Obviously, this game against the Packers features entirely different players, schemes, etc. Still, are there any advantages Mike McCarthy can bring into this matchup from his time spent with Green Bay and even his two playoff wins over the Cowboys? – Brock Shipley/Chicago, IL
Nick Eatman:I don't think it's an advantage. If anything at all, it's probably somewhat of a disadvantage. Mike McCarthy has made it clear that playing Green Bay is personal to him, especially when his team travels back to Green Bay, a place he lived with his family for more than a decade. I'm sure it's not the same when you're facing a Packers team here at home, but still, that Green & Gold with the logo and traditional uniform is likely to stir up some feelings for the head coach, who is human like the rest of us. Just the pressure of beating his former team could be a distraction for him and that's why I think it's a disadvantage if anything. The Packers have three players who will play in this game that were on McCarthy's last team in Green Bay. They don't know him. And he doesn't know them. So the familiarity part is not a thing.
Patrik: Very, very little, if any at all. There are only a handful of players in Green Bay who were around when McCarthy was the head honcho there, and one is on IR right now. Aaron Jones played for McCarthy, so I'd say that's all you're gonna get as far as familiarity goes. The rest will come down to scouting and film watching, because McCarthy doesn't know that team any more than that team knows McCarthy and the Cowboys. Even the 2022 matchup was wildly different, seeing as Aaron Rodgers was the QB and now it's Jordan Love, a player with not much film before this season. Both sides will treat this as an uncommon opponent going into the wild card matchup, and the team that preps the best and adjusts well in-game will walk away as victor. The Cowboys have a huge advantage in lots of ways, but not in any supposed connections that exist between McCarthy and Green Bay — five years after they parted ways.
