Aaron Rodgers and the Packers should not have beaten the Cowboys on Sunday, 35-31. They did because Dak Prescott, for all of his physical talent, made a miscalculation that ended up costing Dallas the game.
Prescott completely faked out Ahman Brooks and the Packers to run untouched into the end zone from the 11-yard line with 1:13 left. That put Dallas ahead 31-28. I understand it goes against human nature and natural football instincts to not try for a touchdown especially when there’s a clear path.
But Prescott should have realized his defense was gassed, didn’t have Sean Lee rendering their back seven below average, and that 73 seconds is more than enough time for Rodgers to engineer a winning touchdown drive of his own especially having a time-out left. That’s exactly what Rodgers did in surprisingly easy and professional fashion.
If Prescott would have intentionally slid down at the half-yard line, Rodgers probably wouldn’t have had enough time. Green Bay would have used its final time-out because the Cowboys would have taken a knee twice. That would have made it third down giving the Cowboys’ two chances of punching it in from the one with a dominant offensive line, a great running back in Ezekiel Elliott and a tired Packers defense. I don’t believe there’s a team that can stop the Cowboys in short yardage, certainly the Packers couldn’t at that point.
In this scenario, Rodgers would not have had enough time to launch his counter-offensive. It’s a lot to ask a second-year quarterback – even one as precocious as Prescott – to envision all of this, though.
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