peaks have been unbelievable - this is some of the highest peaks that I've seen over the course of season. But the valley, we had a couple valleys are way too low. 

"So consistency, how do you get that?''

Analyzing the film from the Bills loss wouldn't have been fun, but now the focus must turn to Miami and all the narratives that currently surround this Dallas team ... some waiting to be vanquished with a win.

The Cowboys are 3-4 on the road and struggle to contain offenses with a good run game; the Dolphins are 6-1 at home and possess the fourth-best rushing attack in the NFL (139 yards per game) and also lead the league in rushing touchdowns (26).

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Coincidently, Miami coach Mike McDaniel's team faces a similar type of narrative, with the "who have they beaten" line getting rolled out again this week, despite being 10-4 on the season. They, too, can squash that narrative by beating Dallas.

Will McCarthy and the Cowboys use the loss to Buffalo as motivation and strike gold at Hard Rock Stadium on Sunday? And by "gold,'' with all due respect to McCarthy, we mean a "win.''