Studs and duds from Cowboys’ ugly 48-32 wild card loss to Packers

The Dallas Cowboys suffered another embarrassing postseason loss, but this one feels like the biggest stunner of them all. The Cowboys exited the playoffs at the hands of the Green Bay Packers, getting manhandled, 48-32, in the wild card round. The Cowboys have now lost their last two playoff games at AT&T Stadium, a mind-numbing stat for a team that had won it’s last 16 games played there.

This has become an annual ritual for Jerry Jones’ franchise; a great regular season only to get boat raced when the games mean the most. That makes 28 years and counting where the Cowboys won’t make it to the NFC championship game, a feat not even the pinnacle of the sport.

In defeat, the Cowboys now have the dubious honor of being the first No. 2 seed to lose to the seventh seed since the new playoff format was adopted. Another postseason, another embarrassing record to add to their embarrassing playoff ledger.  Here are the studs and duds for the Cowboys in their ugly wild card loss.

Dud: Dan Quinn's passing defense

Quinn was outmatched all game long, his defense couldn’t stop the run in the second half, but they looked worse against the pass throughout the contest. The secondary players were lost on more than one occasion as the Packers receivers ran wide open all game.

Second-year wide receiver Romeo Doubs constantly found room in the middle of the field against Quinn’s defense, something that rarely happened this season. Doubs averaged over 25 yards per catch as the Dallas secondary played zone coverage, giving up three touchdown passes and allowing quarterback Jordan Love to complete over 76% of his throws.

The biggest bust came late in the third quarter when rookie tight end Luke Musgrave was left uncovered for a 38-yard score. It was a touchdown that was emblematic of how the defense played in the loss.

It was one of the worst defensive displays from the Cowboys of the season. Quinn’s unit was overmatched and had no answers for the Packers offense.

Stud: Jake Ferguson

The Packers had a vulnerability in covering tight ends this season and the Cowboys took advantage with Ferguson. Quarterback Dak Prescott didn’t have a great game, but he was money when targeting his young TE.

Ferguson had 10 receptions for 93 yards and caught all three of Prescott’s touchdowns. The catches, yards and scores were all career-highs for Ferguson, who continues to emerge as a potent part of the passing game. The second-year TE went up the ladder to make a few catches that gave the team life.

Some of the work Ferguson put in came during garbage time, but he played well when he was called upon. There weren’t enough Cowboys who can make the same claim.

Stud: Michael Gallup

The veteran wide receiver hadn’t had much of an impact this season, but if this was Gallup’s last game with the Cowboys, he went out with his best outing in quite some time. Gallup had six catches for 103 yards in his first 100-yard game since Thanksgiving of the 2021 season.

With the Packers concentrating on star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, Gallup was able to find room and make some tough catches. It felt like a throw back the clock type of game from Gallup, who hasn’t had much success this year.

Dud: Dan Quinn's run defense

If the Cowboys wanted to win this game, they needed to make sure Packers running back Aaron Jones didn’t eat them alive for the fourth time in as many career games against them. As the kids say, the Cowboys did not understand the assignment.

The Cowboys were able to limit the Packers run game to just 2.1 yards a carry in the first half, and still found themselves in a monumental hole. When things finally started clicking for their own offense though, Quinn’s defense couldn’t stop the Packers’ rushing attack.

For the fourth time in four matchups with the Cowboys, Jones went over the 100-yard mark, and he scored at least three touchdowns for the second time.

Jones ran for 118 yards while averaging 5.6 yards a carry, again, after being bottled up in the first half.

On the first offensive possession, the Packers moved the ball 75 yards on 12 plays, a drives that was capped off with a Jones two-yard scoring run.

It was Jones’ third touchdown that felt like the backbreaker, though. The Cowboys had scored 10 straight points to close the gap to 17, but the Packers took just five plays to answer back with Jones’ final touchdown in the third quarter.

The rushing defense had been a question mark for most of the year and Quinn didn’t have any answers in the loss to the Packers.

Dud: Mike McCarthy

The Cowboys came out flat and looked unprepared in a win-or-go-home type of game, which falls on the head coach. The Cowboys were also undisciplined early, which cost the team on the first few drives for the Packers, resulting in points.

Cornerback DaRon Bland’s illegal contact penalty wiped out a sack on the second play of the game and veteran defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence’s offsides cost the team an important five yards near the goal line. Just one play after Lawrence’s penalty, the Packers scored on a two-yard touchdown, and they never looked back.

McCarthy also looked like he reverted to some early-season tendencies on offense, running the ball when behind on the down and distance, not being aggressive with the passing game, and not attacking the middle of the field enough. The coach had no answers for a team that lacked urgency with their season, and possibly his job, on the line.

Being unprepared and lacking focus with so much at stake is inexcusable. McCarthy’s gotten good results in the regular season, but another playoff disaster might be his demise. It would be hard to argue against Jones firing McCarthy, who spit the bit once again.

Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire