The Dallas Cowboys defeated the Detroit Lions in the NFC Wild Card round Sunday, 24-20.
With that win, the Cowboys have advanced to the NFC divisional round, where they will play the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
America’s Team is riding a hot winning streak. The Cowboys haven’t lost a single game since Thanksgiving Day, when they were embarrassed against the Philadelphia Eagles, 33-10. The Cowboys have won five consecutive games and will take their perfect 8-0 road record to Lambeau next week.
For the Lions, this was a devastating loss. Despite the fact Ndamukong Suh was allowed to play, the Lions still couldn’t hold on to a 20-7 second half lead. Quarterback Matthew Stafford failed to live up to expectations in the postseason once again. Stafford had three turnovers in the biggest game of the season, which included two fumbles and an interception.
Romo silenced his critics with a 293-yard, two-touchdown day without a single turnover. Romo finished the game with a 114 passer rating.
The Cowboys won the second half 17-3.
The Cowboys will take on the Packers on Sunday, Jan. 11, at 1:05 p.m. EST. This is a very interesting matchup because the Packers were at 8-0 at home this season, but the Cowboys were 8-0 on the road. The last time the Cowboys and Packers played each other at Lambeau Field was the famous 1967 Ice Bowl.
The Cowboys’ defense will have their hands full against Aaron Rodgers and the high-powered Packers offense. On the other hand, the Packers defense has let them down multiple times in the postseason in recent years.
The other team to advance to the divisional round was the Carolina Panthers.
The Panthers defeated the Arizona Cardinals, 27-16. It wasn’t a very entertaining or convincing victory considering the Cardinals were down to their third string quarterback, Ryan Lindley. Lindley had two interceptions and a 44.3 passer rating in his outing against the Panthers. The Cardinals offense was only able to put up 78 total yards, the fewest in a postseason game in NFL history.
Still, the Panthers have been playing great football lately.
The Panthers have won their last five games in a row and will play the Seattle Seahawks in the next round. The Seahawks are the defending Super Bowl champions, and they will be resounding favorites to win and advance to the NFC Championship game yet again.
The Seahawks and Packers will play each other on Saturday, Jan. 10, at 8:15 p.m. EST
Four of the 11 total NFL playoff games have already been played, and just eight teams remain for a chance to win the Super Bowl. The Cowboys, Packers, Seahawks and Panthers are the four NFC teams left.
Things get very interesting here because of possible match-ups. In Week 1 the Seahawks dominated the Packers, 36-16 at home. Seahawks fans would much rather face the Packers at home more than the Cowboys. If the Cowboys defeat the Packers and face the Seahawks, we must remember what happened in Week 6. The Cowboys beat the Seahawks in Seattle that week 30-23.
Can they do it again?