NFC Notes: Fletcher Cox, Sam Howell, Mike McCarthy, Commanders, Cowboys, Eagles

Commanders

Former Commanders HC Ron Rivera feels he made a mistake by naming Sam Howell their immediate starter following the 2022 season and put too much on the second-year quarterback’s shoulders. 

“I think that was probably one of the mistakes I made this year. The biggest one I think I made was I put way too much on him, and he didn’t deserve to have that put on him. He’s a good, young quarterback who has some talent and some ability. I think that’s something I should have backed off,” Rivera said, via CommandersWire. 

Rivera thinks he should’ve indicated that Howell would get the first opportunity to start but he wasn’t their dedicated QB1. 

“[Howell] was going to be the first guy to get the opportunity to be Q1, not that he was QB1,” Rivera said. 

Cowboys

Cowboys HC Mike McCarthy said he believes in the ownership and direction of the team and reiterates that his goal is to win a championship in Dallas.

“I believe that the direction, the leadership, everything is in place,” McCarthy said, via ESPN’s Todd Archer. “And I’m not very comfortable talking about myself, but I came here to win a championship. I didn’t come here to get another contract or anything other than that. I came to Dallas to win a world championship, and that’s why I’m standing here. Buy into us.”

McCarthy admitted that he didn’t enter the meeting believing that his job was potentially on the line.

“I’ll be honest with you: The only thing I worry about is my family,” McCarthy said. “I’m extremely confident in who I am. I can’t say that enough. So I’m confident in what we’ve done here and I have great confidence where we’re going. That’s really how the meeting ended. And not only where we’re going but we’ve got work to do. The job’s not finished yet. And we both know that.”

McCarthy also reiterated his confidence in Cowboys QB Dak Prescott and said that he’s the answer at the quarterback position for them.

“I believe in Dak Prescott. I think he’s clearly the answer,” McCarthy said. “He’s part of the solution moving forward, and I think, as difficult as this time is right now, when we can work through this emotional period that we’re in, we’ll continue to build off of what he brings to the table.”

McCarthy is adamant the team has the necessary pieces in place to get over the playoff threshold.

“We have established a championship program. It’s just not a world championship yet,” McCarthy said. “We know how to win. We know how to train to win. We have the right people, but we have not crossed the threshold winning playoff games. It’s extremely disappointing to be sitting here talking about, but I know how to win. We will get over that threshold.”

• Texas Tech CB Rayshad Williams met with the Cowboys at the Hula Bowl. (Ryan Fowler)

Eagles

Eagles’ veteran DT Fletcher Cox, who is an impending free agent, said he doesn’t have a specific timeline for a decision about whether to continue his career. 

“There’s no timeline. There’s kind of no thoughts going in my head at all about … I love this game,” said Cox, via Olivia Reiner of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I give this everything I got every week in and week out. I try to be the best teammate, the best leader I can. And really the best mentor for these young guys. Love being around them. They kind of make me feel young, like I said earlier. So it’s been exciting. And like I said, it’s gonna be one of them things I really got to think about. Haven’t thought about it yet. But we’ll see.”

When asked about Cox’s future, Eagles DT Jordan Davis sounded more sure that the veteran wouldn’t be back for next season. 

“I knew it was coming,” Davis said. “But I didn’t know it was gonna come this early. When you watch a guy growing up, it’s kind of like your hero. And so I got a chance to work with him every day. Very fortunate. And we got to see him walk away. Granted, he walked away on his own terms, which is a lot better than a lot of people can say in this league… But when you have to watch him walk away, it kind of hurts. It stings. And it hurts me more so because I didn’t get a chance to send him out the right way. Didn’t get to send him out riding into the sunset. It’s kind of like we crashed and burned and he got to walk out. He got to limp out. He got to crawl out.”

Cox feels like he proved he’s still a dominant defensive tackle in 2023. 

“When you turn the tape on, I feel like I dominated games, took over games and, number one, was a good teammate, good leader,” Cox said.