GREEN BAY (11-6) at DALLAS (13-3)
Sunday, Jan. 15 l AT&T Stadium l 3:40 p.m. CST
The Green Bay Packers will take on the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in the divisional round of the playoffs on Sunday. It is the second time the two teams have met this season, with Dallas winning the Week 6 matchup at Lambeau Field.
- It will be the second postseason meeting between the Packers and Cowboys in the last three years (2014 NFC Divisional) and the eighth meeting all-time in the playoffs. While Green Bay leads the regular-season series, 14-13, Dallas leads the postseason series, 4-3.
- Sunday will be the fifth game between the Packers and Cowboys since the start of the 2013 regular season.
- Including the regular and postseason, Green Bay has won five of the last six games against Dallas. During that span, only one game has taken place in Dallas, a 37-36 Packers victory during the 2013 regular season.
- The Packers and Cowboys have both made the postseason 32 times, tied with the New York Giants for the most in NFL history.
- Green Bay advanced to the Divisional round of the playoffs for the sixth time in the last seven seasons (2010-12, 2014-16), tied with the Seattle Seahawks for the most in the NFC over that span.
- The Packers are 3-3 in the Divisional Playoffs under Head Coach Mike McCarthy.
ON THE ROAD IN THE PLAYOFFS
- Green Bay is 4-4 in road playoff games under McCarthy, with the Packers' four wins tied (New York Jets, 4-3) for the third most in the NFL since 2006 (Baltimore Ravens, 7-5 / New York Giants, 5-2).
- Green Bay's .500 road playoff winning percentage since 2006 is the fifth best in the NFL (min. three games) over that span (San Francisco 49ers, 3-1, .750 / Giants, .714 / Ravens, . 583 / Jets, .571).
- The Packers have averaged 30.4 points per game on the road in the postseason since 2006, No. 1 in the NFL over that span. They are the only team to average more than 26.0 points per game on the road in the playoffs since 2006.
- Dating back to 1970, QB Aaron Rodgers' 17 passing touchdowns in road playoff games are the third most in the NFL behind the 18 by Brett Favre and Joe Flacco.
WILD-CARD WIN
- Green Bay beat the Giants, 38-13, last Sunday in an NFC Wild Card game at Lambeau Field. It marked the third straight season that the Packers have won their opening playoff game, the longest streak by Green Bay since a five-season stretch from 1993-97.
- It was the Packers' 10th Wild Card win, the most in league annals.
- The 38 points scored by the Packers against the Giants were the most in a postseason game since Jan. 15, 2011, at Atlanta (48-21). It ranks No. 5 in team history for most points in a playoff contest, with four of the top five scoring games coming under the direction of McCarthy.
- With the victory, McCarthy has led the Packers to nine wins in the postseason, tying Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren for the most in team history.
WITH THE CALL
FOX Sports, now in its 23rd season as an NFL network television partner, will broadcast the game to a national audience.
- Play-by-play man Joe Buck joins analyst Troy Aikman and sideline reporters Erin Andrews and Chris Myers.
- Milwaukee's WTMJ (620 AM), airing Green Bay games since November 1929, heads up the Packers Radio Network that is made up of 50 stations in five states. Wayne Larrivee (play-by-play) and two-time Packers Pro Bowler Larry McCarren (analyst) call the action. McCarren first joined the team's broadcasts in 1995 and enters his 22nd season calling Packers games. After originally being paired together in 1999, McCarren and Larrivee enter their 18th season of broadcasts together.
- Westwood One Sports will air the game on radio across the country. Tom McCarthy (play-by-play) and Tony Boselli (analyst) will call the action, with Scott Kaplan reporting from the sidelines and Scott Graham hosting the pregame and halftime shows.
- The broadcast is also available on Sirius Satellite Radio (WTMJ feed).|
THE DOPE ON THIS WEEK'S OPPONENT:
Packers vs. Cowboys:
- All-time, Regular season: 14-13-0
- All-time, Postseason: 3-4
- All-time, in Dallas: 6-12-0
- Streaks: The Packers have won five of the last six matchups.
- Last meeting, postseason: Jan. 11, 2015; Packers won, 26-21, Lambeau Field
COACHES CAPSULES
Mike McCarthy: 123-68-1, .643 (incl. 9-7 postseason); 11th NFL season
Jason Garrett: 59-47-0, .526 (inc. 1-1 postseason); 7th NFL season
Head to Head: McCarthy 4-1
vs. Opponent: McCarthy 5-3 vs. Cowboys; Garrett 1-4 vs. Packers
MIKE McCARTHY…Is in his 11th year as the Packers' 14th head coach.
- Joined Vince Lombardi and Mike Holmgren as the only coaches to guide the Packers to a Super Bowl title with a win over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV.
- Led the Packers to their eighth consecutive playoff appearance this season, joining New England as the only two NFL teams to do so over that span. Has also led the team to nine playoff appearances in the last 10 years (2007, 2009-16).
- Guided the Packers to top-10 finishes in scoring in eight straight seasons (2007-14), joining the Patriots as the only other team to accomplish the feat over that time; Packers finished first overall in scoring in 2014.
- His .651 winning percentage during the regular season (114-61-1) ranks No. 2 among active NFL head coaches (min. 50 games).
- Had 114 regular-season wins in his first 11 seasons as a head coach, tied for No. 3 in NFL history.
JASON GARRETT…Is in his sixth full season as the Cowboys' eighth head coach. Was the interim head coach for the final eight games in 2010.
