Cowboys: Jake Ferguson is the lone silver lining from loss to Packers

Following a playoff loss, it's tough to want to get into the nitty-gritty of a game, specially when it's a blowout like the Dallas Cowboys' loss to the Green Bay Packers.

Because even if a 48-32 scoreboard doesn't read like a blowout, that's the only way to describe what happened considering the game was 27-0 at one point before halftime. 

However, a couple of days after the fact, I'm convinced many readers are at least wondering what the heck happened. These are my notes upon reviewing the tape, from the obvious struggles to the player who showed up big time even in a loss. 

Unprepared for Packers' play action

Entering the game, I feel like everyone could've agreed the Packers would likely try to run the ball and exploit play action as much as possible. Yet the Cowboys were completely unprepared for it.

Not only did they not stop the run but Jordan Love went 6-of-8 when using play action for 107 yards, two touchdowns, and an almost immaculate 156.3 passer rating. 

The Packers offense never seemed to be uncomfortable as Love picked apart Dan Quinn's defense, which surprisingly turned to zone coverages over their usual man-to-man approach. Coverages were consistently busted as the Cowboys played a style of defense they're simply not familiar with. And they did so against a rising offense. Their timing couldn't have been worse.

The problem with the pass rush

Speaking of the Cowboys defensive woes, the pass rush never hit home. Per PFF, Love was pressured in seven dropbacks out of 21. The Cowboys had a mediocre three QB hits to show for it and of course, no sacks.

While fans have focused their ire on superstar Micah Parsons (that's the way it goes in this league), the tape shows Parsons dealing with the usual double-teaming. The problem? No one else showed up with their one-on-ones forced by Parsons.

One particular play that should upset Cowboys fans: In the first half, Dallas lined up for third-and-nine and showed pressure pre-snap with Parsons and safety Donovan Wilson mugged up over the A-gaps. Wilson rushed while Parsons dropped back into coverage. 

Intentionally dropping your best pass rusher on a must-pass situation is getting too cute in the playoffs. Let your best player do what he does best. Wilson naturally didn't get a pressure and coverage was busted for a huge first down. 

On Prescott's struggles

There's no denying it: Dak Prescott sucked on Sunday's game versus the Packers.

There's two bones to pick at, specifically: Prescott was jittery from the start and even made the pass protection look much worse than it actually was. He took off seeing ghosts way too early more than once and his footwork wasn't there.

Even on the third down play he takes off on in the opening drive, you could argue Dak tucks it way too early. Later on, he misses CeeDee Lamb over the middle with a poor base. He was seemingly shook right from the get-go.

As for the picks, the first one to Brandin Cooks is a contested throw in which Packers CB Jaire Alexander made a heck of a play. But the second one is a rough one. You could say the coverage was disguised but it wasn't anything exotic. 

Green Bay basically showed a two-high safety look pre-snap only to rotate to single-high at the last moment for Darnell Savage to stand right where Lamb's slant route was going to. Prescott had time to see it but he didn't.

Jake Ferguson is a 'dawg'

As frustrated as you are with this game - and you should be - you can't overlook Ferguson's game. The guy caught 10 passes for 93 yards and scored three touchdowns.

That included an elite grab over the middle where he went up in the air and pulled it down. By the time the game ended, the second-year standout was 5-for-5 in contested throws sent his way. 

The best part of his game might've been you could just tell how much he cares. The Cowboys have their best guy at the position since Jason Witten and it's not even close. 

Motion killed the Cowboys in two different ways

Motion is a great way to really drive home the Cowboys' struggles versus Green Bay. Defensively, they couldn't do anything about it. The Packers just kept using motion and messing up the defense's leverage. Not a surprise when you consider what we just discussed earlier about playing a different style of defense. 

As for the offense, the unit lacked the same motion usage that got them to the playoffs and the second seed. Under the brightest lights, Mike McCarthy deviated from what worked since the bye week and turned to his static self. What we saw on Sunday resembled the Texas Coast offense more than it did the "Here We Go" offense.