Dallas City News

The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers have a long and storied history with each other, dating all the way back to the 1960s. There have been plenty of games against each other, and the playoff games have been especially riveting. One of the mot famous games in history, the Ice Bowl, was played between these two franchises back in 1967.

All in all, these two franchises have met eight times in the playoffs with the results split down the middle with four wins apiece. In the 2010s, the Packers famously beat the Cowboys in close games that included the Dez Bryant non-catch and the Jared Cook catch.

This will be the Cowboys 67th playoff game in their history, the most in the NFL. Dallas has won 36 times in the playoffs which is good for second most playoff wins in the NFL, tied with – you guessed it – the Packers. They both trail the New England Patriots with 37.

But, in the NFL, anything longer than a couple of years ago is ancient history. Most of both team’s rosters have turned over since their last playoff meeting at the end of the 2016 season. The Packers have a new quarterback in Jordan Love, and Cowboys fans pray he’s not going to be the nemesis that Aaron Rodgers was for Dallas.

The Cowboys are the favorites this time around based on their regular-season performance and record. DraftKings Sportsbook has the Cowboys as 7-point favorites versus the Packers.

Let’s dive into some facts and figures around the game.

The Cowboys are riding the connection between quarterback Dak Prescott and wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. The Cowboys star receiver finished the year as the leader in targets (181) and receptions (135). He also was tops among receivers in most yards after catch (680), scrimmage yards (1,862), touchdowns (14), and 20+yard receptions (29). He is the most dangerous weapon in the league right now.

He’s been carrying the Cowboys in recent weeks, He had 13 receptions in the Lions game and again in the Commanders game to end the regular season. Only Stefon Diggs has ever has 13 catches in consecutive games in NFL history. He did it in 2016. Lamb doesn’t shrink in the playoffs, either. Last year against the San Francisco 49ers, he had 10 catches for 117 yards.

His partner in crime this year is Dak Prescott. Four times this year Prescott completed over 80% of his passes in a game. 80%! He did it versus the Giants, Patriots, Rams and Commanders. That is the first time in NFL history that a quarterback has completed at least 80% of his passes in four games in a season.

Prescott is moving up the Cowboys franchise records for playoff games. He trails Danny White by four touchdown passes (15) for third in franchise history. Roger Staubach has 24 and Troy Aikman has 23. Prescott trails only Aikman for playoff completion percentage (63.4% to 63.7%).

Fast facts:

• Brandon Aubrey finished tops in the league for field goals made at 36. He is the fourth Cowboys kicker to accomplish that. Aubrey was also the scoring leader for 2023 with 157 points. The last kicker in his first season to lead the league in scoring was Mason Crosby in 2007.
• Stephon Gilmore likes the playoffs. He has played in seven playoff games in his career and has two interceptions and 11 pass breakups.
• The Cowboys will need Tony Pollard on Sunday. He has 26 carries for 134 yards in his two regular season games versus the Packers. He also has a touchdown. He had 22 carries for 115 yards in last year’s game.
• Dallas has the league’s second best offense when it comes to converting third downs (48.3%). Green Bay’s defense is 25th in third-down defense (41.1%). Advantage, Cowboys.

Team comparison stats:

Scoring Avg. (NFL rank): Dallas – 29.9 (1) Green Bay – 22.5 (12)

Opp. Scoring Avg. (NFL rank): Dallas – 29.9 18.5 (5) Green Bay – 22.5 20.6 (10)

Total Off. (NFL rank): Dallas – 29.9 371.6 (5) Green Bay – 22.5 345.5 (11)

Rushing Off. (NFL rank): Dallas – 29.9 112.9 (14) Green Bay – 22.5 112.1 (15)

Passing Off. (NFL rank): Dallas – 29.9 258.6 (3) Green Bay – 22.5 233.4 (12)

Total Def. (NFL rank): Dallas – 29.9 299.7 (5) Green Bay – 22.5 335.1 (17)

Rushing Def. (NFL rank): Dallas – 29.9 112.4 (16) Green Bay – 22.5 128.3 (28)

Passing Def. (NFL rank): Dallas – 29.9 187.4 (5) Green Bay – 22.5 206.8 (9)