AT&T Stadium – Arlington, TX
Kickoff: Sunday, 4:40 p.m. ET
Line: Dallas -4.5, Total: 52.0

The Cowboys will be looking to carry over their magic from the regular season into a Divisional Round meeting with the Packers on Sunday.

The Packers are coming off of an impressive victory over the Giants in the Wild Card round, as Green Bay beat New York 38-13 as a five-point home favorite. The Packers are rolling right now, as they have won seven straight games and covered in six of those seven. Green Bay’s offense is averaging 35.0 PPG over the past five games, and it’ll take another solid performance on that end to beat Dallas in this game. There should be a lot of points scored in this game, so both offenses must come ready to play. The Cowboys might not have won each of their past seven, but this team was a remarkable 13-3 SU and 10-6 ATS during the regular season. They probably would have won their Week 17 game against the Eagles if they played their starters, as well. The Packers and Cowboys have already met once this season, and Dallas won that game 30-16 as a five-point underdog at Lambeau Field. It was one of the Cowboys’ most impressive victories of the season, but the Packers were really struggling at that point in the year. One trend favoring Green Bay in this game is that the team is 14-3 ATS after allowing 99 or fewer rushing yards in three straight games under head coach Mike McCarthy. The Packers are also facing a Cowboys team that is 0-6 ATS versus teams allowing 24 or more yards per kickoff return in the second half of the season over the past two seasons. Green Bay will, however, be without WR Jordy Nelson (Ribs) and that is a brutal loss at this point in the year.

The Packers might be the hottest team in football right now, and that is because QB Aaron Rodgers (4,428 yards, 40 TD, 7 INT) is absolutely lighting it up for Green Bay. Rodgers has thrown for four touchdowns and no picks in each of the past four games, and all of them were equally as impressive. The first of those games was against a very good Vikings defense. He then picked apart Detroit in a game that determined the NFC North winner. Then last week, Rodgers completed 25 of 40 pass attempts for 362 yards in a home playoff victory over the Giants. Rodgers struggled against Dallas earlier in the season, throwing for only one touchdown with one pick. It is, however, unfair to compare this game to that one, as Green Bay was at it’s lowest at that point in the season. The Packers looked like they were surely going to miss the postseason, but they got hot late in the year and now look like one of the league’s elite teams. One thing that would help Rodgers in this game would be a successful ground attack. Ty Montgomery (457 yards, 3 TD rushing – 44 rec, 348 yards receiving) is the team’s featured back with Lacy and Starks injured, and Montgomery struggled against New York last week. He rushed for only 27 yards on 11 carries, and that type of performance is not going to cut it on Sunday. Green Bay could also turn to RB Christine Michael (583 yards, 7 TD) if Montgomery is still feeling the effects of the ankle injury he suffered last round. Defensively, Green Bay needs to find a way to slow down Dallas’ rushing game. If the Packers can’t do that then it’s likely that they’ll get blown out.

The Cowboys had an excellent regular season, but this team has Super Bowl aspirations. Getting through the Packers is not going to be easy, though. Green Bay is a very good football team and Dallas will need to be on its game in order to win this one. One guy that will need to come through for the Cowboys is RB Ezekiel Elliott (1,631 yards, 15 TD). Dallas goes as Elliott goes, as this team wins games by dominating on the ground and winning the time of possession battle. Elliott is one of the best running backs in the entire league, but he also runs behind the NFL’s best offensive line. When he faced Green Bay earlier in the season, Elliott rushed for 157 yards on 28 carries. He didn’t find the end zone in that game, but he did make life on QB Dak Prescott (3,667 yards, 23 TD, 4 INT) easier. Prescott threw for 247 yards with three touchdowns and only one pick in that win for the Cowboys. He is not going to make many mistakes, and does what he can to put the ball in the hands of Dallas’ playmakers. One of those would be WR Dez Bryant (50 rec, 796 yards, 8 TD), who had three 100-yard games in the final six weeks of the regular season. Bryant had an up-and-down year, but he should play well in a big game like this. Defensively, the Cowboys will be happy to have CB Morris Claiborne back from a nine-game absence. Dallas needs all the secondary help it can get against Rodgers, so Claiborne’s presence should help.