Cowboys vs Packers: 6 things to know about wild card opponent

The regular season is over and now the real fun begins for the Dallas Cowboys! Their goal of ending a quarter-century championship drought begins on wild-card weekend when the Cowboys host the Green Bay Packers.

It was hard to imagine the team hosting a playoff game at AT&T Stadium a few weeks ago, but a late season swoon by the Philadelphia Eagles made it possible. Dallas is notably undefeated at home this year and is riding a 16-game winning streak playing in “Jerry World,” so they’re very comfortable hosting the seventh-seeded Packers.

The Cowboys have said this year is about more than just getting to the postseason, the urgency is there to make a run at a championship. The time for talk is over, now it’s time for action. Here are six things to know about their weekend opponent.

Have Dallas' number

Some teams just have another team’s number, and the Packers seem to have the Cowboys’ number. The Cowboys haven’t beaten Green Bay since 2016, and that was a regular season game during quarterback Dak Prescott’s rookie year. However, that was the only win for Dallas over the Packers in the last 10 years, going 1-6 during that span.

Green Bay’s been a particular nemesis in the playoffs, beating the Cowboys twice in heartbreaking fashion. The ‘Dez Caught It’ game in 2014 was a killer and something Cowboys fans will never get over, but it wasn’t the only tough postseason loss to the Packers.

The team’s comeback bid at home in the 2016 playoff defeat was a crusher as well. The Cowboys were down big, came back to tie it up, only to get beat at the last second. How quarterback Aaron Rodgers held onto the ball on the blindside hit from safety Jeff Heath late in the fourth quarter will forever be puzzling. Just two plays later, Rodgers found tight end Jared Cook down the field for a miraculous 35-yard gain to set up a Mason Crosby, game-winning, 51-yard field goal.

There have been other brutal losses in the regular season, like last year’s choke job from the Cowboys, but now feels like a great time to end the string of crushing defeats for Jones’ team. Dallas can exercise some demons by sending Green Bay packing on wild-card weekend.

Hot second half to their season

The Packers made the postseason with a 9-8 record, but it was a rough start to the year without Rodgers under center. After winning on opening day, the Packers then went 2-6 over their next eight games.

In the second half of the season, Matt LaFluer’s team went 6-2, including a pair of three-game winning streaks to earn their way into the playoffs. The great run to end the season featured a Thanksgiving win in Detroit and a home victory over the Kansas City Chiefs.

Green Bay won their last three games to gain their postseason berth and were one of the hottest teams in the league down the stretch.

Jordan Love had an impressive year

A few years before the Packers moved on from Rodgers, they drafted Jordan Love to prepare for the future Hall of Famers exit. The team used the No. 26 pick on Love in the 2020 draft, but this is the first full year for the QB out of Utah State.

It looks like the few seasons on the bench and learning has paid off. In taking over the reins, Love’s first year as starter has produced a 32-11 touchdown-to-interception ratio and 4,159 yards passing. The 32 passing scores were second in the league, four behind Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott.

When Love got comfortable, so did the Packers. In the final eight games, Love threw for 18 touchdowns and had just one interception. Love hasn’t been picked off in the last four games, after he had thrown interceptions in six of seven contests.

Love has proven to be one of the best young quarterbacks in the league and has gotten better as the season’s gone on.

Young play makers

The Packers are one of the youngest teams in the league and they have a core of athletic play makers who have been routinely torching defenses. Love’s job is made easier by just finding the open receivers and allowing them to do the rest in the open field.

Rookie wide receiver Jayden Reed led the offense in scores with 10, eight of which came through the air. Reed has scored in six of his last eight games and seven of his touchdowns came in the last eight weeks.

Fellow rookie WR Dontayvion Wicks has also been on fire, scoring three of his four touchdowns in the last two weeks.

The Packers also have a pair of second-year WRs who have been good this season. Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs combined for 13 touchdowns, and Doubs is second on the Packers in receptions and scores on almost one out of every eight catches.

Watson has missed the last few games with a hamstring injury but is expected to play. Last year Watson burned the Cowboys for three touchdowns in the comeback win.

Add in a rookie tight end, Tucker Kraft, who is averaging 52 yards a game over the last five weeks, and the Dallas defense has their hands full.

The receivers are young, athletic, and nightmares to bring down in space. The Cowboys need to tackle well if they want to win this game.

Aaron Jones is a Cowboys killer

The Packers didn’t have a top running game this season, but they do have a RB who crushes the Cowboys.

Running back Aaron Jones would have reached 1,000 yards rushing if he played in all 17 games, but injuries limited him to just 11 contests. Jones did average 4.6 yards a carry and had his best stretch of games over the final three weeks of the season, rushing for over 100 yards all three.

Jones also has a history of dominating the Dallas defense. In his three games against the Cowboys, the veteran RB out of UTEP has 100-yard games in all three and has scored six times, including a four-touchdown performance at AT&T Stadium in 2019.

Jones has averaged a ridiculous six yards a carry against the Cowboys in his career. Not surprisingly, the Packers have won all three games.

The improving rush defense from Dan Quinn’s unit needs to keep Jones in check if they want to beat the Packers in the wild card round. It’s time to stop the madness.

Attack a vulnerable defense

Green Bay is a middle-of-the-pack defense that can be attacked and bullied. Joe Barry’s defense is raked 28th in the league against the run and they allow over 128 yards a contest on the ground. In one of their most recent losses, the Packers gave up 209 yards rushing to the New York Giants, but they also allowed over 200 yards on the ground on four occasions this season.

The Packers’ passing defense is the considerably better part of the unit, but they’ve had some rough games as well. In their December loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Packers gave up 381 yards and four touchdowns to quarterback Baker Mayfield. The following week saw their defense allow rookie QB Bryce Young to throw for 312 yards and two scores.

There will be opportunities for Prescott and the offense to shred a defense that needs to get to the quarterback to be at their best. If the Cowboys can protect Prescott and run the ball efficiently, they’ll be able to put up points.

Story originally appeared on Cowboys Wire