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 Still, the Packers are in better shape than the Dallas Cowboys with
backup Matt Cassel at quarterback.
With head coach Mike McCarthy back in charge of play-calling duties
after giving them up in the offseason, Green Bay got touchdown
passes from Aaron Rodgers on back-to-back possessions in the first
half and 239 total yards from running back Eddie Lacy and James
Starks.
That would be enough to give Green Bay a 28-7 victory over Dallas on
Sunday at rainy Lambeau Field.
Green Bay (9-4), coming off last week's Hail Mary win at Detroit,
won its second straight game to take a one-game lead in the NFC
North. Lacy and Starks each had more than 100 yards from scrimmage.
Lacy finished with 124 yards and a touchdown on the ground, and
Starks collected 71 rushing yards and scored on a 13-yard catch and
a 30-yard run. Green Bay finished with 230 rushing yards.
"That's a fine football team we beat," McCarthy said. "Offensively,
the balance that we were able to have I thought was key. Running the
football starts up front. The adjustments that our run-blocking unit
was able to make throughout the football game and handled a number
of things that they threw at us was impressive."
Dallas (4-9) appears finished in the NFC East, with Washington and
Philadelphia winning to improve to 6-7 and the Giants (5-7) playing
on Monday. Dallas fell to 1-8 without Tony Romo, twice sidelined by
broken collarbones. Cassel was 13-of-29 passing for 114 yards with
one interception and a 41.5 passer rating.
"We just got to focus on ourselves," Cowboys coach Jason Garrett
said. "We had a challenge today against a good football team at
their place. And I thought we did some things today to give us a
chance to win late in the ballgame but we didn't do enough. We
didn't cash in on early opportunities and then at the critical
moments we didn't do what was necessary. We need to look at
ourselves and try to get better."
One of those critical moments came in the fourth quarter. With Green
Bay nursing a seven-point lead in the fourth quarter, the Packers
offense finally mounted a drive after five consecutive punts. Starks
blasted off right tackle for a gain of 11 on third-and-2 and Rodgers
ran out of a sack on third-and-9 to pick up 11.
The drive appeared doomed after Lacy was dropped for minus-5 and
receiver James Jones was flagged for pass interference. But on
second-and-25, Starks took a draw up the middle and scored untouched
from 30 yards to put the Packers in front 21-7 with 4:44 to play.
Green Bay tacked on another touchdown about two minutes later. After
Dallas failed to pick up a fourth-and-4, Lacy had runs of 15 and 24
to set up his 1-yard plunge. It was the capper for a big day for
Lacy, who was demoted last week for a curfew violation.
"He's a big, strong, powerful runner," Rodgers said. "And we've got
to run the ball in the winter time. The ball's a little slick at
times and we need him to keep the chains moving. Eddie ran the ball
really well. The importance for him is to continue to buy in every
week and be great about his preparation, because athletically he's
as talented as they come for a man of his size."
Dallas cut a 14-0 deficit in half in the third quarter by taking the
ball out of the hands of Cassel. Running back Darren McFadden
sprinted for 45 yards on a misdirection run and backup running back
Robert Turbin broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and ran for 22
to the 7. On the next play, right guard Zach Martin blocked the
Packers' top two defenders -- defensive tackle Mike Daniels and
linebacker Clay Matthews -- as Turbin waltzed in untouched for the
score.
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Dallas couldn't sustain the momentum, due in part to receiver Dez
Bryant managing just one catch for 9 yards.
"It is what it is," said Bryant, who changed his gloves three times.
"There were some opportunities I had that I should have made, like
the one in the third quarter where I am jumping and I shouldn't even
jump. That is all part of keeping your head in the game."
Both defenses had goal-line stands in the first half, which ended
with Green Bay holding a 14-0 lead.
On Dallas' opening possession, McFadden ran past safety Ha Ha
Clinton-Dix and into the clear for a 50-yard gain to the 12. On
third-and-goal from the 2, Cassel had a chance for a touchdown to
Bryant but threw too high and too far behind him. Cornerback Sam
Shields corralled the deflection for an interception.
Dallas' goal-line stand came on the ensuing possession. On
second-and-goal from the 1, cornerback Brandon Carr pressured
Rodgers into an incompletion on a naked bootleg. On third-and-goal,
Starks was ruled to have scored but the play was overturned by
replay. On fourth-and-goal, Rodgers' sneak was stopped by defensive
tackle Nick Hayden, among others.
While the Packers didn't score, the field position set up a
touchdown on their next possession. On third-and-4 from the 13,
Rodgers threw a swing pass to Starks, who scored on the play.
Green Bay benefited from a replay review on the ensuing possession,
with Bryant's 28-yard catch on third-and-5 being overturned.
The Packers pounced with a brisk 81-yard touchdown drive, with
Rodgers converting a third-and-5 with a 16-yard scramble before
hitting Jones for 16, receiver Randall Cobb for 14 and fullback John
Kuhn for 14 more.
On second-and-goal from the 3, the Packers lined up with a run-heavy
formation. Rodgers faked the handoff to Lacy and found tight end
Richard Rodgers alone for the touchdown.
NOTES: Green Bay CB Sam Shields, who started the game matched up
against Dallas WR Dez Bryant, sustained a concussion in the second
quarter. ... Dallas RB Darren McFadden had runs of 50 and 45 yards
and needed only seven carries to go over 100 rushing yards. ... A
week after catching his 1,000th career pass, Dallas TE Jason Witten
played in his 200th consecutive game. ... The Packers have won five
straight in the series, including 26-21 in last year's playoffs. ...
The Cowboys were just 1 of 11 on third down and 0 for 2 on fourth
down. ... Packers LB Clay Matthews had his first sack since Week 5.
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