The Green Bay Packers had it going from the get against the Dallas Cowboys on the road during Sunday’s NFC Wild Card Playoff game.
Green Bay opened up a 27-0 lead in the second quarter by virtue of two Dak Prescott interceptions, including a pick-six. Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was sick to his stomach as his team humiliated itself to open this one.
While Dallas did score 10 consecutive points to close the second quarter and open the second half, the Packers drove down the field for a touchdown to pretty much put this one away. From there, it was a meltdown of epic proportions for Dallas.
Jordan Love completely outplayed Prescott. The young Packers went into Big D, opening up a 48-16 lead before garbage-time fourth quarter points from Dallas resulted in a misleading 48-32 Packers win.
For Dallas, this likely means the end of the road as it relates to head coach Mike McCarthy’s tenure. The team is still without a conference championship game appearance since 1996. Changes are in store for this organization moving forward. This also makes McCarthy a loser without having to write much more about that.
Here, we look at four other winners and losers from Green Bay’s blowout win over the Packers.
Related: Dallas Cowboys head coach candidates to replace Mike McCarthy
Winner: Jordan Love makes a splash in NFL Playoff debut with stellar performance
Jordan Love entered his fourth season in the NFL with major questions. He was set to replace franchise legend Aaron Rodgers as the Packers’ QB1. He had started all of one game in his first three seasons. Could he be the franchise quarterback? We found out that answer in more ways than one against the Cowboys on Sunday.
Love had full control of the game, completing 16-of-21 passes for 272 yards with three touchdowns and zero interceptions. In the process, he nearly became just the fifth quarterback in NFL Playoff history with a perfect 158.3 QB rating before throwing an incomplete pass in garbage time.
The former Utah State star had been brilliant to conclude the regular season, throwing 18 touchdowns against one interception in his final eight games. He took that to a new level, and has Green Bay looking extremely dangerous heading into the NFC Divisional Playoffs against the San Francisco 49ers.
Related: Dak Presott’s standing among NFL starting quarterbacks
Loser: More questions about Dak Prescott’s ability to lead the Dallas Cowboys
The NFC Wild Card Playoffs following the 2022 season saw Prescott make a boneheaded mistake late to cost Dallas against the rival San Francisco 49ers. Last January included Prescott throwing two interceptions in yet another loss to the 49ers in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.
Prescott knew that he was under pressure heading into Sunday’s game against Green Bay. He knew he had to deliver. About that?
How atrocious can you be? Veteran quarterbacks can’t telegraph passes like that. It’s just not acceptable. This was a common theme for Prescott throughout the game. Whether it was throwing picks or taking sacks with Dallas in scoring position, Dak just didn’t come to play in the playoffs again. It will lead to further questions about his ability to lead Dallas to a big win.
Related: NFL Playoff and Super Bowl predictions
Winner: Aaron Jones has Green Bay Packers offense looking unstoppable
After struggling with nagging injuries throughout a majority of the regular season, Jones did his thing over the final three games in helping Green Bay earn a surprise playoff appearance. That included the Pro Bowler tallying 358 yards over this span.
Jones was even better Sunday against Dallas, going for 118 yards and three touchdowns on 21 attempts. The dude was an absolute force, dominating the ‘Boys defense in every way possible.
If Jones is able to provide this type of balance for Green Bay next week in San Francisco, the Packers are obviously going to have a fighting chance against the top seed in the NFC. The dude has been a man on a mission over the past month.
Related: NFL defense rankings
Loser: Dan Quinn’s Dallas Cowboys defense absolutely humiliated
For most of the regular season, Dallas’ defense was among the best in football. In fact, Dan Quinn’s unit finished in the top-five in points allowed. Sure, there were some struggles against the run late in the regular year. But we’re talking about a ball-hawking defense that put this squad in position to win pretty much every game.
Talk about succumbing to the pressure of the NFL Playoffs. Dallas ended up giving up its most points in franchise playoff history. It yielded 413 total yards and 22 first downs. The Packers’ converted on 6-of-8 third-down attempts before the backups came in. Heck, the fact that they had only 10 third downs in the game is telling.
We now have to wonder whether Quinn’s candidacy for a certain head coach opening around the NFL has been impacted. One thing is clear. He did not do himself any favors as it relates to potentially replacing McCarthy in the eyes of the aforementioned Jerry Jones.