What we learned in Cowboys blowout playoff loss to Packers

This year was supposed to be different for the Dallas Cowboys.

The experience of the past two seasons was supposed to yield a different outcome.

It did.

Rather than one-score losses to the San Francisco 49ers was the case following the 2021 and 2022 seasons, the Cowboys set a record for playoff futility in a 48-32 no show performance against the Green Bay Packers in the NFC wild-card game.

And it was wasn’t nearly as close as the score suggests.

The Cowboys fell behind 27-0 in the first half half thanks to two interceptions by quarterback Dak Prescott.

By the time they up a franchise playoff record 48th point with more than 10 minutes left in the fourth quarter, the majority of the Cowboys fan base — which started booing in the third quarter — had already headed for the exits leaving the Packers fans there to celebrate at AT&T Stadium.

“We came in with the mindset we were going to dominate,” quarterback Jordan Love said in a Fox postgame show.

And dominate they did in what was Love’s first playoff start.

Owner Jerry Jones was shocked as anyone. He said he was floored by not only the outcome but by the play of his team in what was the second biggest playoff upset loss of Jones’ tenure as owner.

But this one hurt worse because he really thought team had a chance to end the franchise’s 28-year Super Bowl gap.

“This is my most surprising and most painful playoff loss,” Jones said. “This was beyond comprehension.”

Mike McCarthy became the first coach in franchise history to lead the team to three straight 12-win seasons.

But after Sunday’s no-show by the offense and defense, which offered little resistance to the Packers and Love, there is a question of whether McCarthy might be fired.

The Cowboys are the first team to win 12 games in 3 straight seasons and fail to make the conference championship in any of them.That is since the AFC & NFC created in 1970 Merger.

McCarthy has one year left on his contract and discussions on his future will begin in the coming days, if not hours.

Jones said he has not given one thought to McCarthy status as head coach.

And McCarthy had no answers when asked he thought he would be back in 2024. He was still shell shocked.

The Cowboys were 16-0 at home since 2022 and were 8-0 at AT&T Stadium in 2023. They came into the game as the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs and were a heavy favorite against a 9-8 Packers team.

“I don’t think anyone saw this coming,” McCarthy said. “We did not play to our capabilities the way we’ve been playing, particularly at home, and we’re disappointed.”

“I think the biggest thing is we’re disappointed,” McCarthy added when asked again about his future. “I haven’t thought past the outcome of this game.”

The same is true for defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, who is a candidate for jobs with the Washington Commanders, Los Angeles Chargers, Carolina Panthers and Seattle Seahawks.

His unit had no answers for Love, who completed 16 of 21 passes for 272 yards and three touchdowns with a near-perfect quarterback rating of 157.2

The Packers have never lost at AT&T Stadium, where they are 6-0, including a 3-0 mark in the playoffs with two wins against the Cowboys and one in the Super Bowl following the 2010 season when McCarthy was the Green Bay coach.

Speaking of Super Bowls, the Cowboys are now headed into their 29th season with no trips to the Super Bowl or the NFC title game since their last title in 1995.

“This is a hurtful loss,” McCarthy said. “You know we put ourselves in position to play a home playoff game. We had a great opportunity, felt really good about the week of preparation. You know, so we thought we matched up well. But, you know, we clearly picked a wrong day to have a bad day.”

What we learned in Dallas Cowboys shocking loss to the Green Bay Packers in the wild-card playoffs:

Prescott returns to land of interceptions

Prescott was back on track before the postseason. He didn’t have as many interceptions as he did in 2022 when he led the NFL with 15 in 12.

He didn’t even have 10, and led the led the NFL with 36 touchdowns to just 9 picks.

But those interceptions raised their ugly head in the biggest game of the season as Prescott was seemingly off kilter from the outset.

He just missed CeeDee Lamb on a third down play on opening drive of the game.

The second time the Cowboys had the ball, Prescott was picked off by cornerback Jaire Alexander who bullied in front of receiver Brandon Cooks to make a diving interception.

And with the Cowboys down 20-0, a late push for a score before the half ended in disaster when safety Darnell Savage jumped in front of pass to Lamb and returned it 64 yards to the end zone to make the score 27-0 with 1:50 left in the first half.

