NFC North Round-Up: Packers Dominate Cowboys, Lions End 32-Year Drought
Josh Frey
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Playoff football began in the NFL this weekend.
While the Minnesota Vikings missed out on this year’s tournament, there were two NFC North teams in action this weekend, and both the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions earned victories in their Wild Card games. Here is a look at how the two teams punched their tickets to the Divisional round.
Packers Cruise to a Win in Dallas
The Green Bay Packers opened up the Sunday slate of Wild Card weekend with a road matchup against the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys. Heading into the game, it seemed like a tough matchup for the young Packers offense against one of the toughest defenses in the league. During the regular season, the Cowboys ranked fifth in both total points and yards allowed this season.
However, Green Bay had no problem controlling this game from start to finish. The Packers jumped out to a whopping 27-0 lead in the first half, which included a 64-yard pick-six from Darnell Savage.
Offensively, Aaron Jones continued his recent tear in the rushing game. The veteran running back’s 21 carries resulted in 118 yards and three touchdowns for Green Bay. The passing game wasn’t half-bad for the Packers, either. Jordan Love completed 16 of his 21 passes for 278 yards and three more touchdowns en route to Green Bay’s dominant 48-32 victory.
With the win, the No. 7 seed Packers now will spend the week preparing for another road game. Their Divisional game will come against the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers, who have been resting up on their bye week.
These two franchises have a long playoff history against each other, meeting a grand total of nine times in postseason play. The 49ers have not lost against the Packers in the playoffs since January 13th, 2002, winning each of the past four playoff meetings between the two teams.
Lions Sneak Past Rams and End 32-Year Playoff Win Drought
Heading into this weekend’s matchup between the Detroit Lions and Los Angeles Rams, there were a number of huge storylines to follow. Not only would the Lions be hosting their first playoff game since the 1993 season, but they would be doing it against their former franchise QB Matthew Stafford, who they traded to the Rams prior to the 2021 season.
The QB immediately led his team to a Super Bowl victory during his first season in Los Angeles and was looking to get back to the promised land in this matchup. On the other side of that trade, Jared Goff was sent to Detroit, and he was looking to help Detroit reach their own promised land and end a 32-year playoff winning drought.
Both quarterbacks played very strong games, but in the end, it would be Goff and the Lions to escape the matchup with a 24-23 victory. Goff played an incredibly sharp game, completing 22 of his 27 passes for 277 yards and a touchdown while star receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown made the most of his playoff debut by catching seven passes for 110 yards.
The offenses reigned supreme during the first half, with the Lions heading into halftime with a 21-17 lead. Then, the defenses took over down the stretch with the teams combining for just three field goals over the final 30 minutes of the game.
With a chance to seal the victory late in the fourth quarter, Goff went to his reliable target, St. Brown, for an 11-yard gain, allowing Detroit to simply kneel out the remainder of the clock.
Now, Detroit awaits the results of Monday night’s game between the Philadelphia Eagles and Tampa Bay Buccaneers to find out who their next opponent will be. Regardless, though, Ford Field will host a second playoff game this season.
Editor’s Note: Statistics for this article were found via Pro Football Reference and The Football Database.
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Josh Frey is a Class of 2020 graduate of The College of Idaho and managing editor of PurplePTSD.com. When he’s not writing about the NFL, Josh enjoys running, gaming, or rooting for the Milwaukee Brewers and Bucks. Check out his Twitter account: @Freyed_Chicken.