The Green Bay Packers, the seventh and final seed in the NFC, have punched their ticket into the postseason after defeating the Minnesota Vikings, the Chicago Bears, and the Carolina Panthers to end the regular season. This Sunday in the Wild Card round, they take on the second-seeded Dallas Cowboys, led by former coach Mike McCarthy.
In addition to McCarthy’s ties to the Packers, the clash between Green Bay and Dallas in Arlington will be intriguing since it will pit the team’s explosive attack against Dallas’ formidable defense.
Against the Cowboys’ mediocre run defense, Green Bay’s best bet is to get the ball into Aaron Jones’ hands as much as possible in both the run and pass games. When did Green Bay last play in Dallas, if you recall? In a 34-24 triumph, Jones gained 109 yards on 19 carries and four touchdowns.
The Cowboys’ defense is coordinated by Dan Quinn, who previously caused problems for the Packers when he was a member of the Seattle Seahawks in the early 2010s. On opening night of 2014, the Seahawks’ defense allowed just 16 points against Aaron Rodgers, and they scored 22 points in the NFC Championship that year when the Seahawks overcame a 16-point deficit to win 28–22 and advance to Super Bowl XLIX. The Cowboys’ pass defense is ranked fifth in the league, allowing only 187.4 passing yards per game. However, Dallas’ weak point is their run defense, ranking 16th in the league with 112.4 yards per game allowed.
The Cowboys allow their opponents just 18.5 points per game on average. For the past two months, Jordan Love has been playing some of his greatest football. Had three touchdown passing efforts in the Vikings, Chiefs, and Detroit Lions games. The offense in Green Bay has worked out how to engage young, inexperienced players while putting the ball into the hands of their playmakers.
Jones has had outstanding performances in the last three games, rushing for a total of 358 yards on 63 runs, but that game was four years ago. That translates to 5.7 yards per rush on average. In the end, he also had several huge carries against Chicago that effectively ended the game.
Green Bay’s youthful receiving corps has performed admirably in the passing game over the last several months. However, they might not be able to break free from Dallas’ talented secondary. Nevertheless, Jayden Reed outperformed the Vikings and Bears. After the reception, he gained a lot of yards and gained separation from their defensive backs. Just before halfway against Minnesota, he took the ball 22 yards after the catch to score. In the fourth quarter, he made a huge catch against the Bears that resulted in a dramatic change of momentum. He sprinted 39 yards after snagging the ball.
Trevon Diggs ought to be able to get some distance on the route if he stands up for Reed. Despite being a ballhawk, Diggs has had trouble staying in coverage while running routes.
Dallas is likely to score points against the Packers’ defense. Over the last two weeks, Green Bay’s defense has performed admirably, giving up just 12 points thanks to a mishandled punt against Minnesota that was followed by a touchdown a few plays later. But that was against an injured Vikings offense starting their fourth quarterback of the season in Jaren Hall, and a mediocre Bears attack that ranks 20th in total offense with an average of 323 total yards per game.
The Cowboys boast one of the top offenses in the NFL this year, led by MVP-caliber play from Dak Prescott. In addition, he possesses numerous weapons in Michael Gallup, CeeDee Lamb, Jalen Tolbert, and Jake Ferguson.
If the Packers concentrate on getting Jones the ball, they should be able to score points against the Cowboys as well. The Cowboys’ young receivers ought to produce some plays if they can contain Jones. Bo Melton, Dontayvion Wicks, and Jayden Reed have all produced well in the past month.
But keep in mind that anything can happen now that the Packers are in the postseason because they are on a hot streak heading into it.
