Jordan Love passed for three touchdowns, Aaron Jones ran for three more, and Darnell Savage returned an interception 64 yards for a touchdown, and the Green Bay Packers stunned the Dallas Cowboys with a 48-32 victory in the wild-card game on Sunday. This was the first time the Cowboys had lost at home since the 2022 season opener.
As the Packers won Love’s first postseason game, Romeo Doubs set a new career best with 151 receiving yards a week after being hospitalized with a chest injury. The Packers finished the regular season with a record of 6-2, which earned them the final playoff slot in the National Football Conference.
San Francisco, the top-seeded team in the division, will be Green Bay’s opponent in the divisional round the following weekend.
Another disappointment for Dak Prescott and the Cowboys (12-6), who are the No. 2 seed in the playoffs, was the fact that he threw two interceptions before throwing three touchdown throws that were essentially empty.
After having won its previous sixteen home games during the regular season, Dallas has now conceded the most points in a single game in the history of the club’s playoff competition. A previous high of 38 was reached.
During the course of this season, the Cowboys did not trail by more than eight points at AT&T Stadium before falling down 27-0 in the first half. This is despite the fact that they have not won an NFC championship since the most recent of their five Super Bowl triumphs, which occurred nearly 28 years ago.
It is the second time in the Cowboys’ three postseasons that they have lost their playoff opener at home under the direction of the former Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy, and this loss will raise questions about the future of McCarthy as the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys.
Over the course of three consecutive postseasons, Dallas has become the only club to win at least 12 games without making it to the championship game of their conference.
Over the course of six trips to AT&T Stadium, the Packers have never suffered a defeat, including a victory over Pittsburgh in the Super Bowl played during the 2010 season. After a 34-31 divisional victory against the Cowboys in 2016, when Dallas was the top seed in the National Football Conference, they now have two triumphs over the Cowboys in the playoffs. Aaron Rodgers led the way in that victory.
They allowed a lead of 21-3 to be lost by those Packers. Before Dallas scored two touchdowns late in the game, these Packers, who were led by the four-time MVP’s successor, left little room for doubt with a 48-16 advantage in the fourth quarter.
Green Bay tied its Super Bowl-winning club from 2010 for the most points scored in a postseason game and did so while facing the fifth-best defense in the National Football League. In the divisional round, they won 48-21 against the top-seeded Atlanta team. This triumph again took place away from home.
Doubs had 102 yards at the halftime break, having returned to the Green Bay bench following his trip to the hospital before the conclusion of the 17-9 victory against Chicago that the Packers achieved at home last week, which earned a position in the playoffs. It was seven more than the previous best performed by the player in their second year.
Love was able to get going with the help of first-half catches of 22, 26, and 39 yards. The fourth-year quarterback ended with 16 of 21 passes for 272 yards, and the Packers scored touchdowns on seven of their first eight drives in their highest-scoring game since 2014.
Jaire Alexander, who had been doubtful coming into the game due to a sprained ankle he sustained during the week, was the one who made the first interception for Dak Prescott at the Dallas 19-yard line. This caused one of the touchdowns to be set up.
Although the Cowboys had scored ten points on both sides of the halftime break, they were able to finish out the game with the help of a 46-yard grab made by Doubs early in the second half. There were touchdown catches made by Doubs, Luke Musgrave, and Dontayvion Wicks.
Jones ran for 118 yards, which pushed him over the century mark in each of his four career games against the Cowboys. He also scored nine touchdowns when he was playing against them.
When Prescott attempted to throw a slant to top receiver CeeDee Lamb on a chilly day in the Dallas region, the throng that was gathered under the retractable roof had already been completely subdued.
With 1:50 remaining before halftime, Savage took the lead and ran the ball without being intercepted, giving his team a 27-0 advantage. This was the first time in his five-year career that he had gone through the regular season without making an interception.
Jake Ferguson, a tight end, was the recipient of all three of Prescott’s touchdown passes, which he completed 41 of 60 passes for 403 yards.
