GREEN BAY, Wis. – Even those who wanted – begged, really – the Green Bay Packers coach to take back the offensive play-calling duties couldn’t have fathomed this: 44 runs and 230 yards on the ground.

This is Mike McCarthy 2.0.

The same coach who too often proved reluctant to stick with the running game during his first nine seasons as the head coach/offensive playcaller did an about-face – first in his decision to strip Tom Clements of the job he handed him this offseason, and then in his approach to his first game back in control of the offense. In Sunday’s 28-7 win over the Dallas Cowboys, McCarthy showed a previously unseen commitment to the run.

The rainy conditions at Lambeau Field surely played a part in his approach, but McCarthy might have found the best formula for the stretch drive to boost his previously lethargic offense.

“We ran the ball really well, and I think you’ve got to keep doing that,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “We had probably [more than] 40 attempts, and that’s great. That’s what you need in the wintertime. So we’ve got to keep doing that.”

Of course, it helped that McCarthy let Lacy out of the doghouse after his missed curfew before the previous game at Detroit knocked him down the depth chart. McCarthy kept feeding Lacy, who turned a season-high 24 carries into a season-best 124 yards.

“We’ve got to get Eddie his touches,” Rodgers said. “I think every time he’s had 20 carries, he’s gone over 100 yards. You probably have to check that.”

Rodgers was right as it pertained to this season, but it had happened only once before Sunday’s game.

Throw in the complementary contributions of James Starks (11 carries for 71 yards and two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving), and it’s easy to see why McCarthy stuck with the running game in unprecedented fashion. Before Sunday, the Packers had never had more than 42 rushing attempts in a game under McCarthy. The 230-yard total was the most by the Packers in a regular-season game since Nov. 29, 2004, against the Rams (231 yards on 28 carries).

“I thought they both were exactly what we wanted to be,” McCarthy said of his running backs. “We want to be a one-two punch, and we want to go after teams aggressively like that. So that's what we need to play here in Lambeau Field, and particularly that's what you've got to play in December.”

McCarthy received no complaints from his running backs or his offensive line about the dedication to the run game. Backs love to have the ball in their hands, and linemen would much rather run-block than pass-protect.

"I've been around here for a long time and that's usually how it is: If we run the ball well, we get rewarded and we get those calls,” right guard T.J. Lang said. “If we don't run the ball well, it's going to be a tough day for us up front because we tend to get a little bit pass-heavy. We understand the job we have to do. We have to establish the run early, make them respect it and we've got to keep rolling."

The Packers rushed by design on 52 percent of their plays Sunday. It was their highest designed run percentage since last year’s regular-season finale, according to ESPN Stats & Information research. The biggest difference between McCarthy and Clements came on first down. Against the Cowboys, they ran on 60 percent of their first-down plays, compared with just 41 percent of first-down plays in the first 12 games of the season, according to ESPN Stats & Information research.

“We've had a lot of success under coach Mike calling the plays,” Lang said. “I'm not trying to bash coach Clements. It's not his fault we weren't executing throughout the year. I feel like it's more of the players' responsibility. Coach probably made a move to give us a little extra spark, and obviously today we had one of our better games of the year."

McCarthy’s dedication to the run opened up the play-action game for Rodgers, who was 10-of-12 for 98 yards and two touchdowns on play-action -- his most such attempts in a game this season.

“It was something that we know that we should be able to continue to do in the future,” Lacy said. “I think it’s definitely making our offense a lot more balanced. And whether we want to run or pass, we know as a team if we put our mind to it, we can do whatever we want to.”

Or at least whatever McCarthy calls.