5 stunning facts from Cowboys' 48-32 meltdown loss to Packers feat. Dan Quinn's historically bad defense
The Dallas Cowboys entered the NFL Playoffs as one of the favorites to potentially make a run at a Super Bowl. They earned the second seed in their conference by winning the NFC East division. This allowed them to play their Wild Card round game against the Green Bay Packers on their home field at AT&T Stadium, where they had won their past 16 consecutive games.
The Packers shattered Dallas' extremely high expectations with a dominant 48-32 victory. While this was obviously extremely disappointing for the Cowboys, the loss was historically bad for several reasons. Here are five of them.
5 stunning facts from Cowboys' 48-32 meltdown loss to Packers
#1, First time in NFL history a 2 seed was defeated by a 7 seed
The NFL Playoffs expanded to 14 teams, including seven from each conference, in 2020. This is when seven seeds began facing off against two seeds during the Wild Card round. When Green Bay defeated Dallas, it was the first time that a seven-seed earned a playoff win and the two-seed failed to advance to the Divisional round.
#2, Packers are the youngest team in NFL history to win a playoff game
With an average age of just 25 years and 214 days, the Green Bay Packers officially became the youngest team in NFL history to make an appearance in the NFL Playoffs. With their Wild Card round victory, they also became the youngest NFL team ever to win a postseason game.
#3, Jordan Love sets QBR record in NFL Playoffs
QBR is a weighted all-inclusive statistic that calculates the total value of what a quarterback contributes during a game on a scale from zero to 100. Jordan Love was nearly perfect in his performance against the Cowboys, earning a massive 99.3 QBR. He surpassed Josh Allen for the highest-ever recorded QBR in any playoff game in NFL history.
#4, Dan Quinn's defense was historically bad for the Cowboys
Defensive coordinator Dan Quinn has helped the Cowboys turn their defense into one of the most dominant units in the NFL. They were anything but that in their most recent postseason loss against the Packers. In fact, the 48 points surrendered by Dallas is tied for the second most ever in NFL Playoff history, trailing only Washington's 70 points allowed to the Bears in 1940.
#5, Packers have more playoff wins at AT&T stadium than Cowboys do
AT&T Stadium officially opened prior to the start of the 2009 NFL season to serve as the new home field for the Dallas Cowboys. The franchise has found its way to just two playoff victories in its own building during that time. With their loss in the Wild Card round this year, the Packers earned their third postseason victory in AT&T Stadium, surpassing the home team that plays there.