The Dallas Cowboys' disastrous first-half performance against the Green Bay Packers in their Super Wildcard Weekend game at home prompted the team's legendary head coach, Jimmy Johnson, to issue a passionate plea to the players on national television.
During the halftime show, Johnson looked straight into the camera and said:
"Well, first of all, I can't say what I would say now on television, but I'll just say this. Every single one of you, you know how hard we've worked. I don't need to have people pointing the fingers one thing or another. You get your rear end in there and you play the way you know how to play. We can win the game. We're gonna open it up. We're gonna go fast tempo defense good after Jordan Love. You can't give him that much time. You do what you're supposed to do. We'll win this game."
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Johnson's incredible rant got co-hosts Michael Strahan and Rob Gronkowski excited.
Jordan Love and the Packers offense had their way with the Cowboys' vaunted defense, scoring three touchdowns without a reply to help their team build a 20-0 lead. Things got worse for the Cowboys when quarterback Dak Prescott threw an ill-advised pass toward wide receiver CeeDee Lamb, which was picked off and returned for a touchdown by Packers cornerback Darnell Savage.
The Cowboys did manage to break their duck on the scoreboard in the final second of the half, courtesy of a Prescott pass to tight end Jake Ferguson.
Jimmy Johnson's speech doesn't help the Cowboys
Despite Jimmy Johnson's incredible monologue, the situation didn't improve for the Dallas Cowboys. Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers continued to dominate proceedings and extended their 27-7 halftime lead to 41-16 by the end of the third quarter. Four and a half minutes into the final quarter, Love found Romeo Doubs in the endzone to give the Packers a 32-point lead and end the game as a contest.
The Cowboys did rally against the Packers' backups. They scored two touchdowns and converted a couple of two-point attempts to cut the deficit to 16. They got the ball back with over two and a half minutes left on the clock.
However, the Packers defense stood tall. They got the stop they needed and ended the game. The Cowboys became the first team to lose to a seventh seed since the playoff expanded to 14 teams in 2020. A tough pill to swallow for Jimmy Johnson and the team's supporters.
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