Ron Rivera might “bring a sledgehammer and smash some pumpkins”

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The Cowboys broke a four-game losing streak Sunday with a 31-28 victory over the Vikings. Afterward, it was revealed that Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy paid tribute to the comedian Gallagher by smashing watermelons with a sledgehammer to motivate his team.

Washington coach Ron Rivera might steal the idea.

Rivera’s team has scored only 33 points in the first quarter this season, with no points on an opening drive. It has scored 74 points in the fourth quarter.

So Rivera was asked how he could get his team started faster against the Cowboys.

“I think the truth of the matter is the biggest thing is we have to make plays when we get opportunities,” Rivera said Tuesday. “If you look at the opportunities that we’ve had in games to either get off the field as a defense or to put the ball in the end zone as an offense, that to me is really the biggest deal more than anything else.

“I can bring in a sledgehammer and smash pumpkins. But to be honest with you guys, it’s neither here nor there. A start is a start. Sometimes you finish them off and sometimes you don’t. We’ll see what happens. We work on things, we work on our scripts, we work on our plays and then we come out in the second half and we call the same play, we call the same defenses and we play better. We’ll see what happens come Thursday.”