Cowboys vs Packers: Historic franchises at war once again

The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers will be adding another playoff battle to the history books on January 15th. Thoughts and feelings on the game.

The Dallas Cowboys will host the Green Bay Packers in the divisional round of the NFL playoffs on January 15th.

This will be a rematch from October 16th 2016, when the Cowboys defeated the Packers 30-16 in Green Bay.

The Packers and Cowboys are two of the most popular and well known sports franchises in the entire world. Both teams always draw good ratings no matter how competitive they are in that particular year.

In this case, Dallas was the best team in the entire NFC in the regular season and the Packers finished the year off with six consecutive wins to claim the NFC North title. The hype around both teams are near all-time highs right now.

I wouldn’t be surprised if this game gets close to breaking the ratings record for the second round of the playoffs. I also expect AT&T Stadium to have a new Cowboys game attendance record after this game.

When two historic franchises go toe to toe in a win-or-go-home matchup with a chance to be one step closer to the ultimate goal, the Super Bowl, the storylines write themselves:

• How do the rookies perform when the playoffs come around? Well, if I was a betting man I would put my money on the Cowboys sensational rookie backfield featuring Dak Prescott at quarterback and Ezekiel Elliott at running back performing at their best in this game. The Packers defense allows 363.9 yards per game and 24.2 points per game. The ability to focus and tenaciously prepare as well as the passion for getting better are traits that both Dak and Zeke possess; possessing these traits typically bodes well for success when you are also talented like these two are.

• Will Dez Bryant get revenge on the Packers? All of Cowboys Nation are familiar with the incidents that occurred in January of 2015, including a well-known overturned ruling on a play involving the Cowboys receiver. The fact that Green Bay has been terrible in coverage all season long and that the Packers have three cornerbacks on I.R. suggests to me that Dez will take advantage of the opportunities when he gets one-on-one coverage.

• Will Tony Romo play at all? Yes, after one drive where Romo looked like his aggressive, gun-slinging self where he threw a beautifully placed touchdown pass to Terrance Williams, there are quite a lot of people back on the “Romo should start” bandwagon. As Jerry Jones said, we will know it when we see it. I would say outside of a Dak injury, the chances of Romo entering the game are slim to none.

• Can Aaron Rodgers will the Packers to an eighth straight win? After 10 games, the Packers had a 4-6 record. Rodgers stated that he felt they could win their final six games of the season and make the playoffs. Green Bay did just that. Rodgers also led the Packers to a dominant 38-13 victory over the New York Giants in the Wild Card round of the playoffs. He is hot at the right time and very well could tear the scrappy and opportune Cowboys defense apart.

The Cowboys and Packers have played 34 times before this meeting, both teams winning 17 and losing 17. That includes the seven times that they have squared off in the playoffs, the Cowboys winning four and losing three.

Next: Why the Green Bay Packers should scare the Dallas Cowboys

Game number 35 in the all time series and playoff matchup number eight already has insane hype leading into it, and rightfully so.

One thing is for certain, a historic non-divisional rivalry is only going to grow stronger after the battle that is set to take place this Sunday.