Dallas Cowboys: Three Thoughts before the Divisional Round begins
By Carl Daley
Thought #2 – Matchups To Examine This Weekend
The Green Bay Packers secondary has been decimated with injuries all season long. It is possible they will be without cornerback Quinten Rollins after he suffered a concussion against the New York Giants.
The interesting note about the Cowboys offense versus this secondary is that the first time these two teams faced off in 2016 Dallas was without Dez Bryant and the Packers were healthier at the cornerback position. Bryant should be looking for some payback after the 2014 playoff “incident” in which I will get into a bit more later.
Historically Terrance Williams has been one of the more productive receivers against the Packers secondary and the addition of a healthy and rested Bryant only adds to his upside. The Packers will likely double Bryant on the outside however this will bring up an interesting situation with how they handle the Cowboys running attack.
The Dallas offense really can hurt you in both areas the ground and air attack. If the Packers double Dez with a safety it is just one player not focused on MVP candidate Ezekiel Elliott. Another interesting matchup will be the Cowboys secondary versus the Packers wide receiving corps.
With Packers, star wide out Jordy Nelson likely out after suffering broken ribs and a collapsed lung the Dallas defensive backfield will have to key in on two productive wide receivers. Packers productive receivers Davante Adams and Randall Cobb have been on fire as of late but opposing defenses have been focused on the finally healthy Nelson.
With him out of the lineup Green Bay will have to work twice as hard to get points through the air. Both teams have had their struggles rushing the opposing quarterback however it appears that Dallas has finally found some consistency on the defensive side of the ball.
The Cowboys defense has been fantastic in a couple of areas in recent history and are now healthy enough to really be leaned on when the moment comes. This game will be nothing like the regular season matchup but the return of star pass rusher, DeMarcus Lawrence even in a limited basis could do wonders for defensive end David Irving.
Irving easily had the biggest game of his career against the Packers offensive line and could have some favorable one on one matchups in this contest as well. He recorded three forced fumbles in that contest and the Dallas pass rush could prove to be the key factor in this game.
On the opposite side of the ball, the Packers have a healthy Clay Matthews who has been very disruptive and seems to be in playoff form. The Cowboys offensive line is the best in the NFL and will have to stop the Packers from attacking Prescott in or out of the pocket.