FRISCO, Texas -- The Dallas Cowboys will have a different kind of film session after Wednesday's practice.
The Cowboys will watch the Pittsburgh Steelers-Baltimore Ravens game by position groups at The Star in preparation for their meeting against the Ravens next Tuesday.
"To be able to watch them play live, I think will be a little benefit if we did it together," coach Mike McCarthy said. "I thought it's a unique opportunity. We've all watched Monday night games before, but rarely do you get to watch a game live after you're two days into your preparation."
The Cowboys have enough room at The Star and Ford Center to continue to follow the NFL's COVID-19 protocols to have in-person meetings. The Star was closed on Monday and Tuesday, per league-wide rules, but the team held their first meetings for Baltimore virtually and will go through a lighter-than-normal Wednesday practice.
The Steelers and Ravens kick off Wednesday at 3:45 p.m. ET.
"Schematically, all of us in the NFL, you are who you are conceptually. You're going to attack your opponent from a similar platform, but utilization of personnel is really the question that we'll obviously look at today when they play Pittsburgh," McCarthy said. "But I feel like our personnel department has done a really good job trying to track the personnel of who may be next week and so forth. That's really what the big question will be as we move forward. But our schematic preparation and how we plan on playing, that process, we're in Day 2 of that."
On Thursday, the Cowboys will take part virtually in a memorial service for strength and conditioning coordinator Markus Paul, who died last week. Paul's family will be at the church for the service.
"[Thursday] will be more dedicated to Markus Paul, then after that we'll try to get into a normal flow of a normal game plan week as we get ready for Baltimore," McCarthy said.
The Cowboys were originally scheduled to play Baltimore on Thursday, but because of the Ravens' COVID outbreak, the game was moved to Tuesday. The Cowboys have a 1 p.m. ET kickoff the following week at the Cincinnati Bengals, which could be viewed as a disadvantage.
"I view it as the state of the times. Some people may be upset. It's totally something none of us can control," McCarthy said. "I have spent more time trying to get the schedule right. We have spent the majority of our time as a team to make sure we have the preparation correct. You can over-prepare for games. That is something you have to guard against.
"There are so many moving targets here because of the state the league is in. Our outlook is we have to be prepared to play on any day of the week moving forward. That is our mindset. As a staff, it's our job to get the team trained and prepared to win a football game regardless of what day it's played. That is the mindset we are in right now."