In a playoff showdown that left America’s Team seeing stars,  Jordan Love didn’t just play quarterback—he channeled his inner Patrick Mahomes. Love’s near-perfect game led the Packers to an NFC wildcard win over the Dallas Cowboys. This marked yet another disappointing end to the season for the Cowboys and highlighted familiar failings for the team without a Super Bowl win since 1996. From defensive woes to culture issues and the alleged lack of vision from owner Jerry Jones, fans are trying to pinpoint the reason behind the drought. But now linebacker Micah Parsons has come out with his own theory about why the Cowboys have been thwarted time and again.

Heading into the wildcard game against the Packers, the Cowboys were the No. 2 seed, having won the NFC East and were playing at home,  where they hadn’t lost all season. On the other hand, the Packers entered the game as the youngest team in the NFL and had redshirt rookie Jordan Love leading them. But silly penalties, fumbles, and the weight of expectations got to the Cowboys as they suffered a 48-32 blowout. But is there more to it?

While Love was living it up in Titletown, Micah Parsons was left holding the bag in Dallas. The Cowboys’ star linebacker didn’t mince words in a training camp press conference this week, addressing the intense scrutiny head-on he said, “I get a lot. But you know, scrutiny is because you earn scrutiny. It’s the expectations,” Parsons said, his voice tinged with frustration. He knows the weight of that star on his helmet. “You’d have to be blind to say that you don’t have expectations wearing a star,” he added.

The team’s defense was brought into question following the loss against the Packers, with Parsons also on the receiving end of criticism. The Packers found the end zone on every drive except for one. One particular moment stood when Love threw a pass to tight end Luke Musgrave, who didn’t have a single defender in his area, leading to a 38-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.

Parsons then mentioned the “reality” behind the losses the team has suffered over the years which has them not make an NFC Championship game for 28 years. “The reality is, sometimes you are out-coached, sometimes you are out-schemed. Sometimes people have the answers for what you dial up, and there’s nothing you can do,”humbling reminder that even the best-laid plans can go awry in the NFL.

Parsons also added, “Sometimes their quarterback might have the best game of their life. We’ve seen that multiple times. A quarterback comes to Dallas and says, ‘I’m Pat Mahomes today.’ It’s just reality. That’s the expectations of Dallas. I’ve never shied from that.”

When you look back at Jordan Love’s performance against the Cowboys, Parsons’s words do make some sense. His ability to make plays under pressure, his pinpoint accuracy, and his knack for finding the open man all screamed “Showtime” in a way that would make the Chiefs‘ superstar proud.

Love’s stats tell part of the story: 16 of 21 passes, 272 yards, three touchdowns. But numbers can’t capture the electricity in the air when he dropped a 20-yard dime to Dontayvion Wicks, dodging a six-man rush like he was dancing the Texas Two-Step. That touchdown pass early in the second quarter? Pure magic, straight out of Mahomes’ playbook. But does that make the Cowboys exempt from criticism?

Last month on Jim Rome’s show, Michael Irvin, an NFL legend, showed his anger as well. “The Dallas Cowboys should not have lost that game. No way after the game do I want to hear you players saying they were burnt out. What are you talking about burnt out? This is the first damn playoff game.”

Addressing the accusations of a lack of effort and understanding fans’ expectations, Parsons noted, “This is a winning program that fans expect to win. We expect to win. It just hurts me when they think I don’t try to win…That’s the part that hurts me the most, when people have this thing or idea that players aren’t trying.” It’s clear the loss to the Packers stung, but the accusations of not giving it their all? That’s what really got under his skin.

Nonetheless, in this rivalry between the Packers and Cowboys, another chapter has been written. From the Ice Bowl in 1967 to Dez Bryant’s “catch” (if you were a frustrated Cowboys fan) in 2015 was anything but uninteresting; a game involving these two franchises has always been dramatic. Now, Love flaming this rivalry as he ascends to the throne vacated by Aaron Rodgers.

Jordan Love is the new Packer sheriff in town

Loved thrived for the Packers against the Cowboys. He led the charge, called the shots and was an ever-present menace to the America’s Team. Dan Orlovsky, who knows a thing or two about quarterbacking, couldn’t hide his man-crush. “That’s a pretty freakin’ sick play, Jordan Love,” he gushed as reporters by SI, breaking down Love’s two-point conversion pass like a kid with a new toy. “I don’t care who you are. I don’t care how long you played. This is a sick play.”

This “I am him” moment didn’t come out of nowhere. Love’s been eyeing Mahomes’ crown for a while now. Back in 2020, he admitted, “I love his game, I love watching his game, and obviously, that’s something I’m trying to implement in my game, as well.” Fast forward to 2024, and the student has become a master.

Love’s journey to this point wasn’t a straight line. After three years warming the bench behind Aaron Rodgers, Love’s finally getting his shot. And boy, is he taking it. In the last half of 2023, he was hotter than a Texas summer, tossing 21 touchdowns to just one interception. That’s the kind of streak that makes even Tom Brady sit up and take notice.

Chris Simms, never one to mince words, boldly claimed in May, “If Jordan Love played in the Super Bowl (with San Francisco), the 49ers would be the Super Bowl champions.” While that’s a hypothetical scenario we’ll never see play out, it speaks volumes about Love’s meteoric rise.

Love’s teammates are all in. A.J. Dillon put it best while speaking to reporters after Green Bay’s Thanksgiving win over the Detroit Lions: “Jordan’s got all of this confidence. He’s getting experience and we’ve got guys that really want to play for him and trust him and I think he’s a great leader of men.” Sounds like the Packers’ locker room has found its new sheriff.

One thing is clear as the dust settles on this latest chapter of the Packers-Cowboys saga: Jordan Love isn’t just filling Aaron Rodgers’ shoes, he’s blazing his own trail. And if his game-winning performance against the Cowboys is any indication, the rest of the NFL better watch out. The Love era in Green Bay is just getting started and it’s promising to be a wild one.

As for the Cowboys, they will have a lot of work to do if they are to clinch a sixth Super Bowl title.