(Arlington) Jerry Jones, owner and general manager of the Dallas Cowboys, saw his team lose its first playoff game twice as the top seed in the National Association.
It’s hard to imagine a more shocking playoff failure in the 28 years since the team last appeared in a NL championship game than Sunday’s 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers. .
“I’m not going to rank it,” Jones said outside the Cowboys locker room. I would tell you, however, that this is beyond my understanding. »
The Cowboys were fortunate to play at least two home games, riding a 16-game winning streak at AT&T Stadium. The Packers finished the season with a 6-2 record in their last eight games to secure the final playoff spot in the NL.
The Cowboys had seven players selected to the Pro Bowl on their roster. As for the Packers, no player had been selected and quarterback Jordan Love was playing in his first playoff game.
The Cowboys’ defense, which thrives on quarterback sacks and turnovers, achieved none against the Packers. Dak Prescott threw interceptions in crucial moments as well.
Even before the game ended, and in a moment in the game where the Packers led 27-0 and later 48-16, pundits were already replacing head coach Mike McCarthy.
McCarthy was meeting with his players Monday and won’t speak to the media until he’s done with this.
While there’s nothing out of the ordinary about this, if McCarthy doesn’t meet with reporters over the next few days, the situation will start to resemble the last time things were uncertain with a Cowboys coach.
After the 2019 season, Jason Garrett was at the end of his contract and still had not spoken to reporters after a week. The Cowboys met with McCarthy even before publicly announcing that Garrett would not be back.
McCarthy has another season left on his contract. He won the Super Bowl with the Packers, the team with which he was the head coach for 12 seasons.
McCarthy led the Cowboys to three straight 12-win seasons, plus a playoff appearance. The Cowboys are, however, the only ones who have not reached an Association final game in such a three-year streak.
Prescott will also enter the final year of his contract next season. The quarterback will account for US$59 million on the team’s payroll in 2024, an amount that can only be reduced by a contract extension.
Prescott is 2-5 in the playoffs, including three of five losses in the home playoff opener.
The Cowboys must therefore ask themselves if they want to invest again in a player who has been in the discussions for the title of most valuable player several times in his career, including this season, but who has not been a key element consistently in the playoffs.
The Cowboys allowed a touchdown on six of the Packers’ first seven offensive drives.
Star linebacker Micah Parsons had no impact in the game and is 1-3 in the playoffs, with only one sack.