Packers-Cowboys Playoffs: Dallas Has Big Edge in Postseason Experience

The Green Bay Packers are the NFL’s youngest playoff team in more than four decades. They will face the battle-tested Dallas Cowboys in Sunday’s wild-card game.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Will the Green Bay Packers be carried by youthful exuberance when they meet the Dallas Cowboys in Sunday’s wild-card playoff game? Or will they be young and dumb?

According to the NFL, the Packers are the youngest playoff team since the 1977 Chicago Bears. That was two years before Packers coach Matt LaFleur was born.

The Packers have 22 players with postseason experience. In total, those players have participated in 74 games. Kenny Clark leads the way with eight, followed by Preston Smith and De’Vondre Campbell with six, and Jaire Alexander, Rashan Gary, Aaron Jones and Darnell Savage with five.

The Cowboys have 35 players who’ve played in at least one playoff game. Led by defensive ends DeMarcus Lawrence and Dante Fowler and offensive linemen Zack Martin and Tyron Smith with eight playoff appearances apiece, Dallas’ roster has 127 games of postseason experience.

With the youngest roster in the NFL to start the season, this is the Packers’ least-experienced playoff team since the 1993 squad led by 24-year-old Brett Favre stunned the Detroit Lions in the wild-card round before losing at Dallas.

Smith (31) and Campbell (30) are the only thirtysomethings on Green Bay’s roster. Dallas has nine players who are 30-plus, including Martin, Smith and cornerback Stephon Gilmore, who are 33.

At quarterback, Dallas’ Dak Prescott has started six games. He’s thrown 216 playoff passes, with 11 touchdowns vs. six interceptions. Highlighted by a 305-yard game in last year’s win over Tampa Bay, he’s averaged 260 yards per game. Green Bay’s Jordan Love has no playoff experience.

For Green Bay, the 25-year-old Love will be throwing to nothing but first- and second-year players. Dontayvion Wicks is the youngest at 22; Christian Watson and Bo Melton are the old men at 24.

For Dallas, the 30-year-old Prescott’s favorite targets are 24-year-old receiver CeeDee Lamb, who led the league in receptions, 24-year-old tight end Jake Ferguson and 30-year-old receiver Brandin Cooks.

While the Packers are incredibly young, they got a taste of must-win games by closing the season with victories at Carolina, at Minnesota and at home against Chicago.

“We’ve been going through this the last few weeks,” LaFleur said. “We knew what was at stake. The last three weeks, basically, have been playoff games for us. So, really, it’s the next opportunity.”

LaFleur led the Packers to the playoffs for the fourth time in his five seasons. He is 2-3 in the postseason.

Dallas’ Mike McCarthy is 11-10 in the playoffs. He led the Packers to NFC Championship Games in 2007, 2010, 2014 and 2016, with the 2010 team, of course, winning the Super Bowl. He led the Cowboys to the playoffs for the third time in his four years on the job. They are 1-2, with losses to San Francisco in 2021 and 2022.

The Packers under LaFleur lost four in a row early in the season and two in a row late in the season before bouncing back with three consecutive wins to get in the playoffs. The Cowboys lost 31-10 at Buffalo and 22-20 at Miami in Weeks 15 and 16 but won their last two to claim the NFC East.

“I think this is a great example of why Buffalo and Miami was important (and) why San Fransisco was important that early in the season. It gives you a chance to refocus,” McCarthy said after beating the Commanders in Week 18.

“You’re going to get knocked on your ass in this league. Very few teams go through it and don’t experience that, but it is an incredible opportunity to grow and learn. I felt like our guys took to that. Obviously, we came back and won a game last week and another one this week. We’ve had these 17 games, and we’re ready to go.”

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