Cowboys' McCarthy disappointed he won't face Rodgers: 'This is tough'

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy has mixed emotions heading into Sunday's matchup against the New York Jets.

McCarthy was set to face Aaron Rodgers, with whom he coached for 13 seasons in Green Bay and won a Super Bowl. But that'll no longer be the case after the Jets quarterback suffered a season-ending torn Achilles.

"Yeah, I've definitely reached out to him," McCarthy said Wednesday, according to Nick Harris of DallasCowboys.com. "It's great to compete against people you care about. Him and I have been through a lot together. I have a tremendous amount of love for him. This is tough. I know he was very excited about this chapter in his life, and I was looking forward to seeing him this weekend."

Rodgers was injured on the fourth snap of his regular-season debut with the Jets. He announced on his Instagram stories Thursday that he underwent surgery a day earlier and that it "went great."

While McCarthy is disappointed Rodgers won't be playing in Sunday's game, he remains focused on getting a win.

"I mean, that's only natural to want to play against a great player," he said. "But at the end of the day, we need to get to 2-0. Our focus has been good today. That's what we're looking at."