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by Troy A. Sparks sparkstroy@sbcglobal.net
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Save a season, beat the Cowboys
Which is exactly what the Green Bay Packers did to remain in Wildcard hunt
Packer Quarterback Aaron Rodgers prepares to hand the ball off during last week’s game against the Dallas Cowboys. |
The Packers’ defense stymied the potent Cowboys offense led by Wisconsin native Jerry Romo (number eight) and created three turnovers. Photos by Kim Robinson |
by Troy A. Sparks
sparkstroy@hotmail.com
Green Bay -- If the Green Bay Packers learned anything from the last two weeks, it was to play with a sense of urgency. And the pivotal game against the Dallas Cowboys Sunday would test their confidence after losses to Minnesota and Tampa Bay. The Packers rebounded in a big way with a 17-7 victory.
“It was a big win for us definitely,” quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. “We knew (being) 4-4 (and) playing a very good team ... It was an important time in our season to get back in this race.”
There wasn’t any scoring until late in the second quarter when Mason Crosby kicked a 42-yard field goal with no time remaining to give the Packers a 3-0 lead. Green Bay began a drive with 6 minutes 50 seconds left in the third quarter and couldn’t complete it before the quarter ended. It was still a three-point lead for the Packers.
Green Bay (5-4) continued the drive to begin the fourth quarter. Rodgers threw a short pass to receiver Jordy Nelson, who was tackled short of the goal line. Head coach Mike McCarthy challenged the play because he thought the ball crossed the plane before Nelson’s knee went down. He lost the challenge, and Green Bay was charged with a timeout.
Rodgers crossed the end zone on the next play and the extra point made it 10-0 with 13:14 left in the game. The 15-play scoring drive was the longest of the season and took 8:36 off the clock.
“We kind of said the same thing every drive there when it was 3-0,” Rodgers said. “We said, ‘Hey, this is going to be the drive. We need to get up two scores here... (I said) Hey, we need to help our defense out. Let’s keep them off the field. Let’s get up two scores. Let’s make (Dallas) one-dimensional.’”
The Packers’ defense turned up the intensity. Cornerback Charles Woodson was untouched from the left side of the Dallas line. He hit Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo from his blind side, knocking the ball loose. Linebacker Clay Matthews recovered the fumble. The Packers got the ball on the Dallas 3-yard line. Fullback Spencer Havner caught a 2-yard scoring pass from Rodgers. The Packers led 17-0 with 10:49 remaining.
Dallas (6-3) marched down the field late in the game. Their first scoring threat ended with an interception by Woodson with 6 minutes left. The Cowboys finally scored with 38 seconds left, trailing 17-7 and avoiding a shutout for the first time since 2003.
“I feel like every week, I’m going to go out and give 100 percent in whatever I do,” Woodson said. “But just from a team standpoint, from everybody just going out there and really playing with their backs against the wall mentality, I hope to see that for the rest of the season.”
Added linebacker Nick Barnett, “For us defensively, I thought we did really well. We had some red zone issues. And it was nothing that we couldn’t fix. I think we fixed some things. Everybody came out and played well.”
For the Cowboys, they have to figure out a way to regain momentum and hold on to not only to the NFC East division lead but also stay in the playoff hunt.
“We knew they were a good team,” tight end Jason Whitten said. “We were prepared for them, but we just didn’t execute the way we needed to. We can’t make any excuses. We just need to evaluate and get better from it. There’s a lot of football and we just have to move forward.”
“I think that is a fair assessment,” added Romo. “We made far too many mistakes. . . We shot ourselves in the foot with mental mistakes.”
Packers Notes: The 1967 “Ice Bowl” playoff game between the Packers and Cowboys is still considered the greatest game of all time and the coldest ever at 13 below zero….Punter Jeremy Kapinos is part of the reason the opponents return punts for positive yardage. His punts doesn’t stay in the air long enough for the coverage team to make a play….Tackle Daryn Colledge injured his ankle and did return….People watching a game on TV will see a play after a 10-second signal delay; spectators at the game already saw the play….The Packers outgained the Cowboys in total yards 283-278. They forced three Dallas fumbles, recovering two….A fan held a sign that said, “Fire Thompson.”
Cowboys Notes: Phillips was an assistant coach under his father Bum Phillips in Houston. He coached Green Bay general manager Ted Thompson in when Thompson was a back-up linebacker….Tackle Marc Colombo was injured in the first quarter and didn’t return. He suffered a broken left leg…. The Packers were about to give Dallas their first shutout in 94 games before the Cowboys scored a late touchdown.....Running back Marion Barber rushed for only 26 yards. Green Bay gave up 61 total rushing yards....Cornerback Allen Rossum was inactive for the Cowboys. His presence on defense was missed.....Dallas is still in first place in their division after the Philadelphia Eagles lost. “We just need to get back to work,” Phillips said. “We need to get in a better rhythm. We play at home next week (November 22 vs. Washington and Thanksgiving vs. Oakland), which I think will help us. It’s a tough league, and I knew it would be tough here in Green Bay.”
Record settin’ rookie
Milwaukee Bucks rookie sensation Brandon Jennings (number three) takes it to the hoop for two with a layup on the way to his record shattering 55 points during the Bucks 129-125 victory over the Golden State Warriors. Jennings broke the record for rookie scoring set by Bucks and NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (then Lew Alcindor) during the 1969-70 season. Jennings was two points away from tying the Bucks Michael Redd’s single-game franchise record of 57 points. (Photo by Harry Kemp)
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