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Takeaways from Packers-Cowboys: It's soul-searching time in Dallas

Green Bay Packers quarterback Jordan Love (10) reacts after a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys in the first quarter for a NFC wild card game at AT&T Stadium. Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Takeaways from Packers-Cowboys playoff game: It's soul-searching time in Dallas

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 1/15/24

The No. 7 seed Green Bay Packers ran roughshod over the No. 2 seed Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, embarrassing them on their home turf to advance to the NFC divisional round.

Here are three takeaways from the Packers’ unexpected wild-card blowout.

1. Jordan Love is the real deal

The Love of the first seven games of the season isn’t the same player we’ve seen since the beginning of November.

Through Week 8, Love averaged 213 yards passing per game with 11 touchdowns, eight interceptions and a passer rating of 81.1 and the Packers were 2-5.

But since Week 9, Love has averaged 267 yards passing per game with 24 touchdowns, three interceptions and a passer rating of 113.4, including Sunday’s playoff win, and the Packers are 8-3.

In his first full season as Green Bay’s starter, Love won more games, threw for more yards and more touchdowns with fewer interceptions and a better passer rating than both Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre. Oh, and he did something neither did in their first year either: lead the Packers to a playoff win.

First season as a starter

Love: 9-8 record, 4,159 yards, 32 touchdowns, 11 interceptions, 96.1 passer rating

Rodgers: 6-10 record, 4,038 yards, 28 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 93.8 passer rating

Favre: 8-5 record, 3,227 yards, 18 touchdowns, 13 interceptions, 85.3 passer rating

Jordan Love is the first QB ever to have a perfect passer rating (158.3) in his playoff debut pic.twitter.com/FYajW1iLFs
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) January 15, 2024

2. Jerry Jones cannot give Dak Prescott a mega extension

Elite quarterbacks elevate their teams in the postseason. It can be argued that’s when Prescott most gets in the Cowboys’ way. He’s led Dallas to the playoffs in five of his eight seasons but has just a 2-5 record to show for it.

In his seven postseason games, Prescott averages 280 yards passing per game with 14 touchdowns and seven interceptions, but both his completion percentage (67% in regular season, 64% in playoffs) and passer rating (99 in regular season, 84 in playoffs) get worse.

Prescott’s pick-six in the final two minutes of the first half was the defining moment in the game. It put Green Bay up 27-0 and put the Cowboys in their largest home deficit in 55 years.

Aside from two garbage-time touchdown passes to Jake Ferguson near the end of the fourth quarter, Prescott was more of a liability than anything on Sunday.

Dak Prescott is now 2-5 in 7 career playoff games.

Out of 169 playoff QBs with at least one win, only 7 have a worse winning percentage.

Dak’s 2 wins? 18-15 combined opponent record, lowest win percentage in playoff wins among 109 QBs to win multiple games.

Yikes.
— Brandon Lee Gowton (@BrandonGowton) January 15, 2024

Prescott is under contract for one more season with a $59.45M cap hit. He’s proven time and time again that he’s not the QB who’s going to make the Cowboys a Super Bowl contender.

If owner Jerry Jones is wise, he’ll let Prescott play out that year (it’d cost $61.9M in dead cap to cut him this offseason) and he’ll either start prepping Trey Lance to take over in 2025 or he’ll draft Prescott’s replacement in April.

3. Mike McCarthy ain’t that guy

Much like Prescott, McCarthy is all sizzle and no steak when it comes to the postseason. The 60-year-old coach has led the Cowboys to three straight 12-5 seasons, but all three years have ended in heartbreaking fashion, two of which involved losing to a lower seed during Super Wild Card Weekend.

McCarthy had the same problem during his last few years with the Packers. After leading them to a Super Bowl championship in 2010, McCarthy never made it past the NFC Championship game in any of the next six seasons. With Dallas, he’s never even made it past the divisional round.

Despite not winning a Super Bowl since 1995, it’s clear Jones expects excellence from his team. He’s run through five head coaches since then, with only Jason Garrett lasting longer than four seasons, which exactly how long McCarthy has been with the team.

Though he’s still under contract for one more year, no one would be surprised if Jones fired McCarthy as early as Monday morning and began looking for his successor.

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