Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys: Lombardivave staff says …
We can only hope that Matt Flynn will be successful in Dallas today. Below, find out what we here at lombardiave.com think about today’s game. Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports photograph
It’s game day once again for the Green Bay Packers and again face a must-win situation – haven’t we said that before?
However, their opponent today, the Dallas Cowboys, are in the same situation – and in their own home – Jerry World.
And as has become the other side of the story of the Packers 2013 edition – Team 93 – Aaron Rodgers will once again be sporting a baseball cap, headset, and taking notes on a clipboard instead of slinging the football around the yard. Yes, he’s frustrated because he felt this week was his comeback week. Yes, we’re all frustrated.
So, here we are with Matt Flynn facing the most important game of his journeyman’s life. On his shoulders are the playoff hopes of his team. But to be fair, he’s just one guy. This game won’t necessarily be won by his actions, but most likely the actions or inactions of his teammates on the other side of the ball – the defense. They have to come to play.
So, once again the staff here at Lombardiave have put together our predictions … read along and don’t hesitate to leave us your own predictions in the comment section below …
Darryl Krejci: When he’s not watching the Packers he’s out drumming up a conspiracy theory or two.
Darryl Krejci: I am offering up two predictions – the first being what I would have predicted had Aaron Rodgers returned and my real prediction now that Matt Flynn is our leader …
Scenario one: Aaron Rodgers returns. If this was the case the Packers would win 37-21. Rodgers would shake off a rough start, catch on fire and lead the team to victory. It would have been just like it was before he left. His return sparks all aspects of the game and we would roll to victory. All is right with the world. World peace is restored and “It’s A Wonderful Life” is played 24/7 on every electronic device from now until Christmas.
Scenario two: Matt Flynn starts. God Help Us! Because of this fact, I look for a nail-biter like last week. Nothing truly clicks and we struggle to find a groove. We do just enough to stay close, but in the end we fall short and lose. The season goes up in flames and we get a good draft pick. The world ends in total dismay. Rudolph’s nose burns out and Santa gets lost and delivers all the toys to a smoking volcano in the South Pacific.
Cowboys 17 Packers 14
Bonus pick: The Detroit Lions choke and lose to whomever they are playing.
Tom Mrozla has been channeling all he juju he can muster this week for a Packers win.
Tom Mrozla: The saying goes “everything is bigger in Texas,” and this is a BIG game. I don’t like the fact that Aaron Rodgers isn’t playing but I do like how the defense played in the third and fourth quarter against the Atlanta Falcons.
If they can replicate the physical play on defense, then that will give Flynn a chance to have that breakout game that we have been waiting for. However, realistically I’m preparing for the Packers to tick me off … but let’s hope that won’t be the case.
Packers 27 Cowboys 24
Robert Cutlip is our newest member of Lombardiave. A Packers fan living in Texas is doing his best to represent the Green and Gold.
Robert Cutlip: These last six weeks I have given up my cheesehead for a tinfoil dunce cap, respecting the football God and praying for a Packers victory Sunday afternoon! Ha!
My thoughts after the humiliating loss the Pokes had in Chicago, is that they will be focused for a series or two. If they are behind, the Boys fans will jump ship like the last rat off the gangplank. We will be supported mightily.
Keys to the game:
• Play with a lead, keep the fickle Dallas crowd out of it.
• Run the ball, time of possession, keep the high-powered Dallas offense off the field.
• Tackle, tackle and tackle!
• Both of these teams need a great defensive showing. I think only one team will perform defensively.
• Kiffin will be dialing up the heat on blitz packages, from the safety position to fluster Matt Flynn and the offense. His job, as well as Dom Capers’, could be on the line.
• Keep Calm and Carry On.
All of our players need to know the first time we played in Jerry World, Our Packers won their fourth Lombardi Tophy and 13th NFL Title!
Yes, this is Team 93 but they have an obligation to remember the 92 great teams before this one.
As Kevin Greene told Clay Matthews at SB LVI, “It. Is. Time.”
Packers 34 Cowboys 27
Bonus score: Ravens 31 Lions 24
Lombardiave.com’s master podcast host, Davey Miller is looking for a big game from Eddie Lacy.
