The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers will renew their rivalry on Sunday in the NFC Wild Card Playoffs. These two teams have taken on one another in the postseason eight times in their heralded history.
Dallas comes into this game as NFC East champions after winning 12 games for a third consecutive season. Dak Prescott is playing at an MVP level. CeeDee Lamb is on a roll.
Green Bay has also won six of eight heading in with young quarterback Jordan Love doing his thing big time. With Dallas as 7.5-point home favorites, Green Bay has a chore ahead of itself. Below, we provide four bold predictions for this NFL Playoff Game.
Related: NFL Playoff and Super Bowl predictions
Dak Prescott burns Green Bay Packers for 300 yards
From late-October on, Dak Prescott was on absolute fire for the Cowboys. He averaged 290 passing yards per game with 30 touchdowns and five interceptions in 11 outings. This run obviously put Prescott in the NFL MVP conversation. More importantly, Prescott was stud like at home during the regular season.
- Dak Prescott stats (at home): 73% completion, 2,470 yards, 23 total TD, 3 INT
As for the Packers, they yielded the ninth-fewest passing yards in the NFL during the regular year. Quarterbacks also threw just 21 touchdown passes against this unit. Hence, why it’s a bold prediction Prescott will top 300 yards.
Related: Ranking NFL Playoff quarterbacks
Green Bay Packers’ Jordan Love throws two interceptions
Love’s excellence during the second half of the Packers’ regular season is by now well known. After struggling early, he absolutely dominated as Green Bay won six of its final eight games to earn a surprise trip to the NFL Playoffs.
| Comp % | Yards | Total TD | INT | QB rating |
| .703 | 2,150 | 20 | 1 | 112.7 |
At issue here for Green Bay is the fact that it is relying on young receivers to do damage against one of the most ball-hawking secondaries in the game.
Dallas recorded 17 interceptions during the regular year with DaRon Bland (nine) leading the charge. Fellow cornerback Stephon Gilmore and safety Donovan Wilson also had two each.
The matchup to watch here is Bland going up against Romeo Doubs. The sophomore receiver joins Christian Watson in being banged up in this one. That could, too, have an impact as we predict Love will struggle in his first ever start in the NFL Playoffs.
Related: Dallas Cowboys standing in Sportsnaut’s NFL defense rankings
CeeDee Lamb goes off for 150 yards for Dallas Cowboys
How good was Lamb during the final 11 games of the regular season? The Pro Bowl starter averaged north of nine receptions for nearly 116 yards and a touchdown per game. Lamb also finished up the season putting up north of 150 yards four different times. Those are some incredible numbers.
With Jaire Alexander nursing a freak ankle injury, we’re expecting slot guy Keisean Nixon to go up against Lamb a lot come Sunday afternoon in Dallas. The cornerback yielded a 77.8% completion and 104.8 QB rating when targeted during the regular season. That does not bode well for the Packers heading into this one.
Related: Sportsnaut experts pick NFL Wild Card Weekend
Dallas Cowboys win by more than two touchdowns
Dallas was perfect at home during the regular season, winning by an average of north of three touchdowns per game. Prescott and Co. averaged a whopping 36.1 points per game. This included wins over eventual playoff teams in that of the Los Angeles Rams and Detroit Lions.
As for the Packers, they were a mediocre 4-5 away from Lambeau Field with duds against the Pittsburgh Steelers, Denver Broncos and Las Vegas Raiders. Meanwhile, Love threw seven of his 11 interceptions on the road. This is going to equate to a pretty lopsided Cowboys win.
- Final prediction: Dallas Cowboys 31, Green Bay Packers 17