Packers-Cowboys Wild-Card Showdown Set for Sunday Afternoon

The Green Bay Packers (9-8) will battle the Dallas Cowboys (12-5) in an NFC Wild Card game at AT&T Stadium. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers with a young quarterback named Brett Favre lost at the Dallas Cowboys in the 1993, 1994 and 1995 playoffs before winning the Super Bowl in 1996.

In 2023, the Packers’ next young-gun quarterback, Jordan Love, will make his playoff debut at former coach Mike McCarthy’s Cowboys. Kickoff is set for 3:30 p.m. Sunday.

The Packers dominated the Bears everywhere but the scoreboard, earning a 17-9 victory on Sunday at Lambeau Field to grab an improbable playoff berth.

“I’m just happy that we’re in the playoffs, honestly,” Love said after a masterful 27-of-32 performance. “Whoever it was that we were going to be play, they’re going to get our best effort.”

Dallas’ win, coupled with Philadelphia’s ugly loss to the Giants, handed the Cowboys the NFC East title and the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs. Their 12-5 record was tied for the best in the NFC behind the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers and ahead of the No. 3 Detroit Lions.

The Packers are seven-point underdogs at FanDuel Sportsbook, the most lopsided game on the Wildcard Weekend docket. The Cowboys are a powerhouse; they have the third-best Super Bowl odds.

Dallas is 8-0 at home, though one of those wins came two weeks ago, a controversial 20-19 verdict over the Lions.

“It’s going to be great for our team, in terms of, we’ve got to go on the road and earn it,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “Certainly, going to Dallas is not going to be an easy task. Got a lot of respect for what Coach McCarthy has been able to establish there. They’ve got a lot of great players.

“We saw them last year and it was a tough battle. So, we’re going to have to be at our best in order to go down there and come out with a victory.”

Dallas, which crushed Washington 38-10 on Sunday, led the NFC in scoring differential, their plus-194 finishing one point better than the 49ers.

With the Sunday night game to be played:

- The Cowboys were No. 1 in the NFL with 29.9 points per game.

- The Cowboys were No. 5 with 18.5 points allowed per game.

- Dak Prescott was No. 1 with 36 touchdown passes, No. 2 with 4,516 passing yards and No. 2 with a 105.9 rating.

- CeeDee Lamb was No. 1 with 135 receptions and 1,749 yards and No. 2 with 12 touchdown receptions.

- Micah Parsons was No. 8 with 13 sacks and No. 4 with 32 quarterback hits.

- Daron Bland was No. 1 with eight interceptions, including an NFL-record five pick-sixes.

This will be Prescott’s fifth playoff appearance. He is 2-4 with a 92.3 passer rating. Last year, he threw four touchdown passes in a blowout win over Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers but threw two interceptions in a 19-12 loss at the San Francisco 49ers.

This, of course, will be Love’s playoff debut. He’s been impervious to playoff-like pressure the last three weeks.

“He’s about the right sh**,” LaFleur said, apologizing for the profanity. He’s about all the right things. The guy just comes to work every day, has a great attitude, is one of the guys, has really improved over the course of four years. I’m just super-happy for him. He’s earned it.”

The teams have split their eight playoff games. Green Bay won the infamous Dez Bryant game at Lambeau Field in the 2014 playoffs and the legendary Mason Crosby game at AT&T Stadium in 2016. The Packers reached NFC Championship Games both seasons.

Overall, the Packers are 21-17 – including 17-13 in the regular season – all-time against Dallas. They’ve won four in a row, including 31-28 at Lambeau last year and 34-24 at Dallas in 2019 when Aaron Jones ran for four touchdowns.

“I’m just honored to be in the playoffs and get to go to battle again and prove people wrong,” Jones said.

Through Youth, Injuries and Slumps, Packers Earn Playoff Spot