Havel's 5 Keys to Winning at Dallas
By Chris Havel
The Green Bay Packers’ unrelenting march to post-season play keeps rolling along its mind-bending way.
The Packers dispatched the Detroit Lions 37-26 on Thanksgiving Day to increase their NFC North Division lead to four games with five to play. Coach Mike McCarthy’s team has sustained its confidence and concentration during a stretch that includes wins in seven consecutive road games (dating back to last season) and six straight this year.
Next stop: Dallas.
The Cowboys and the Packers share identical win-loss records (both are 10-1) and playoff aspirations. While the Packers have all but wrapped up the NFC North championship, the battle for conference supremacy has yet to be decided.
The winner of Thursday’s Packers-Cowboys game at Texas Stadium will hold a one-game lead (the head-to-head tiebreaker) with four games to play. For instance, if the Packers knock off the Cowboys they could be assured of home-field advantage throughout the playoffs by winning three of four to close out the regular season.
It conjures images of the 1996 NFC Championship Game against Carolina at Lambeau Field. The Packers defeated the Panthers 30-13 en route to New Orleans and a victory over New England in Super Bowl XXXI.
Having the home-field advantage doesn’t guarantee victory but it does make it more do-able. That is especially true if it is the Packers at Lambeau Field, where extreme weather conditions have meant a significant edge for the home team.
The trick is defeating Dallas in Big D.
Brett Favre has accomplished just about everything there is in the NFL with one nagging exception: He has never defeated the Cowboys in Dallas. The greatest quarterback of all time is an almost inconceivable 0-8 at Texas Stadium.
I can’t fathom Favre losing eight straight games at any venue, whether it is his backyard in Kiln, his college stadium at Southern Miss or Soldier Field in Chicago. But like the saying goes, there is always a first time for everything.
Here are my five keys, in descending order of importance, to a Packers victory at Texas Stadium:
- Number 5: Stopping a Cowboys running attack led by Marion “The Barberian” Barber and Julius Jones. The Cowboys’ one-two punch is among the league’s finest tandems, and it is the primary reason the play-action pass from Tony Romo to Terrell Owens usually means disastrous consequences for opposing defenses.
- Number 4: Getting healthy in a hurry. The Packers’ defense is built from the perimeter in, which means cornerbacks Al Harris and Charles Woodson are counted on to be at their all-pro best. Woodson’s toe injury is troublesome. If he can’t play it means Jarrett Bush and Co. must step up and deliver. The pass rush also needs a healthy Kabeer Gbaja-Biamila if it intends to pressure Romo into making mistakes.
- Number 3: Special teams play will be at a premium. The Packers need everyone from kicker Mason Crosby to return-cover man Tramon Williams to be on their game. The special teams units rarely get credit for a win, but can be singled out in a loss.
- Number 2: Favre is likely to continue his brilliance if two things happen. The offensive line has to give him time to locate and take advantage of mismatches, and the receivers have to keep focusing on catching the ball first and making a play second. If that happens, Favre should prevail over what is a very good Dallas defense.
- Number 1: McCarthy needs to keep the game’s magnitude in workable proportions. The NFL’s youngest team has proven it will follow his lead. He needs to stay even-keel. The Packers don’t need to play a perfect game to defeat the Cowboys. They merely need to play their game. Everything else—including home-field advantage in the playoffs—will take care of itself.
Chris Havel is a freelance writer, best-selling author and host of northeast Wisconsin’s top-rated sports radio talk show, Sports Line, heard Monday through Friday from 4 to 6 p.m. on Sports Radio 107.5 FM and 1400 AM THE FAN. He writes a weekly column exclusively for Packers Fan Tours’ Website throughout the 2007 season.
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