There may have been no quarterback in the NFL to finish the regular season on a hotter streak than Jordan Love, and he and the Green Bay Packers continued their hot stretch in their Wild Card Weekend game against the Dallas Cowboys. As a road 7-point favorite, the Packers dominated for most of the game, finishing with a 48-32 victory in a game that wasn’t as close as the final score indicated.
Packers Complete 2nd Biggest Playoff Upset In Team History
Biggest Packers playoff upsets:
+10 — 1996 at 49ers (QB: Brett Favre)
+𝟕 — 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐚𝐭 𝐂𝐨𝐰𝐛𝐨𝐲𝐬 (𝐐𝐁: 𝐉𝐨𝐫𝐝𝐚𝐧 𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞)
+5.5 — 2017 at Cowboys (QB: Aaron Rodgers)
(via @EvanHAbrams) pic.twitter.com/0lOjQWJMRW
— Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) January 15, 2024
Love and running back Aaron Jones were the stories of the game. The latter rushed for 118 yards and three touchdowns on the day, and Love showed that his hot streak to finish the regular season was no fluke. The first-year starter was in control the entire game, throwing for a total of 272 yards while tossing three touchdowns as well, an impressive feat on an evening when the offensive attack focused primarily on the running game.
Love distributed the ball evenly to his receivers, with 16 of his completions going to 7 different targets, and each of his touchdowns being caught by someone different.
The Packers opened up a 32-point fourth quarter lead before the Cowboys added two late touchdowns and two-point conversions to narrow the blowout.
+7 Points This Week, +9.5 Against 49ers
Odds for Packers at 49ers Divisional Round game already up at @FDSportsbook. Niners -9.5, 49.5 O/U. pic.twitter.com/TYwCwPdU3T
— Jason Logan (@CoversJLo) January 14, 2024
Green Bay certainly did their part in covering the spread. They came into the game as the second-biggest underdog of the weekend with a destination of +7, and were obviously able to win outright in order to advance.
The win marked the second-largest upset in playoff history for the Packers franchise. It was the largest since 1997, when Brett Favre led the way in the team defeating the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game despite being 10-point underdogs. The most recent was when Aaron Rodgers and company overcame a 5.5-point designation to defeat the Cowboys outright in 2017.
As a reward for their win, Love and the Packers will travel to San Francisco to take on the Super Bowl favorite for the right to play in the NFC Championship.
The 49ers will present a whole new challenge to Jordan Love with their top ranked defense. They’ll have to overcome even larger odds this time if they hope to advance, as San Francisco has opened as a massive 9.5 point early favorite.
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