Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy should have been taking notes when former Dallas coach Jimmy Johnson analyzed the Cowboys' performance after their first-half playoff collapse against the Green Bay Packers. The supposedly dominant Cowboys trailed their ancient rivals 27-7 at halftime, and Johnson was steaming mad at what he saw from his former team.

Johnson, often affable and smiling on the Fox studio, gave viewers a glimpse of what made him a Hall of Fame head coach. His narrowed his eyes and raised his voice as he told the Fox audience what he might say to his team in the locker room.

“You get your rear end in there and you play the way you know how to play. We can win the game. We're going to open it up and go fast tempo. Defense, get after Jordan Love. You can't give him that much time.”

Jimmy Johnson was inducted into the Cowboys Ring of Honor earlier this season. It was clear during that ceremony that any bad blood between Johnson and Cowboys owner Jerry Jones was in the past. Johnson has been retired from coaching since the 1999 season. He last coached with the Miami Dolphins, but he demonstrated he could handle a locker room that needed a firm approach.

McCarthy led his team to an 8-0 record at home during the regular season. The large majority of the wins were of the blowout variety. Nevertheless, the Packers were one or two steps ahead of McCarthy and the Cowboys in the Wild Card playoff game at AT&T Stadium.

The Packers' domination continued in the second half.