DALLAS, TX (WTAQ) – What a wild, Wild Card win for the Green Bay Packers who blew through Texas by blowing out Mike McCarthy’s Dallas Cowboys 48-32 at AT&T Stadium Sunday afternoon. In the post-season for the fourth time in Head Coach Matt LaFleur’s five seasons, this year’s team turned early growing pains into lethal offensive football. At 9-8 and a touchdown underdog, the Packers carved up the Cowboys with veteran running back Aaron Jones leading the way with three rushing touchdowns, Jordan Love throwing three touchdown passes in his playoff debut and a collection of receivers who continue making plays all over the field. Let’s not forget the defense who nearly pitched a shutout against the NFL’s highest scoring team in the first half, giving up a touchdown on the final play of the second quarter. The much maligned unit also took the ball away twice. Jaire Alexander, questionable right up until game time after he rolled his ankle in a freak play at practice last Wednesday, picked off Dak Prescott in the first quarter and in the second, veteran safety Darnell Savage jumped a slant and took his interception 64 yards to the house untouched giving the Packers a shocking, 27-0 lead.
The Packer offense kept scoring which was a good thing because Dallas went schoolyard in the second half, against second and third stringers piling up 359 of their 510 total yards after intermission but the hole was just too deep.
Love was spectacular again, completing 16 of 21 passes for 272 yards and three scores, without a pick and he wasn’t sacked all day. His passer rating was 157.2 and if not for a Tucker Kraft drop on his final attempt, would have put up a perfect rating in his first post-season game. Romeo Doubs was the top target with 6 catches for a career high 151 yards (25.2 average) and the Pack’s final touchdown. Rookie tight end Luke Musgrave caught three balls including a wide open 38 yard touchdown. Dontayvion Wicks found the end zone too, pulling in a 20 yard strike in the first half explosion.
But the game plan was centered around Jones, the El Paso native who seems to save his best in his home state. Jones piled up 118 yards on 21 carries with his three scores, a fourth straight game topping the century mark. His gashing runs helped open up space downfield for Love to hit receivers who often were running free.
Keisean Nixon and Quay Walker both piled up 11 tackles to lead the defense which not only picked off Dak Prescott twice, they sacked him for times. He put up a whopping 60 passes, completing 41 for 403 yards and three touchdowns, all to former Wisconsin Badger tight end Jake Ferguson who pulled in 10 catches for 93 yards. The NFL’s leading receiver, CeeDee Lamb wound up with 9 catches for 110 yards but he was held to just one catch for 5 yards in the decisive first half.
When it was over, LaFleur met reporters just down the hall from a rocking locker room.
Kinglsey Enegbare suffered the most severe injury of the game which came late in the came.
The youngest NFL team to reach the playoffs since the 1974 Buffalo Bills surprised everyone who isn’t a part of this incredibly confident bunch of youngsters.
They now hold a 5-4 advantage for the Cowboys in the playoffs and have yet to lose at Jerry World (6-0). Now they head to Santa Clara, California to face the NFC’s top seeded San Francisco 49ers in what will be a league record 10th post-season matchup. They’ll be underdogs again but don’t tell the kids that.
The NFC Divisional Round game has been set for 7:15 PM CST at Levi’s Stadium next Saturday night.
The end zone paint job at AT&T said it all…..
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