The Dallas Cowboys defense entered Sunday’s NFC Wild Card matchup as one of the NFL’s most disruptive defenses but exited a dejected and defeated bunch thanks to a dominant effort from the offensive line of the Green Bay Packers.
Jordan Love wasn’t sacked, and the Packers rushed for 143 yards. In terms of disruption, the Cowboys registered nothing more than one tackle for loss and three quarterback hits. Per Next Gen Stats, Micah Parsons had just one pressure.
This could have been the deciding matchup of the game for the Cowboys, who finished the regular season as the top ranked pass-rushing defense at Pro Football Focus. The Packers started two second-year offensive tackles making their first playoff appearance and have had question marks at center and right guard all season. Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Dante Fowler and Osa Odighizuwa had a real chance to rule the day.
The result Sunday? One-sided domination the other way. The Packers ripped off four runs of at least 10 yards overall and three touchdown runs inside the 10-yard line, and Love had plenty of time to complete 16 of 21 passes, including six completions of 20 or more yards. Green Bay’s offense finished averaging 7.7 yards per play and at one in the second half was averaging nearly 10 per play.
The @packers offensive line was outstanding yesterday. Pushed the Cowboys DL all over the field.
The Packers run game caught the Cowboys moving on defense plenty of times including this Jones 27 yard run!
Cowboys cross dog, Packers C, LG and LT block it up. It’s excellent pic.twitter.com/KunkRULG10— Geoff Schwartz (@geoffschwartz) January 15, 2024
Love was only under real pressure on four dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats. He completed all four passes — including a touchdown — when pressured. Jones’ success rate as a runner was over 50 percent once again.
The Packers offensive line has been rolling as of late. Jones has four straight games with 100 or more rushing yards, and Love has been sacked just twice during the four-game win streak. The group up front has gained valuable experience and continuity down the stretch as the Packers have caught fire overall as an offense.
Love and Jones will get a lot of the credit for the Packers marching into AT&T Stadium and lighting the place on fire. And rightfully so; Love was masterful as a passer, and Jones continued his incredible dominance of the Cowboys, especially in Dallas. But none of it is possible without the collective work of Rasheed Walker, Elgton Jenkins, Josh Myers, Jon Runyan Jr., Sean Rhyan and Zach Tom. The six offensive linemen — the Packers rotate at right guard — were dominant in the biggest game of the season.
