By Lucy Rendler-Kaplan // @Lucyrk78
Green Bay 35 – Dallas 31
What a thrilling game!
While watching the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday, I was already thinking about writing my weekly article, and the title for this piece that kept coming back to me was “We’re Better Than This.” It was frustrating to watch the Packers and Cowboys trade the lead over and over, knowing that the Packers should have a larger lead.
It seemed like kicker Mason Crosby’s two missed field goals would make the difference between a win and a loss and it hurt thinking that this game might come down to two simple points. In all the years in the league, Crosby has never missed two extra points in a row. At the same time, this might be the first game in years where I wasn’t nervous during the times Green Bay was down.
I had an inner confidence that the Packers would end up winning. With a mere 11 seconds remaining, quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Davante Adams, giving Green Bay the win over the Dallas Cowboys 35-31. The Cowboys gave the Packers 73 seconds to win the game. They only needed 62. The game-winning pass capped off a 75-yard drive down the field.
It’s amazing that Adams was even in the game. He miraculously cleared concussion protocol after taking a brutal hit in Chicago last week that sent him to the hospital overnight. Rodgers went for that play twice, missing Adams the first time. “I missed him on the first one,” Rodgers said in his post-game press conference. “He came back to the huddle and said go back to it.”
A bit of a confusion at that time – where was Rodgers’ usual go-to wide receiver, Jordy Nelson? Why was he on the sidelines at the time we needed him most? That is still a bit of a mystery. After the game, Nelson said, “I’m good. I got a little banged up, but we’ll be good,” per ESPN, but no one else mentioned what got banged up, or how banged up “a little” is.
Taking the podium after the game, Green Bay Packers head coach Mike McCarthy said he has to “expand his vocabulary,” on what to say about quarterback Aaron Rodgers. Here’s what I suggest we say – “League MVP.” Perhaps biased, as the Packers are undoubtedly my most favorite team, but it’s hard to find another quarterback that has the vision and accuracy Rodgers has.
This was a watch-on-the-edge-of-your-seat kind of game for Packers fans. Not only was it another great win in a stadium Rodgers has dominated for years, but with the Lions falling to 3-2, Sunday’s win gave Green Bay control of the NFC North.
Green Bay will travel to Minnesota for next Sunday’s game, to take on their divisional rivals.
Talk Packers with Lucy on Twitter @Lucyrk78
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