Big Day in Dallas….
By Mike Spofford-Packers.com
GREEN BAY – Statistically speaking, the Packers have probably the biggest challenge of all the road teams on wild-card weekend.
"What have they won," Head Coach Matt LaFleur asked, "like 16 games in a row or something like that?"
Yeah, it's 16 in a row at home for the Cowboys, the longest current streak in the NFL. It dates back to Week 1 of 2022. That's the last time Dallas lost at AT&T Stadium heading into Sunday's NFC Wild Card playoff showdown with Green Bay.
But the Packers couldn't have asked their regular-season road slate to prepare them any better for the pressure-cooker of an environment they'll be entering.
It wasn't a road schedule loaded with success. The wins at Detroit on Thanksgiving and at Minnesota on New Year's Eve were the most notable, with the highest stakes, and in frankly the most hostile environments the Packers encountered all season. Those definitely meant a lot.
"I think the atmosphere's going to be a lot like the Minnesota atmosphere," offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said regarding Sunday in Dallas. "That's about as good as it gets when you go to Minnesota and play a night game and there were a lot of cards on the table there. So I expect it to be a lot like that."
The road failures earlier in the year, though, might be just as valuable because of the late-game situations the Packers, particularly their young offense, were put in.
In games at Las Vegas, Denver, Pittsburgh, New York and Carolina, Green Bay's offense needed to put together a crunch-time scoring drive in the opposing stadium.
In the first three, they came up short, as quarterback Jordan Love – whether out of desperation, aggression, or a combination of both – threw interceptions with the game on the line.
Those losses were tough to process, but having to process them had its benefits.
"We just got so close," guard Jon Runyan said. "We'd always take that situation we had that game … down by one, down by three, down by four … we would drill the exact same situation in the (next) Thursday practice, to make sure we know when we're back in that situation, we'd know what to do."
Grinding away after those frustrations paid off, as the Packers put together a late touchdown drive against the Giants (even though they eventually lost) and a game-winning drive for a field goal against the Panthers when they absolutely had to have it.
"That's going to be crucial down there," Runyan added. "These playoff games are going to come down to maybe the last two possessions. I know the Cowboys are expecting a dogfight and we're going to do everything we can to give them one."
…
I thought the Steelers were playing the Bills before this but apparently it’s on Monday afternoon.
Could have sworn I read it was 1pm Eastern today.
..
Checked…apparently it’s due to a storm…will they be able to play on Monday?
GREEN BAY – Statistically speaking, the Packers have probably the biggest challenge of all the road teams on wild-card weekend.
"What have they won," Head Coach Matt LaFleur asked, "like 16 games in a row or something like that?"
Yeah, it's 16 in a row at home for the Cowboys, the longest current streak in the NFL. It dates back to Week 1 of 2022. That's the last time Dallas lost at AT&T Stadium heading into Sunday's NFC Wild Card playoff showdown with Green Bay.
But the Packers couldn't have asked their regular-season road slate to prepare them any better for the pressure-cooker of an environment they'll be entering.
It wasn't a road schedule loaded with success. The wins at Detroit on Thanksgiving and at Minnesota on New Year's Eve were the most notable, with the highest stakes, and in frankly the most hostile environments the Packers encountered all season. Those definitely meant a lot.
"I think the atmosphere's going to be a lot like the Minnesota atmosphere," offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said regarding Sunday in Dallas. "That's about as good as it gets when you go to Minnesota and play a night game and there were a lot of cards on the table there. So I expect it to be a lot like that."
The road failures earlier in the year, though, might be just as valuable because of the late-game situations the Packers, particularly their young offense, were put in.
In games at Las Vegas, Denver, Pittsburgh, New York and Carolina, Green Bay's offense needed to put together a crunch-time scoring drive in the opposing stadium.
In the first three, they came up short, as quarterback Jordan Love – whether out of desperation, aggression, or a combination of both – threw interceptions with the game on the line.
Those losses were tough to process, but having to process them had its benefits.
"We just got so close," guard Jon Runyan said. "We'd always take that situation we had that game … down by one, down by three, down by four … we would drill the exact same situation in the (next) Thursday practice, to make sure we know when we're back in that situation, we'd know what to do."
Grinding away after those frustrations paid off, as the Packers put together a late touchdown drive against the Giants (even though they eventually lost) and a game-winning drive for a field goal against the Panthers when they absolutely had to have it.
"That's going to be crucial down there," Runyan added. "These playoff games are going to come down to maybe the last two possessions. I know the Cowboys are expecting a dogfight and we're going to do everything we can to give them one."
…
I thought the Steelers were playing the Bills before this but apparently it’s on Monday afternoon.
Could have sworn I read it was 1pm Eastern today.
..
Checked…apparently it’s due to a storm…will they be able to play on Monday?
61-69, M