Cowboys Season Ends
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GREEN BAY, Wis. — Green Bay Packers coach Mike McCarthy smiled, knowing his biggest victory within Sunday’s NFC divisional playoff game over the Dallas Cowboys was throwing his red challenge flag.
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones was “shocked.”
McCarthy’s first winning replay challenge of the season came in the fourth quarter of Sunday in a 26-21 victory over the Cowboys at Lambeau Field.
Dallas receiver Dez Bryant made what appeared to be an incredible catch on fourth-and-2 near the goal line to put the Cowboys in position for a go-ahead touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Instead, McCarthy won his challenge that Bryant did not maintain possession while stretching out toward the end zone.
“I thought it was a catch,” said an emotional Bryant.
The Packers then burned off the final four minutes to advance to next week’s NFC Championship game at Seattle, where Green Bay lost 36-16 in the regular-season opener.
“Based on the time of the game, it was my immediate reaction,” McCarthy said of the challenge. “But that was such an impactful play, you have to challenge that.”
After a hobbled Aaron Rodgers threw his third touchdown pass to give the Packers a 26-21 lead, Dallas took possession at its 18 with 9:06 remaining. Running back DeMarco Murray ripped off a 30-yard run on the first play and quarterback Tony Romo hit Bryant for 10 to the Packers’ 38. On fourth down, Romo threw deep up the left
sideline to Bryant, who made a leaping attempt over cornerback Sam Shields.
Bryant had both hands on the ball when he went airborne at the 5, landed and lunged toward the endzone. The ball hit the ground as he tumbled to the turf. The impact with the ground popped the ball free. Bryant caught the ball on the rebound but, because the ball hit the turf, it was ruled that Bryant did not complete the catch. Had the play stood, the Cowboys would have had first-and-goal at the 1.
“I’ve never seen that a day in my life,” Bryant said. “I want to know why it wasn’t a catch.”
Bryant said he gave “not even a thought” to the play being overturned.
Rodgers was brilliant. Playing on a strained left calf sustained at Tampa Bay on Dec. 21 and minimal practice time this week, he completed 24 of 35 passes for 316 yards. He completed all 10 of his attempts in the fourth quarter to give the Packers (13-4) another shot at the Seahawks (13-4). Seattle dominated the season-opening matchup.
“It’s meaningful for our football team,” said Rodgers, who is playing with a torn muscle in his calf that typically requires a two-month recovery. “It’s a big win for us at home. Finish out the year 9-0 at home, beat a great football team like that, a good second-half comeback there, defense being really stout, offensive line dominating the game at the line of scrimmage, and Randall (Cobb) and Davante (Adams) coming up with some big plays for us.”
Rookie wide receiver Adams caught seven passes for 117 yards. His 46-yard touchdown catch-and-run in the third quarter, which pulled the Packers within 21-20, turned the tide of the game, McCarthy said.
He came up big again on the final drive when he wrestled the ball away from Cowboys cornerback Sterling Moore for a 26-yard gain on a third-and-3 play. The Packers then converted a third-and-11 to clinch the game, with Rodgers’ pass deflected at the line of scrimmage by defensive tackle Tyrone Crawford but caught by receiver Randall Cobb for a gain of 12.
Cobb caught eight passes for 116 yards.
“You can’t tell me there’s not a God, just the way that ball bounced in the air after the tip — for it to be fluttering and for me to be in position to be able to make a play on it is unbelievable,” Cobb said.
The Packers pulled within 14-13 on Mason Crosby’s 30-yard field goal midway through the third quarter on a drive set up by linebacker Julius Peppers’ strip of Murray.
Dallas answered emphatically when Romo hit Bryant for 20 and tight end Jason Witten for 15 on a pass that deflected off Bryant. Murray then sprinted for 26 yards around right end, sprung by pulling guard Zach Martin, before plowing in from the 1 to make it 21-13.
Adams’ touchdown pulled the Packers within one, and they took a 26-21 lead with 9:10 remaining in the game on Rodgers’ 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Richard Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers stepped up in the pocket and drifted to the left and threw a bullet to the rookie tight end, with the ball beating Moore and safety J.J. Wilcox. The two-point play, a fade to tight end Andrew Quarless, was broken up.
That set the stage for referee Gene Steratore to become a key figure in the game.
A week after the Cowboys benefitted from a pass-interference flag that was picked up against Detroit, their season ended on a Bryant catch that was overturned by instant replay.
“Sometimes they go for you and sometimes they don’t,” Jones said.
Added Romo, who took several big hits but completed 15 of 19 passes for 191 yards and a pair of touchdowns: “They came after us with a Cover Zero (no safety, man coverage against receivers) look. I had a couple of options on the play and decided to go to Dez. I threw the ball where I thought he could make a play on the ball and he did a good job. They called it complete so, obviously, we didn’t score there. The calls don’t go your ways sometimes and that is part of the game.”