- In 2014, coached Dallas to a 12-4 record, its first winning season and playoff appearance since 2009.
- Has helped guide the Cowboys to a top-10 offensive ranking six times (2007, 2009, 2010, 2012, 2014, 2016) in his tenure as offensive coordinator and then head coach.
- Was named NFL Assistant Coach of the Year by Pro Football Weekly for the 2007 season.
- Won Super Bowls XXVII, XXVIII and XXX as a quarterback for the Cowboys.
THE PACKERS-COWBOYS SERIES
- These clubs squared off in one of the most famous games in league history, the 1967 NFL Championship, dubbed the 'Ice Bowl.' Kickoff temperature was recorded as minus-13 with a minus-46 wind chill, the coldest game in league annals. Bart Starr's game-winning TD, a 1-yard dive with 13 seconds left, sealed Green Bay's third straight NFL championship en route to its second consecutive Super Bowl title.
- Green Bay won 10 of the first 15 in the series, in which Tom Landry and Vince Lombardi - former assistants on the same N.Y. Giants staff in the 1950s - turned it into one of the NFL's preeminent rivalries.
- The teams met in the 2014 NFC Divisional playoffs, with Green Bay coming away victorious, 26-21. After a controversial fourth-down catch by Cowboys WR Dez Bryant was ruled incomplete late in the four quarter, the Packers drove to run out the last few minutes of the clock.
NOTABLE CONNECTIONS
Green Bay RB Christine Michael played for Dallas for part of the 2015 season, attended Texas A&M from 2009-12 and is from Beaumont, Texas...Packers LB Joe Thomas spent a couple of weeks on the Cowboys' practice squad in 2015...Packers executive vice president, general manager & director of football operations Ted Thompson is from Atlanta, Texas, about 175 miles east of Dallas, and attended Southern Methodist...RB Ty Montgomery went to St. Mark's High School of Texas in Dallas...G Lane Taylor is from Arlington, Texas and attended Martin High School...Packers K Mason Crosby (Georgetown), LS Brett Goode (Pampa), WR and FB Aaron Ripkowski (Dayton) are also from Texas...Green Bay assistant offensive line coach David Raih was the director of high school relations at Texas Tech in 2013...Dallas secondary coach Joe Baker coached at Wisconsin in 1999 and for the Packers in 2005...Cowboys T Doug Free played at Lincoln High in Manitowoc, Wis. ...Dallas QB Tony Romo starred in golf, basketball and football at Burlington (Wis.) High...Green Bay senior personnel executive Alonzo Highsmith played for the Cowboys from 1990-91...From 2003-11, Packers area scout John Wojciechowski was the Northeast area scout for the Cowboys...Cowboys C Travis Frederick played at Wisconsin from 2009-12 and went to Big Foot High in Walworth, Wis. ...Cowboys safeties coach Greg Jackson was a coach for the Badgers in 2010...Packers LB Julius Peppers was coached in Chicago by Dallas defensive coordinator/defensive line coach Rod Marinelli from 2010-12...Baker coached with Packers head coach Mike McCarthy (2000-04), associate head coach/linebackers Winston Moss (2000-04) and special teams coordinator Ron Zook (2000-01) in New Orleans...Green Bay defensive quality control coach Ejiro Evero (2009) and quarterbacks coach Alex Van Pelt (2010-11) coached in Tampa Bay with Baker...Cowboys head coach Jason Garrett and Packers defensive coordinator Dom Capers coached together in Miami in 2006...Evero coached Dallas OL Joe Looney (2013) and CB Leon McFadden (2014) and coached with Jackson (2011-14) in San Francisco...Evero and Cowboys assistant head coach/special teams coordinator Rich Bisaccia coached in Tampa Bay from 2007-09...Packers LB Jordan Tripp played in Jacksonville with Cowboys DT Richard Ash in 2015...Green Bay tight ends coach Brian Angelichio coached with Cowboys senior offensive assistant Steve Loney from 2012-13 with the Buccaneers...Loney and Packers defensive line coach Mike Trgovac were colleagues at Colorado State from 1990-91...Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and Cowboys LS L.P. Ladouceur played at California in 2003...Packers LB Clay Matthews (2008) and LB Nick Perry (2009-10) played with Cowboys T Tyron Smith at Southern California...Matthews and Dallas QB Mark Sanchez were Trojans teammates from 2006-08...Green Bay C Corey Linsley played at Ohio State in 2013 with Cowboys RB Ezekiel Elliott...Dallas RB Darren McFadden and Goode were Arkansas teammates from 2005-06...Cowboys LB Anthony Hitchens played at Iowa with Green Bay DT Mike Daniels (2010-11) and DB Micah Hyde (2010-12)...Packers G Lane Taylor was Oklahoma State teammates with Cowboys K Dan Bailey (2009-10) and WR Dez Bryant (2009)...Green Bay WR Jeff Janis played at Saginaw Valley State with Cowboys S Jeff Heath from 2010-12.
LAST MEETING, POSTSEASON
Jan. 11, 2015, Lambeau Field, Packers won, 26-21
- The Packers had production from WRs Davante Adams (seven receptions for 117 yards, 16.7 avg., and one TD) and Randall Cobb (eight receptions for 116 yards, 14.5 avg.).
- Dallas QB Tony Romo completed 15 of 19 passes for 191 yards and two TDs (143.6 passer rating).
- QB Aaron Rodgers threw for 316 yards and three TDs while completing 24 of 35 passes (125.4 passer rating).
- RB Eddie lacy ran for 101 yards on 19 carries (5.3 avg.).
