What once seemed like a potentially promising playoff run came to a screeching halt for the Cowboys on Sunday, as Dallas was blasted 48-32 by the visiting Green Bay Packers in an NFC wild-card game.
The Cowboys had won seven of their final nine games of the regular season to finish the campaign 12-5 before suffering Sunday’s setback, which Dallas owner Jerry Jones considered “one of the biggest surprises” he’d ever seen on a football field.
“This seems like the most painful (loss) because we all had such great expectations and we had hopes for this team and thought that we were aligned and in great shape,” Jones told reporters following the game.
Jones, 81, was “floored” by the Cowboys’ performance, but he didn’t dive into individual critiques or comment on the job status of coach Mike McCarthy.
“I don’t have any thoughts about the reasons why, or anything to do with the coaching, or the players,” Jones said.
Last week, McCarthy told the Fort Worth Star Telegram that Dallas had “a lot of football left.” Now, the once-second-seeded Cowboys are focused on the offseason after failing to rally from a 27-0 deficit against the No. 7 Packers.
Dallas has gone 42-25 in the regular season under McCarthy, who has been at the helm since 2020. The Cowboys are 1-3 in the postseason in that span.
Green Bay will face the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers in the divisional round.
