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The future Hall of Fame wideout, known simply has Megatron, caught 14 passes for 329 yards in the 31-30 Detroit victory in 2013. Johnson was just seven yards short of Flipper Anderson's NFL record for receiving yards in a game, set in 1989.
Cornerback Brandon Carr was the poster boy for the Cowboys' shame, as he was the foil who was foolishly asked to cover Johnson one-on-one throughout the game.
Carr remains pained by the performance. For much of the week leading up to the Sunday's Wild Card Game between the Cowboys (12-4) and Lions (11-5), he has refused to talk the media.
“Brandon is a stand-up guy," coach Jason Garrett said in defense of Carr. "He’s a really good football player. He comes to work every day, he comes to play every week, and we’re fortunate to have him.”
What's known is that it will be different game plan for Carr and a different Cowboys defense that will greet Johnson and the Lions Sunday at 4:40 p.m. ET at AT&T Stadium.
Carr is playing his best football of the season—as is the Cowboys defense, which is a far cry from the abominable unit that leaked like a sieve in 2013. Jared Sandler of ESPN uses Pro Football Focus to highlight Carr's effort in the season finale against the Washington Commanders:
Brandon Carr (3.4) reset his season-high grade for the second consecutive game. @PFF #Cowboys
— Jared Sandler (@jsandlerESPN) December 29, 2014
The Lions were one of two teams to ring up 600 yards against the Cowboys last year. Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford was one of four passers to throw for more than 400 yards, an NFL record.
The Cowboys defense was the worst in the league, giving up the most yards in team history and the third-most in league history.
The Cowboys are not the second coming of Doomsday by any means in 2014, but they are much-improved, sound fundamentally and opportunistic. The defense ranks 19th in the league overall but second in takeaways with 31.
"You have to play good, sound, fundamental defense. You have to tackle well," Garrett said. "So we really tried to make an emphasis on being better in those areas, and I think we have made improvement."
The Cowboys made the biggest jump in preventing big plays, which was also a huge point of emphasis in 2014.
The unit has given up just 45 pass plays of 20 or more yards in 2014 compared to a whopping 71 in 2013.
"It’s certainly been a big point of emphasis for us. That’s one of the things we believe wins and loses games in the National Football League. The ball is critical: turnover ratio, but certainly big plays are really a close second to that. If you look at drives in this league, when you make big plays, typically you score. If you prevent big plays, it’s hard for teams to score against you."
The biggest change the Cowboys made from a year ago is at defensive coordinator, promoting line coach Rod Marinelli to the head job and moving then-coordinator Monte Kiffin to a glorified overseer role.
It was Kiffin who insisted that Carr cover Johnson by himself in last year's game. That game was Exhibit A for why Kiffin was replaced. The Cowboys won't be using the same game plan on Sunday.
"Whatever we did in the game wasn't good enough," Garrett said. "What we have to do is go back and look at that, somehow, someway, rectify what that plan was. Whether it was physically not getting it done or from a scheme standpoint, not doing the things necessary to take a player like that away."
Carr and the Cowboys are playing their schemes much better in 2014 than last year. But there won't be a plan that has Carr singled up on Johnson the entire game.
Safety J.J. Wilcox said he will be shading Johnson's way on Sunday.
"We have to stay on top of 81," Wilcox said. "I have to highlight and know where he is at all times. I know the type of player he is. He is a Hall of Famer. I respect him and I'm going to lean his way a little bit. My job is to help out my cornerback."
For the Cowboys, it's not just a Carr thing or a secondary thing. The entire unit has not only improved since last year but has improved since the start of this year. It understands the scheme better than it did a year ago and is playing with more confidence.
Nine of its 28 sacks have come in the last three games and 13 of its 31 turnovers have come in the last four games.
"We're dominating our opponents," defensive end Jeremy Mincey said. "Everybody understands what's going on, understanding what they need to do specifically as an individual and those individuals doing what they need to do in bringing a collective effort because everybody has the same frame of mind, same frequency."
It will all be put to the test Sunday against the Johnson and the Lions when Carr hopes to let his play do the talking.
Clarence Hill covers the Cowboys for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. All quotations obtained firsthand unless otherwise noted. Statistics courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com unless otherwise noted.
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