Prescott had no passing yards in the first quarter and ended the first half 13 of 21 for 87 yards a touchdown and two picks.

His second half numbers were respectable, but it was too little, way too late.

The Cowboys needed Prescott to be Prescott from the outset.

And now the Cowboys are faced with the question of what to do about his contract following a season when he made second-team NFL All-Pro and will likely finish in the top five MVP balloting.

He is now 2-5 in the postseason and has yet to come up big in big moments.

Prescott has a $59 million cap figure for 2024 in what is the last year of his contract. They need to extend him to free up money to sign other players.

But is that the prudent thing to do if you franchise quarterback can’t get your team over the hump in the playoffs?

That’s one of many questions the Cowboys will need to answer.

Prescott admitted he didn’t play up to this or anyone’s standards.

“I sucked,” Prescott said. “Obviously I didn’t play well. And that’s it. … It’s about winning, and winning in the playoffs.”

Prescott went a step further and said anyone who questions McCarthy’s future should question his as well.

“I don’t know it can be, but I understand the business,” Prescott said. “In that case, it should be about me as well honestly. I’ve had the season I’ve had because of him. Add me to the list.”

CeeDee Lamb a non factor when it mattered

The surest thing the Cowboys hope to have against the Packers Lamb, who had been unstable in 2023 with a league-high 135 receptions.

Lamb opened the game not on the same page with Prescott. He just missed a third down pass on the opening drive of the game. He added a drop later on.

Lamb didn’t catch a in the first quarter. The Cowboys fell behind 14-0, thanks to a pick headed in his direction. And it was 20-0 before he became even a factor in the game.

The final numbers were respectable, but the Cowboys needed their best receiver the most after a season when he made first-team All-Pro — and in this game he was a non factor.

Lamb finished with 9 catches for 110 yards and no touchdowns.

“We credit them for some of the early looks,” Prescott said. “Disguising how they’re going to play him and then late after the snap, moving and obviously not giving me the same picture that they were pre snap as they did post snap. Once we got it going, once again it was too late. But it was CeeDee as his usual, CeeDee going and making plays.”

Defense no-shows, had no answers for Jones and Love

The Cowboys came into Sunday’s game focused on stopping running back Aaron Jones and the Packers on the ground.

Although Jones had two touchdowns in the first half, the Cowboys held up OK on the ground for the most part.

It was the pass defense that proved to the problem as the Cowboys had no answer for Love in his first career playoff start.

Micah Parsons and the pass rush rarely got any pressure on Love, who repeatedly found wide open receivers in the secondary.

He often left the Cowboys dazed and confused, forcing a timeout on defense when they couldn’t get the personnel off the field fast and enough.

And then on his only touchdown of the first half, a 20-yard strike to Dontayvion Hicks, the Cowboys showed blitz. And even when Love checked to a new play, the defense stayed with the same call, and he found Hicks in the back of the end zone against Stephon Gilmore.

Love completed 13 of 16 passes for 185 yards in the first half, when Jones had 12 carries for 30 yards on the ground.

As bad as things were in the first half for the Cowboys defense, it was worse after intermission.

The offense scored on opening two drives of the second half in an attempt to get back in the game but the defense offered no resistance.

Love continued to find wide open receivers and when Jones got it going on the ground, the Cowboys were rendered helpless.

Jones, a native of El Paso who played college ball at UTEP, had 115 yards on 19 carries and three touchdowns. It was his fourth career games in his many starts with 100 yards on the ground against the Cowboys.

Romeo Doubs had six catches for 151 yards and a touchdown.

“Clearly, the best thing they did was the deep play action game,” McCarthy said. “Obviously, the protection was there. He was able to buy time and extend plays. We just give up too many.”

This story was originally published January 14, 2024, 7:15 PM.

Clarence E. Hill Jr. has covered the Dallas Cowboys as a beat writer/columnist for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram since 1997. That includes just two playoff wins, six coaches and countless controversies from the demise of the dynasty teams of the 1990s through the rollercoaster years of the Tony Romo era until Jason Garrett’s process Cowboys.