Cowboys vs Packers: The good, the bad, and the ugly from the Wild Card round
The playoff curse strikes again as the Dallas Cowboys lose. The 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card round signals yet another early exit from the postseason, one that could bring quite a few changes to the organization in the coming days and weeks.
Speculation had already begun about Mike McCarthy’s tenure as the Dallas Cowboys head coach possibly coming to an end even before a single snap was played against the Green Bay Packers. The way the Cowboys ended up losing by completely being dominated by the Packers should only add more fuel to the speculation.
This year’s Dallas Cowboys team was far too talented to go out the way they did. There will be a lot of tough decisions that will need to be made this offseason, which should make for an interesting next several months. Before we start thinking too much about the future though, let’s take a look back at the good, bad, and ugly from the Wild Card round.
THE GOOD – Jake Ferguson
It doesn’t mean much considering the outcome of the game, but the Dallas Cowboys second-year tight end ended up having a career day in the Wild Card round Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium. He caught 10 passes for 93 yards and three touchdowns against the Green Bay Packers stingy defense. Granted, some of that came in garbage time. If not for that production, Dallas’ embarrassing loss would’ve been by a much larger margin. As far as silver linings go, Jake Ferguson pretty much stands alone as one of the bright spots for the Cowboys. He did all he could do to help his team, but unfortunately it wasn’t enough.
THE BAD – Micah Parsons and Company
It was pretty much bad all around for the Dallas Cowboys in all three phases of the game, but defensively Micah Parsons and his teammates had no answers for the Green Bay Packers offense. They allowed Aaron Jones to run all over them to the tune of 118 yards on 21 carries and three touchdowns and also gave up a jaw-dropping 151 receiving yards on six catches and a touchdown to WR Romeo Doubs. For a defensive unit that has been one of the best in the entire league in the regular-season, they looked completely lost and unprepared in this Wild Card round matchup against the Packers.
THE UGLY – Mike McCarthy and Dan Quinn
As poorly as the Dallas Cowboys players performed on the field, both Mike McCarthy and Dan Quinn were equally as ugly from the sidelines and the booth with their play-calling and game preparation. McCarthy could never figure out how to crack Green Bay’s defense and Dan Quinn couldn’t come up with any answers of how to stop the Packers offense. This could quite possibly be the last we see both of these coaches. Quinn is a hot commodity as a head-coaching candidate and McCarthy could possibly receive his pink slip after one of the most embarrassing playoff losses Dallas has ever experienced.