Landover, Maryland - Mike McCarthy guaranteed a victory.

He does not guarantee that it will be beautiful.

Therefore, when the Cowboys started four division games in five weeks, they accepted a fierce game and almost lost the game against the seriously injured Washington team.

"Winning a close match is very important," McCarthy said of the 27-20 decision. "To be honest: if you want to be a playoff team, you want to win in the playoffs, you want to reach your ultimate goal, you have to win those games.

"That's why the divisional games and the playoffs come together."

The level of the game, especially on the offensive end, is far from playoff football. But the defensive splash performance, especially the high mood, reminded the first two teams in the NFC East: the right to brag is at hand.

This was obvious on Thursday, when McCarthy said he was "confident" and "we will win." Obviously, on Friday, owner Jerry Jones doubled down on McCarthy’s declaration, and on Saturday, the heated and cooled sideline benches with the Cowboys logo were sent to the sidelines of FedEx Stadium.

On Sunday, when skirmishes arose between players and fans, the stakes became obvious.

"That's it," said Washington linebacker Chase Holcomb, his No. 6 draft pick Duck Prescott reduced the score to one point in the fourth quarter. "It's Dallas. We hate them. They hate us. They can do whatever they want.

"I really don't give [expletive]."

Sometimes, maybe the energy of the Cowboys is too much. In the second possession of the fourth quarter, Prescott caught the fast break with 10:40 left in the game and began to overcome the oncoming pressure. He scrambled to get ahead while aiming for Wil Bradley King on the defensive end. Then Prescott ran to the sideline, throwing a ball 10 yards away at Amari Cooper before each out of bounds.

Bradley King, who had been chasing at full speed, pushed Prescott to the sideline. The advancement is not obviously rough, later than a reasonable real-time speed, and not to a restricted area like Prescott's head. But the Cowboys' sideline is preparing for a surprise attack.

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As Elliott continued to recover from his knee injury, McCarthy took a break in all games in the second half, and Ezekiel Elliott brought Bradley King back to the field. superior. From the other side of the end, right tackle La'el Collins participated. Elliott and Collins continued to push each other, Elliott's helmet was knocked off in the skirmish, and Collins waved to Bradley King.

"I'm here just to protect my quarterback at all costs. This is the bottom line," Collins said after the game. "You don't take cheap measures against men. We don't play that type of game. We just arrange it and go out to play. We don't play dirty, we don't do anything.

"In the final analysis, we will not accept any [expletive]."

Collins' teammates embraced the fighting spirit, and Prescott thanked Collins during and after the game. Prescott said that instinct reflects the willingness of teammates to protect and support their "brothers." McCarthy initially recognized this sentiment, and then learned to punch, he clarified that this does not prove the discipline the team needs.

However, although Prescott views the sidelines of Collins and Elliott as a show of brotherhood and loyalty, he understands that his offense does not provide the same reliability on the court. For the second game in a row, Prescott said the victory was "thanks to defense." He praised them for intercepting an interception after Prescott's initial pass in the first quarter, which gave him the opportunity to design the Cowboys' only touchdown in just three seconds after he coughed.

Prescott appreciated how his defense forced and recovered the third turnover of the day, because he not only gave Holcomb the sixth pick, but also failed to immediately get the first batting. Washington scored 27. The score of -20 is 3 minutes behind to play. On the day the offense failed to get out of the downturn, the defensive team once again released them on bail, four takeouts, one touchdown, five sacks and eight quarterback hits.

Prescott said: "Even if I throw a terrible intercept and they knock it back, this team hasn't flinched (that) we will win." "I think it just shows our resilience and our Performance in difficult divisional games, and when we have a chance, we don't necessarily nail a nail in the coffin.

"When the offensive team turned the ball around, got them back and made a mistake, their belief in themselves and what they had instilled in this team... They were playing the lights out game."

The Cowboys offense will play a light-off game in the Giants next week, and then host the Washington team for a divisional round robin in the next game. Prescott is eager to turn his frustration into improved decision-making and fundamentals. On Sunday, he stated that his shortcomings—Dallas’ passing, running, and protection all showed obvious shortcomings—will be easier to resolve after winning. .

McCarthy, who won the Super Bowl in Green Bay, said that he believes that 10 victories are a threshold for serious consideration and discussion of playoff hopes. If the Cowboys lead the Giants by 4-9, they might reach that standard next week. According to statistical data analyst FiveThirtyEight, their playoff chances have exceeded 99%. According to FiveThirtyEight's model, the Cowboys' three-game lead in the division gives them a 95% chance of winning the NFC East.

But for a team that started 6-1 after signing a $160 million contract with Prescott in March, just making the playoffs is not their goal. The Cowboys saw their high-intensity offensive capabilities earlier this year. Prescott's 16:4 touchdown interception ratio before the team's goodbye was a far cry from his 4:5 interception in the past four games.

The Cowboys’ excellent defense shows the league’s interception leader (Trevan Diggs, 9 times), and also has DeMarcus Lawrence, Randy Gregory and Mika Parsons three dangerous Passer. The players led by Prescott insisted that their determination to rediscover the rhythm of offense did not weaken their confidence.

This is why McCarthy insisted in advance that his team will win in Washington. The Cowboys believe their winning trend will continue, warts and so on.

"We are a group of confident people," Prescott said. "I'm very confident. I know this defense is very confident, this offense is very confident, obviously our coach is also very confident. That's why he said that.

"I assure you that we care more about what we are doing than the outside world. I know that I know. I know that the players and coaches on the field know. All of these we can get better and learn from it, in a winning situation It’s much better to do it under."

Follow Jori Epstein of USA TODAY Sports on Twitter @JoriEpstein.