Cowboys at Packers: The End of Aaron Rodgers Nightmares for Dallas?
Nobody has tormented the Dallas Cowboys quite like Aaron Rodgers.
The four-time NFL MVP Rodgers boasts a 7-2 record as a starter against the Cowboys, including his two post-season victories. In eight regular-season games, Rodgers has thrown for 1,940 yards and 11 touchdowns with just one interception.
But this Sunday's matchup between these two old rivals looks different.
The Packers are three games under .500 (3-6), coming off a disappointing 15-9 loss against the Detroit Lions (2-6). For a quarterback like Rodgers, who has dominated his competition in the division (57-23-1 against NFC North teams), his three-interceptions performance, two of which came in the red zone, seems to be sounding alarms amid a five-game losing streak.
On the other hand, the Cowboys hold one of the best divisions in the NFC (6-2) and look to be a team getting back to full strength.
The return of quarterback Dak Prescott from a season-opening thumb injury has helped the resurgence of the Cowboys offense. Beating the Lions 24-6 in Prescott's first game back before an offensive explosion against the Chicago Bears a week later, 49-29. Not to mention, running back Ezekiel Elliott is expected to return after a knee injury held him out versus the Bears.
Matching up the red-hot Cowboys defense, which leads the league in sacks, against a struggling Packers offense has the making of a revenge game for "America's Team.''
And a winnable game, too, as the visitors are favored by 4.5 points.
Sunday's game in the "Frozen Tundra" will serve as a reunion/homecoming for Cowboys' head coach Mike McCarthy. McCarthy spent 13 seasons in Green Bay, Wisconsin, leading them to the 2011 Super Bowl before getting fired before the end of the 2018 season. McCarthy spoke glowingly about Rodgers on Monday despite not always seeing eye-to-eye with his future Hall of Fame quarterback.
"I'm really looking forward to seeing Aaron,'' said McCarthy, who got choked up and emotional about family and friends and Green Bay in his discussion with the media on Monday. "I have nothing but love and gratitude for him.''
Coming out of the bye week, Sunday's game at Green Bay will be the beginning of the final stretch for the Cowboys. Sitting second in the NFC East behind the still-undefeated Philadelphia Eagles makes every game for Dallas a must-win. ... and Rodgers' and the Packers' situation makes a Dallas "can-win'' - a rarity in the recent series.
Oh, and would it all mean a little more to McCarthy, who admitted his firing "left a dent'' emotionally in his Green Bay-based family?
"I really want to win the game,'' McCarthy said, smiling, then wondering of his quotability, "Is that enough?''
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