By: Kylan Watson
The Green Bay Packers were able to beat the Dallas Cowboys in one of the most surprising outcomes of the 2016-2017 NFL Playoff match-ups so far. It took a game winning 51 yard field goal try by Packers kicker Mason Crosby to do it, but Green Bay defeated the Cowboys by a score of 34-31.
The Cowboys were the number one seed in the NFC and had the number one offense and the number one rushing attack in the league. The Cowboys also had the best record in the NFC and were favorites to reach the Super Bowl. However, all those rankings and predictions did not matter as the Cowboys were no match for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense, the Packers came out strong during the first half, as they were up by a score of 21-10 at half time. Aaron Rodgers was on fire as he was throwing his receivers open. The Cowboys were down by their biggest margin of the season thirteen points and ultimately could not overcome the deficit despite their best efforts.
In the second half the Cowboys came roaring back as they were able to pull off an epic come back and tie the game 28-28 in the last few minutes of the 4th quarter. The Packers were able to retake the lead thanks to a 50 yard field goal attempt by Crosby, giving the Packers a 31-28 lead.
Cowboys rookie quarterback Dak Prescott led his team on a long drive, which ultimately ended in a field goal, try by Cowboys kicker Dan Bailey. Bailey was able to make his 51 yard field goal attempt to tie the game 31-31. One of the mistakes that Dallas may look back on was during that drive Prescott chose to spike the ball with 48 seconds left on the clock. That ultimately doomed the Cowboys as it left the Packers with enough time to drive the length of the field and win the game.
Rodgers ultimately had too much time as he was able to make a 35 yard pass completion to tight end Jared Cook, which ultimately set up the field goal. Rodgers will go down as one of the most clutch quarter backs ever as his team moves on to the NFC Championship game to face the Atlanta Falcons.
The Cowboys were a team with a great offense, which masked their defensive weaknesses. The Cowboys had one of the worst defenses in the league, and ultimately their defense inability to stop the Packers cost them the game.
