3 Reasons Why The Dallas Cowboys Will Beat The Green Bay Packers

The 2017 Divisional Playoffs feature several good games, but the marquee matchup is set for Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium. The Dallas Cowboys host the Green Bay Packers with a trip to the NFC Championship Game on the line.

For many NFL fans, it wouldn’t be much of a surprise to see the Packers leave Dallas with a victory. Most of the gambling public is taking Green Bay as the underdog, and experts seem to be split regarding who will win the game. The Packers enter the contest on a seven-game winning streak, and they nearly have the same Super Bowl odds as the Cowboys.

Still, the Cowboys have been the NFC’s best team since the start. They finished the regular season as the conference’s No. 1 seed, and a few reasons stand out why Dallas will beat Green Bay.

Injuries

Even though the Cowboys suffered injuries to Tony Romo and Dez Bryant in the early part of the season, they enter Sunday’s contest with the Packers as the much healthier team. All of Dallas’ available players practiced Thursday for the second straight day, while Green Bay is dealing with injuries to key players.

Jordy Nelson led the NFL with 14 touchdown receptions in the regular season, and fractured ribs should limit him at the very least, if not keep him sidelined altogether. The Packers will feel the absence of cornerback Sam Shields against one of the NFL’s best offenses, and their secondary will likely be exposed.

Defense

Sunday’s game will be far from a defensive battle, and the final score could go well past the over/under of 52. But Dallas’ defense has proven to be somewhat capable this season, while Green Bay has shown few signs that they can contain a potent offense.

Only four teams have allowed fewer points than the Cowboys in the regular season. Aaron Rodgers can put up big numbers against any defense, though Dallas did limit him and the Packers to just 16 points in October. Green Bay held an anemic New York Giants offense to 13 points last week, but they had previously given up at least 24 points in three straight games. In five contests against top-15 scoring offenses, the Packers have given up an average of 36.6 points.

The Rookies

Never in NFL history has a team had a rookie quarterback-running back combination like the Cowboys do. While the Packers are led by a veteran signal caller, Dallas is arguably the NFL’s best team because of what Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott have been able to do.

Even in their first playoff game, it’d be surprising to see Prescott and Elliott falter under the pressure that comes with the postseason. Dallas went 4-1 in five straight nationally televised games from Weeks 11-16, and both players put up big numbers when they visited the Packers in the biggest game of Week 6. Prescott’s second-ranked touchdown-to-interception ratio is a problem for a Green Bay defense that relies on creating turnovers, and Elliott has been just about impossible for the opposition to stop this season.