Dallas Cowboys

How the Green Bay Packers can defeat the Cowboys in divisional round

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 9:17 p.m. ET

Fansided, Freddie Boston/FanSided via Lombardi Ave

Three wins stands between the Green Bay Packers and a fifth Lombardi Trophy. What must they do to take down the Dallas Cowboys?Ready for a revenge game? You got it. I’m of course talking about Christine Michael’s chance to play his former team. What did you think I meant?Nobody has forgotten Dez Bryant’s non-catch in a hurry, and the Cowboys would love nothing more than to send the Packers out at the same stage their season ended two years ago. Aaron Rodgers led a dramatic comeback on essentially one leg that afternoon. Dallas will need to slow down the two-time MVP to have a chance of winning.PODCAST: Talking Packers-CowboysANALYSIS: Why Packers can beat Cowboys without JordyIn one corner you have the red-hot Packers, winners of seven straight with all the momentum you could wish for. Their MVP quarterback is playing some of the best football of his career. Then you have the home team, winners of 13 in the regular season and arguably the NFL’s best team. Fresh from a week off, they are ready to continue their charge towards a title.The Cowboys dominated the Packers at Lambeau in Week 6 en route to the conference’s No. 1 seed. What must the Packers do to ensure the regular season is all the ‘Boys win?Next: The Cowboys' biggest weapon Mandatory Credit: Tim Heitman-USA TODAY Sports

Prevent the big play on defense

Dallas’ powerful offense wears down defenses until they finally surrender the big play. The Packers must maintain discipline, no easy task.

Ezekiel Elliott is the biggest threat. He rushed for 157 yards against the Packers’ then-No. 1 ranked run defense in Week 6. But it’s not just his ability on the ground to be concerned about, it’s what this sets up.

The Cowboys thrive on the play-action passing game. Making aggressive defenders bite on the fake handoff can lead to big gains downfield. The Giants remained disciplined in their 10-7 win over the Cowboys, although one lapse led to a 33-yard Terrance Williams touchdown on a play-action pass, Dallas’ only points of the game.

Green Bay’s bend-not-break defense has done its job in recent weeks, allowing just 17.9 points per game during the seven-game win streak. Keeping Dallas’ high-powered offense out of the end zone with regularity won’t be easy.

But frequent big plays can’t be allowed. That could spell a quick end to the Packers’ hopes of advancing.

Win without Jordy Nelson

The Packers will likely have to take down the NFC’s top seed without Jordy Nelson.

#Packers WR Jordy Nelson suffered at least two fractured ribs in the win over #Giants, sources say. Will take an incredible effort to play.

— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) January 9, 2017

If Nelson is out as expected, gone will be 1,257 yards and 14 touchdowns of production. Aaron Rodgers’ most trusted and reliable pass catcher will be nothing more than a bystander. And while Nelson’s season-ending injury derailed the Packers’ Super Bowl hopes before they even began in 2015, his absence doesn’t have to sound the death knell of the 2016 Packers.

As I wrote earlier in the week, Green Bay can win without Jordy. Does it become a tougher challenge for Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense? Of course, but this team is better prepared than a year ago.

First off, Davante Adams is a completely different player. Fully healthy, he’s become the boundary threat the Packers hoped they had drafted in the second round three years ago. He can shake off press coverage, win deep downfield and fight for contested catches. Without Nelson last week, Adams stepped up with eight catches for 125 yards and a touchdown. If Randall Cobb can continue last week’s form, look out.

Rodgers is playing at a higher level than he did for much of last year, and a key piece to this is his protection. Injuries plagued the Packers offensive line in 2015, but Rodgers’ pass protection this season has been arguably the league’s best.

Losing Nelson for any length of time is bad news for the Packers, but unlike last year, it’s not an absence they can’t overcome.

Mandatory Credit: Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Give Rodgers time to throw

It’s almost unfair. Give a future Hall-of-Fame quarterback time in the pocket and he’ll shred any defense and make it look easy. In his past eight games, Aaron Rodgers has thrown 22 touchdown passes without an interception. The Packers have won seven straight as a result, averaging 31.9 points per game over that span.

No matter how good your coverage is, you could throw a blanket over the Packers receivers, give Rodgers time and he’ll eventually find someone. Playing the way he is, Rodgers is nearly impossible to defend. That’s the problem Dallas’ No. 14 ranked pass defense runs into on Sunday afternoon.

Inside a dome there will be no elements for Rodgers to deal with. He will throw with deadly accuracy. The Cowboys only hope is to keep him in the pocket, hold good coverage and eventually make the sack or force him to throw it away. As the Giants will tell you, doing so for four quarters is easier said than done.

We are witnessing one of the greatest stretches of Rodgers’ incredible career. If he reaches the same heights on Sunday, there may be no stopping the Packers. Dallas’ pass rush has improved—13 of their 36 sacks coming in their past four games—but they will need the best performance of the season to slow down the two-time MVP.

Give him time and it might be game over.