Well that was fun, huh? When the Green Bay Packers jumped out to a 21-3 lead, it looked like we were in for another boring playoff game. That proved to be the furthest thing from the truth, as the Dallas Cowboys rallied back, tying the game twice in the final four minutes or so. But the Packers pulled out the win, thanks to Aaron Rodgers doing Aaron Rodgers things again.
Here are three things we learned from the Packers win over the Cowboys.
3. Cowboys' Defense Looked More Like What We Expected This Year
The biggest issue for the Cowboys today was on the defensive side of the ball, especially the pass defense. Aaron Rodgers made some fantastic throws and earned a win (more on that below), but the Cowboys looked like the defense we had expected at the start of the season. Rodgers had pretty much all day to sit back and make throws. The Cowboys couldn't get pressure and the corners couldn't cover long enough, especially on third downs. The Packers were 6 of 11 on third downs, including a 3rd and 20 with seconds left that The biggest weaknesses for the Cowboys entering this season was the pass rush and secondary.
That was painfully evident today for Cowboys fans and it helped cost them a playoff win (although Rodgers' play was a major factor in their loss). Expect the Cowboys to focus heavily on adding more defensive help (namely, pass rush) this offseason. After all, all three sacks came from corner blitzes.
2. The Talk Of Subbing Romo In For Prescott Was Stupid
When the Cowboys fell behind 21-3, social media was abuzz with the idea of the Cowboys putting in Tony Romo to replace Dak Prescott. The rationale being, that Romo was better suited to air it out and win a shootout. That was an idiotic, unrealistic idea at the time and looks even worse at the end of the game.
For starters, Romo has hardly played and hardly practiced with the Cowboys first team this year. Prime Romo is built for a shootout, but he wasn't ready to enter the game cold like that. An injury to Romo would have killed any trade value for Romo, which is frankly the Cowboys' main concern at this point. And speaking of the future, what better way to show you trust and believe in your franchise QB than by sitting him down in the second quarter for a backup when Prescott hadn't even done anything wrong?
Then Prescott went out and completed 24 of 38 passes for 302 yards for 3 TDs, a pick (admittedly a bad one) and the game-tying two-point conversion. The result wasn't wanted the Cowboys wanted, but Prescott proved himself yet again against the Packers. Don't let anyone tell you the Cowboys win that game with Tony Romo. Prescott gave them the best chance to win and he damn near pulled off an 18-point comeback.
1. Aaron Rodgers Can Carry This Team To A Super Bowl
Did we kinda already know this one? It might be a bit obvious, but Rodgers has proven once again he can carry this team to a Super Bowl. The Cowboy are a really good team and despite his defense faltering down the stretch, Rodgers still found a way to pick up a win. I mean seriously, who completes a 35-yard pass on 3rd and 20 to get into field goal range? Rodgers threw for 356 yards, three TDs and even chipped in 16 rushing yards. The rest of his team had 71 yards in total. Sure, he finally threw a pick, but Rodgers once again put the team on his back. He might not be able to win the Super Bowl (that Packers defense has serious problems and Matt Ryan is playing damn near as well as Rodgers), but if anyone can do it, it's Rodgers right now.