This off-season, the Dallas Cowboys traded for Houston Texans leading wide receiver Brandin Cooks and in a recent interview, he recapped winning the season finale in 2022.

With the No. 1 draft pick seemingly in their hands, entering the final week of the regular season, all Houston had to do was finish Week 18 with a loss.

However, Cooks didn’t allow his teammates to go through the motions, leading the team with 106 receiving yards and a touchdown; he described his mindset on Adam Schefter’s podcast.

“You never suit up to lose, right?” Cook said. “That No. 1 pick is out there, but at the end of the day, you go out between those white lines you’re putting out your resume, so as a competitor, you’re not going out there saying, ‘I’m not going to give them my all because I want the Texans to have the No. 1 pick.’

“You go out there, you give it your all, and let the chips fall where they fall … We don’t play to lose, at least from a player’s standpoint.”

Clearly not a fit for a rebuilding organization hoping to acquire early draft capital, Cooks would be traded to the Cowboys during the offseason. This team appreciates his winning mindset more than the fifth and sixth-round selections they gave up for him.

Entering 2023, the Cowboys are fresh off of a second-place finish in the NFC East and are hoping to capitalize on Cooks’ mentality as they attempt to dethrone their divisional rival, the 2022 NFC Champions, the Philadelphia Eagles.

As the No. 2 receiving option behind CeeDee Lamb, Dallas has a chance at holding both the most explosive offense and defense throughout the league next season, in part thanks to Cooks’ gritty ‘Never Give Up’ mindset.