Why Hiring Bill Belichick Won't Fix Cowboys After 'Most Painful' Playoff Loss: Top 10 Observations
Splat.
Another 12-5 regular season brimming with superlatives ... ruined by a playoff collapse.
After a promising season fueled by Dak Prescott's "Yeahhhhh, here we gooooo!", the Dallas Cowboys tripped and fell and humiliated themselves in a 48-32 loss to the Green Bay Packers that felt more like 48-0 at a stunned AT&T Stadium. It's the most points the Cowboys have ever allowed in a playoff game and one of their most disappointing ends to a season in franchise history.
Said owner Jerry Jones, "This is the most painful because we all had such great expectations and hope for this team.”
Added Prescott, "Shocked. Obviously I didn’t play well.” Asked how the Cowboys get past this and finally have playoff success? “I wish I had that answer for you.”
The upset loss was equal parts embarrassing, comprehensive and likely even immortal.
"Yeahhhhh, here we ... choooooke!"
Welcome to a cold, dark Winter week in DFW ...
10. GOOD NEWS! - The positive news from this one wouldn't fill Grandma's sewing thimble. So ... not long until pitchers and catchers report to Spring Training for the defending World Series champion Texas Rangers. Feb. 14 in Surprise, Arizona. Just a short month from now. You're welcome.
9. OVER BEFORE IT STARTED - This was a thorough dismantling, no two ways about it. And it started with the Packers' aggressive mindset: Winning the coin toss and opting to take the ball. It set a tone. The second snap of the game amplified it. Facing 2nd-and-10 at Green Bay's 25-yard line, quarterback Jordan Love was sacked by Donovan Wilson. The play would have forced a 3rd-and-long and put immediate pressure on the young Packers. Instead - illegal contact, defense, No. 26 - an automatic first down for Green Bay. Just 10 plays later it was 7-0 and three hours later it was a colossal blowout.
8. GIRL POWER - Taylor Swift goes to Kansas City Chiefs games. Sunday in Arlington, Olympic gymnast Simone Biles showed up to support her boyfriend, Packers safety Jonathan Owens. But - hey, we need to be proud of something - so, remember, Dolly Parton at Thanksgiving trumps them all. So there.
7. THE BIG CHILL - The Cowboys had won 16 in a row in Arlington and hadn't lost at home since September of 2022. Worse, they are now the first No. 2 team to lose to a 7th seed in the playoffs.
6. EMPTY NUMBERS - Prescott threw for 403 yards. Tight end Jake Ferguson had the best playoff performance ever by a Cowboys tight end with 10 catches and three touchdowns. The Cowboys won the second half, 25-21. Add it all up and ... oh, forget it. None of it meant diddly squat. Just like the Cowboys' stats-stuffed regular season.
5. ICE BOWL, ALWAYS - Blame the Packers for seemingly always bringing their woeful weather from Green Bay to DFW. Temperature inside AT&T Stadium was a balmy 72. But outside it was 15, making it one of the coldest home games in franchise history. Two other major local events involving the Packers? The Cowboys' 1989 finale at Texas Stadium, when it hovered around 0. And Super Bowl XLV, when a debilitating arctic blast turned DFW into horrible hosts. Frigid temperatures and icy roads hampered travel, canceled events and sent six fans to the hospital after ice fell from the roof of then-Cowboys Stadium before Green Bay beat the Steelers.
4. DUMBFOUNDING DISPLAY - Still can't believe some of the things we saw: The defense producing 0 turnovers, and not even coming close to a sack of Jordan Love ... the inexplicable amount of 2nd-down runs against one of the NFL's worst pass defenses ... the lack of chemistry between Prescott and CeeDee Lamb, which looked edgy in body language and out of sync in route-running. Instead of quarterback who will finish Top 5 in MVP voting and a guy who produced the best receiving season in Cowboys history, they looked like two new players first getting acquainted in OTAs. Stunning.
3. MIKE MCGONE? - In 2018, the Packers fired Mike McCarthy. In 2024 they might have just got him fired again.
Speculation about McCarthy’s job security with the Cowboys lands at Jerry’s feet. The owner is savvy enough to realize that words matter. But when asked about his coach’s position recently Jerry didn’t go with “we’re working on a contract extension and he’ll definitely be the coach next season” but instead only “he’s under contract.” Firing a coach with a 36-15 record, two division titles and a playoff win over three seasons seems preposterous.
But I'm old enough to remember when Jerry divorced Jimmy Johnson after winning consecutive Super Bowls, when he fired Chan Gailey after consecutive playoff seasons, and when he canned Wade Phillips only 10 months removed from a playoff victory and in the middle of a season sabotaged by a Tony Romo injury.
McCarthy on his job security: “I don’t think anyone saw this coming. I think the biggest thing is we’re disappointed … I haven’t thought past the outcome of this game.”
2. BELICHICK TO THE 'BOYS? - Even when the Cowboys trailed 27-7 at halftime, the internet was already abuzz urging Jones to fire McCarthy and hire Bill Belichick.
The 71-year-old, future Hall-of-Fame coach parted ways with the New England Patriots last week and is a free agent looking for a new team. Question for those enthusiastically calling for this hire: Have your TVs been broken the last three years? Because if you saw any Patriots football since 2020 you've seen Belichick go 29-39 without a single playoff win. This year's Patriots went 4-13 and had the NFL's worst offense. Now, if Belichick is bringing an in-his-prime Tom Brady with hilm, sure, let's talk. But how bad has Belichick been without Brady?
The Cowboys have won a playoff game more recently than the Patriots.
1. MASSIVE MISTAKE - In Friday's column, I made a bold prediction based on - insert dramatic eye roll - savvy experience and a deep dive into statistics. Alas, my 48-17 Cowboys victory pick was not only wrong but brutally bad. My worst decision since the ex-wives and the time I said Patrick Mahomes would be a bust. I did know (wink) that the winning team would score 48?
That said, my prediction wasn't as bad as the Cowboys' performance. This one's gonna leave a mark that puts the other recent playoff failures to shame. Ouch.
