Jimmy Johnson halftime pep talk, postgame silence add more embarrassment to Cowboys loss

A number of Dallas Cowboys fans believed a curse had been lifted after Jimmy Johnson was enshrined in the team's Ring of Honor last month after a 30-year wait. As it turns out, the franchise curse extends far beyond Jerry Jones snubbing Johnson from a spot in Cowboys immortality.

That's the only conclusion to draw after the Cowboys crashed out of the playoffs to the touchdown-underdog Packers on Wild Card Weekend.

The final score ended 48-32 but Dallas was fully and completely drubbed in front of their home fans. The deficit climbed as high as 27-0 in the second quarter after Darnell Savage returned a telegraphed Dak Prescott pass for a touchdown.

The Cowboys scored just before halftime to climb within 19 points, but that didn't mask an embarrassing first half performance. Not only did the team not show up, but it unraveled after falling down early despite the fact it was playing at AT&T Stadium, where it hadn't lost it almost two full seasons.

The performance disgusted none other than Jimmy Johnson, who rightfully tore into the team during Fox's halftime show.

Jimmy Johnson halftime pep talk, postgame silence add more embarrassment to Cowboys Wild Card loss

The fact Johnson felt compelled to give his own halftime pep talk is so embarrassing for the Cowboys. You can see the anger and fire in his eyes. If only it was Johnson in the locker room rallying the players instead of Mike McCarthy. Maybe then Dallas would have turned this into a game.

You never want to say a team quit on the field, but it sure looked like the Cowboys quit in the second half as it fell behind 41-16 in the third quarter.

That's the biggest indictment possible on a head coach. A Packers team that finished 9-8 with a quarterback in his first full season as the starter and a bunch of young receivers made a team composed of seasoned vets, young superstars, and a Super-Bowl-winning head coach and defensive coordinator quit.

It's no wonder a sea of Cowboys fans bolted for the exits as Luke Musgrave caught a 38-yard touchdown on a busted coverage to cap a three-play (!) 75-yard drive that gave Green Bay a 25-point lead just before the fourth quarter.

Embarrassing beyond measure, but that's not all.

After ripping into the Cowboys at halftime, Jimmy Johnson was the only member of Fox's postgame show who didn't address a stunned nation.

We certainly would have remembered if Johnson had spoken, especially after his halftime diatribe. The former head coach seemingly was so disgusted and angered by Dallas' performance that he gave them the silence treatment after the loss. All weeks after he was inducted into the Ring of Honor.

As if becoming the first team in NFL history to lose to a No. 7 seed wasn't humiliating enough, Johnson's halftime harangue and postgame silence treatment peel off another layer of embarrassment to Sunday's loss.

Johnson and Cowboys fans deserved so much better.

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