Dallas Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett says now that he was actually encouraged by the team’s Week 1 loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
After that game, many experts were predicting that Dallas would be one of the worst teams in the league in 2014, and for good reason. That game saw the 49ers jump out to a 28-3 lead at halftime. They finished with the 28-17 win, which saw three interceptions from Tony Romo and a fumble lost by DeMarco Murray.
But Garrett looked past the ugliness, opting instead to focus on the potential of his team.
"I'm the only guy around that I know who felt good after the San Francisco game," Garrett said, per ESPN Dallas. "When I watched that game in detail--and I told our team this--I said, 'That game told me what we were capable of doing. But it also told me what we had to do as a football team.' If you remember in that game, we turned the ball over three times against a really good football team, and they took advantage of it. They beat us. They beat us handily. But we also did some positive things. We did a good job on defense, slowing them down. We ran the ball fairly well against a good defensive team.
“To me, if you get in there and you say, 'Let's take these plays away. Let's not play that way to give good teams these kinds of opportunities. Let's go play this way. Let's defend the run. Let's run the ball. Let's take advantage of some opportunities in the passing game when we get some favorable looks to throw it. That's the kind of team we can be.' I expressed that to our staff after the game. I expressed that to our team."
Stay on top of the latest Dallas Cowboys news with NBCDFW.com. Follow NBC DFW on Facebook or have breaking Cowboys news sent directly to your phone with Blue Star SMS alerts. Text "bluestar" to 622339 (NBCDFW) to subscribe, text HELP for more info, and text STOP to end the subscription. Message and data rates may apply.Read more about it here.
