Finally, some nail-biters in the NFL playoffs
The Packers and Steelers advanced to the NFL conference championship round after the first close games of this postseason. Left, kicker Mason Crosby nailed two long field goals late, the second as time expired, as Green Bay beat Dallas 34-31. Right, wide receiver Antonio Brown and the Steelers edged the Chiefs, 18-16. See stories,
ARLINGTON, Texas — Aaron Rodgers didn’t need another Hail Mary this time. Maybe just call it a “Half Mary.”
Rodgers threw a 36-yard pass to a toe-dragging Jared Cook on the sideline, and Mason Crosby kicked a 51-yard field goal on the next play as time expired, sending the Packers to the NFC Championship Game with their eighth straight win while thwarting a Dallas rally in a 34-31 victory in the divisional round of the playoffs Sunday.
The throw on the run from Rodgers to Cook came on third-and-20, stopping the clock with 3 seconds left, and after the Cowboys had tied the score twice in the final 4:08 after trailing by 18 in the first half and by 15 to start the fourth quarter.
“I love the opportunity to go out there and make plays,” said Rodgers, who threw for two touchdowns to give him 21 during the winning streak, although he threw his first interception during the run.
“I was disappointed we had a chance there at 28-13 to go up three scores and make it really difficult for ’em and I threw a pick there on third down. We were able to come down and have two good drives toward the end of the game.”
Dallas’ rally was led by rookies Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott in their playoff debuts, and the first two career postseason touchdown catches for wide receiver Dez Bryant along with the first for 14th-year tight end Jason Witten.
“We’re not going to stop no matter what the score is, no matter the game,” Prescott said. “It shows the true character of this team.”
Crosby’s winner was the third field goal of more than 50 yards in the final 1:33 — two from Crosby and one from Dallas’ Dan Bailey.
“It’s kind of a blur right now,” Crosby said. “When we have 35 seconds on the clock, and our offense can move the ball into field-goal range and a manageable kick, that’s just special.”
Rodgers, who sparked last week’s wild-card win over the New York Giants with a Hail Mary before halftime, is headed to an MVP showdown with Atlanta’s Matt Ryan next Sunday.
It will be Rodgers’ third NFC title game, all on the road for Green Bay, and he got there in his first game at the home of the Cowboys since he won his only title as the Super Bowl MVP six years ago.
Cook, who had six catches for a team-leading 104 yards, kept both feet in bounds with a knee just above the ground out of bounds on the decisive play. The play was confirmed on review.
“I saw him rolling to the right and it was underneath coverage in front of me,” Cook said. “If I got over the top of them, Aaron would put the ball in the right place. Put it right on the sideline with enough room to get my feet down. It was a heck of a throw by him.”
Prescott, whose 11-game winning streak during the regular season sent Tony Romo to the bench when he returned from a preseason back injury, rallied the Cowboys in a way that probably made Dallas’ 10-year starter proud.
The Cowboys almost became the third team in the Super Bowl era to win in the playoffs after trailing by 15 in the fourth. The first was Dallas in 1972, when “Captain Comeback”, Roger Staubach, rallied the Cowboys in San Francisco.
Instead, top-seeded Dallas ended up with its fifth straight loss in the divisional round and a 21-year drought in trips to the NFC Championship Game.
“I thought we were a team that was capable of taking this thing all the way,” owner and general manager Jerry Jones said. “I know we are now after that second half.”
Prescott — a fourth-round pick who was supposed to be the No. 3 quarterback before injuries changed everything — got Dallas’ rally going with a 40-yard touchdown toss in the first half to Bryant, the first playoff TD for the receiver.
Then he set the stage for the first tying score on a 6-yarder to Witten that cut Green Bay’s lead to 28-20.
After a 7-yard scoring pass to Bryant — who had nine catches for 132 yards — Prescott ran in the tying two-point conversion with 4:08 to go.
Rodgers led the Packers to a go-ahead 56-yard field goal from Crosby with a big boost on a pass interference penalty against rookie Anthony Brown that wiped out an interception from Jeff Heath, whose pick earlier helped Dallas rally.
The Cowboys answered with a 52-yarder from Bailey with 35 seconds remaining.