GREEN BAY, United States – Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers shook off a calf injury to deliver two late scoring drives that lifted the Packers to a 26-21 NFL playoff win over Dallas on Sunday, January 11.
The Cowboys, making their first playoff trip to Green Bay since the “Ice Bowl” of 1967, endured their first road defeat of the season after eight victories, their chances stung by a video review in the final five minutes that stripped Dez Bryant of a catch near the end zone.
Rodgers completed 11 of 14 passes for 173 yards on touchdown drives in the third and fourth quarters as the Packers scored 13 unanswered points to rally from a double-digit deficit.
He and the Packers will play the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks in Seattle next Sunday in the National Football Conference title game, with a berth in the NFL’s championship extravaganza on February 1 on the line.
The Seahawks powered past Carolina 31-17 on Saturday to become the first Super Bowl champs to win a playoff game in the season after their title run since the 2005 New England Patriots.
The Packers will battle for the conference title for the first time since they beat Chicago after the 2010 season en route to their fourth Super Bowl crown.
Green Bay, who had fallen behind after an early strike for a 7-0 lead, whittled the deficit to 21-20 on Rodgers’ 46-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams.
Rodgers, nursing a left calf injury, then put the Packers ahead with a 13-yard laser to reserve tight end Richard Rodgers for a touchdown that gave Green Bay a 26-21 advantage with 9:10 left in the game.
On the Cowboys’ ensuing possession, Bryant leaped for Tony Romo’s deep pass on a fourth down and was initially ruled to have made the 31-yard catch over the head of Packers cornerback Sam Shields.
But after watching the video officials ruled that Bryant lost control of the ball he was holding in his left hand when he hit the turf near the Packers’ goal line and didn’t complete the catch. – Rappler.com
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