The Green Bay Packers defeated the Dallas Cowboys 48-32 to advance to the divisional round of the NFL Playoffs. Their win sets them up to take on the San Francisco 49ers, the NFC’s top seed, next weekend.
Despite the 32 points scored by Dallas, the game was far from close. Jordan Love threw for 272 yards, had three touchdown passes to three different receivers (Dontayvion Wicks, Romeo Doubs, and Luke Musgrave), and had a passer rating of 157.2. Aaron Jones had 118 yards and three touchdowns in his continued domination over the Cowboys.
The defense, aside from garbage time, played well, too. Jaire Alexander had an interception before exiting the contest with an ankle injury, and Darnell Savage returned another interception for a touchdown. The defense also racked up four sacks by four players (De’Vondre Campbell, Lukas Van Ness, Keisean Nixon, and Preston Smith).
It was a completely dominating win in every sense of the word. To celebrate, let’s take a look at 10 fun stats that came out of their incredible performance.
10. The Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys Combined for 10 Offensive Touchdowns
The Dallas Cowboys averaged 29.9 points per game during the 2023 NFL regular season, the highest mark in the entire league. It is little wonder that they put up over 30 points against the Packers.
What was surprising to many, though, was how dominant the Packers’ offense was. Aaron Jones and Jordan Love moved the ball at will. Their six total touchdowns combined with four from Dallas (three passing touchdowns and one rushing score) totaled 10 touchdowns for the game.
The only non-offensive touchdown in the game was a pick-six by Packers’ safety Darnell Savage, which leads us to…
9. Darnell Savage’s Pick-Six Was the Ninth in Green Bay Packers Playoff History (Since 1960)
According to Statmuse, Savage’s pick-six was the Packers’ ninth interception returned for a touchdown in franchise history (dating back to 1960, which is as far back as their single-game stats go).
It was their first pick-six in a playoff game since the 2012 postseason. Sam Shields intercepted San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick early in the first quarter of their divisional round matchup. Green Bay, though, lost that game 45-31.
8. Jordan Love Becomes the Eighth Green Bay Packers Quarterback to Win a Playoff Game
- Arnie Herber
- Cecil Isbell
- Irv Comp
- Bart Starr
- Lynn Dickey
- Brett Favre
- Aaron Rodgers
- Jordan Love
7. The Green Bay Packers Became the First 7th Seed to Win a NFL Playoff Game
The NFL expanded the playoffs to include a seventh seed from each conference four years ago. Up until last night, no seventh seed had ever won their playoff matchup.
The Packers became the first.
6. Aaron Jones Averages 6.0 Yards Per Carry Against the Dallas Cowboys for His Career
Jones rushed the ball 21 times for 118 yards (5.6 yards per carry) and three touchdowns against the Cowboys on Sunday afternoon. He also had one reception for another 13 yards.
Jones’ domination of Dallas should not have come as a surprise. In three regular season games against them in his career, Jones averages 6.0 yards per carry. His most famous game against his childhood favorite team (Jones is from El Paso, Texas) was his 107-yard, four touchdown performance against them in 2019.
With his three touchdowns on Sunday, Jones has now scored nine touchdowns against the Cowboys in four career games (including playoffs).
5. The Win Was the Green Bay Packers’ Fifth Over the Dallas Cowboys in Their Playoff History
The Packers and Cowboys have been rivals of a sort for decades. Sunday’s wild card game was the ninth time the two teams faced each other in the NFL Playoffs. Green Bay’s victory gives them a 5-4 edge over Dallas in the all-time postseason matchup.
4. Green Bay Packers Send Dallas Cowboys to 1-3 in Four Playoff Games Under Mike McCarthy
Former Packers head coach Mike McCarthy had a 10-8 postseason record with Green Bay that included a Super Bowl victory in 2010. Outside of that magical run, though, he was 6-8 in the playoffs and oversaw many frustrating losses during his tenure.
Since becoming the Cowboys’ head coach in 2020, McCarthy has guided Dallas to three-straight 12-win seasons. However, the Cowboys are just 1-3 in four playoff games under McCarthy. Things do not look good for him in Dallas going forward, but more on that later.
3. The Win Was the Green Bay Packers’ Third Consecutive Win over the Dallas Cowboys in the Playoffs
It was also the Packers’ third-consecutive playoff win over the Cowboys since Dallas defeated Green Bay in the 1995 NFC Championship Game. The Packers beat the Cowboys in the 2014 and 2016 divisional rounds.
2. The Green Bay Packers May Have Gotten Mike McCarthy Fired for a Second Time
As mentioned, McCarthy is just 1-3 in the NFL Playoffs since taking over as the Cowboys head coach. Despite 36 regular season wins in the previous three seasons combined, his failure to even advance them to the NFC Championship Game may be enough to make him just the latest Jerry Jones casualty.
1. Jordan Love Wins His First NFL Playoff Game
Of course, Jordan Love is going to take the number one spot, winning his first NFL playoff game in historic fashion. He became the first Green Bay quarterback to win his playoff debut and did so with the highest passer rating (157.2) of any quarterback making his first playoff start.
Love’s 99.8 QBR in the game is also the highest QBR achieved by any quarterback in NFL postseason history.
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