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."