Desperate for a way to inspire the Dallas Cowboys, Mike McCarthy used a Gallagher routine and smashed a number of watermelons with a sledgehammer this past Saturday night.

A number of players also joined in as McCarthy looked to hammer home points of emphasis.

The Cowboys beat the Minnesota Vikings 31-28 on Sunday, snapping a four-game losing streak.

"It was just all part of the messaging," McCarthy said. "We had a number of points of emphasis that we were trying to hit, so a number of guys got to participate, and once again I'd say it was a lot of fun. It was well received."

Not only was the sledgehammer brought on the team plane -- "That's the beauty of flying charter," McCarthy said jokingly -- so were the watermelons.

"We had to actually take our own watermelons with us because it's a little harder to find big watermelons in Minneapolis this time of year than Dallas, from what I was told," he said. "So a lot of planning goes into that, and most importantly, we were able to get it done right and the cleanup was efficient. The hotel was a little concerned there."

Andy Dalton doesn't remember everything about the play that knocked out off the field because of a concussion earlier this season, but the quarterback remembers everything about dealing with the coronavirus.

"The COVID, it hit me hard the first day I had it, then it gradually started feeling better," Dalton said. "By the end of it, I was ready to get out of quarantine and get back up here."

Dalton said he thought he was over the concussion symptoms when he was diagnosed with COVID-19, which brought on a different type of headache. Dalton is not sure how he contracted the virus but said his wife, JJ, and one of his sons also tested positive. Two of his children did not.

"Everybody is good now," Dalton said. "So we're all healthy and back to normal."

Andy Dalton cleared the concussion and reserve/COVID-19 protocols and was a full participant in Monday's short practice with the Dallas Cowboys.

Dalton suffered a concussion in the Cowboys' Oct. 25 loss to the Washington Football Team and was placed on the NFL's reserve/COVID-19 list on Nov. 3.

Mike McCarthy did not want to say whether Dalton would start Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings, but executive vice president Stephen Jones said last week Dalton, if healthy, would return to the starting role.

"We've got to get through the whole week of practice," McCarthy said. "He hasn't been involved in a couple of weeks now. He looked good today, so we'll take it one day at a time."

The Dallas Cowboys have issued a public vote of confidence in both Dak Prescott and Mike McCarthy.

Dallas is 2-7 amid a four-game losing streak.

Stephen Jones was asked whether McCarthy would be safe regardless of how the season ends, he said, "Absolutely. Unequivocal."

Jones once again said Prescott is in the long-term plans of the team even though he is recovering from a compound fracture and dislocation of his right ankle that required season-ending surgery.

Prescott was guaranteed $31.4 million on the franchise tag in 2020 and the two sides were unable to reach an agreement on a long-term deal last July. Should the Cowboys use the franchise tag on Prescott in 2021, it would cost $37.7 million.

The Dallas Cowboys will turn to either Garrett Gilbert or Cooper Rush at quarterback this weekend against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Ben DiNucci completed 21 of 40 passes for 180 yards with four sacks and two lost fumbles in his first start against the Philadelphia Eagles last Sunday night.

"Obviously Ben's experience Sunday night, I think we all knew the facts going into it, the speed of the game, the challenges that were presented to him," Mike McCarthy said. "I just felt with the opponent that we're playing, we need some more experience at that position."

The Dallas Cowboys are reeling in the wake of Dak Prescott's season-ending injury.

Jerry Jones admitted that he could see prioritizing younger players with an eye toward the future, but the effort still has to be there on the field.

"Tanking has nothing to do with the performance of a player, the performance of a coach, the performance of getting better, the performance of the things you do to try to win the ballgame in my mind," Jones said."Could you make a decision to play a younger player more or a player that you're going to be pretty firm that you're going to be going forward with in contract wise than a different situation? And the answer is I can see that. Yeah. I can see that you make sure that you get these guys those reps. The only way to have and get better in the NFL is for reps, and game reps are precious, hard to come by."