Davey Miller: Looks like Matt Flynn is the man on Sunday. Packers play with confidence – it’s a matter of which defense is going to play better.
Packers 24 Cowgirls 20
Eric Balkman is our fantasy football guru. Any questions, just ask him.
Eric Balkman: Much as I’d like to be a believer in Green Bay continuing to prolong the inevitable, I think the majority of Packers fans started thinking about next year when Aaron Rodgers was ruled out on Friday for Sunday’s game. Sure, Sean Lee is probably going to miss the game and give Eddie Lacy plenty of running room. And maybe Green Bay can take a page out of the San Diego playbook and keep Romo and the ‘Boys offense off the field by running Lacy ragged.
I know it’s December, but Romo still wins ballgames. If he wasn’t so dominant in November, I don’t think we’d care as much about him being “only” a .500 quarterback in December. The Cowboys are too talented to let this one get away. The Dallas D will keep the Pack in it until the end, but the 2013 season comes to a close this weekend.
Cowboys 28 Packers 21
When Kevin Gibson isn’t jamming on his bass guitar, he’s thinking Packers.
Kevin Gibson: Another week without Aaron Rodgers. I have to be honest, I’m not feeling good about a Rodgers-less team going into Dallas and getting a win.
But then I remember that this is the Dallas Cowboys, and nobody chokes like the Dallas Cowboys.
It’s all up to Green Bay’s defense. I like the offense’s chances of putting up between 20 and 24 points, but will the defense be able to contain Dez Bryant and DeMarco Murray? I’m going to cross my fingers for a Festivus miracle.
Packers 23 Cowboys 20
Dave Burdette
David Burdette: This is no easy task.
Tony Romo and the Cowboys roll into Jerry’s World with their season on the line (though not as much as the Packers). They have a more fluid offense at this point than the Packers, but arguably a worse defense.
The Packers have a tough game in front of them, and it will be even tougher without Aaron Rodgers playing. If he had played, there would have been a good chance for Green Bay to go home with a win. Don’t underestimate the confidence he would bring.
Without Rodgers, I don’t know if the Packers can pull it off, and I’ll base my prediction on that.
Cowboys 27 Packers 17
Patrick Hughes is a west-coaster, but does his best to throw out his Packers love every week.
Patrick Hughes: There has been a lot of discussion this week about Aaron Rodgers’ availability and ability to take on the Dallas Cowboys with his healing collar bone. I feel confident, however, that the Packers don’t necessarily need Rodgers to emerge victorious. Of course it would be a plus, but Matt Flynn and Eddie Lacy are more than capable of putting points on the board against a lackluster Dallas defense. The elephant in the room is whether the Packers defense slow down a Tony Romo-led Cowboys offense that is very effective in Jerry World.
The Packers’ defense is really what it comes down to. This is the time of year when heroes emerge and guys step up to separate the contenders from the pretenders. Many would agree the Packers are indeed pretenders without Rodgers. But if the Packers can scrape out this W against the Cowboys you would have to think there would be no keeping Rodgers off the field going forward. So the question is who on the Packers defense steps up? Mike Neal? Nick Perry? Sam Shields? Sean Richardson? Take your pick. But it has to happen for the Packers to entertain championship visions.
‘Tis the season for hope and believing; and I am a believer.
Packers 30 Cowboys 20
Kevin Dickens, wide smile and all, is optimistic about today’s game.
Kevin Dickens: So much is on the line for this team. Playoffs. Division crown. And with their leader so close to returning, Aaron Rodgers’ progression has to be giving the team a new sense of life. But they, as well as us fans, know a loss and his return timetable will be irrelevant.
So this Sunday the Packers find themselves in BIG D. The place a many Packers’ playoff appearances have ended. It also serves as a place where the greatest NFL achievement was celebrated by 28 men still sporting a Packers uniform. Good memories. Bad memories. Which one will play out?
Dallas’s defense is putrid. McCown ate it alive. This team without Aaron is better than it has been showing. Flynn should finally have the snaps and time with this offense to do some damage. Dallas is perfect for the magic to begin.
Remember this: As Stephen A. Smith so infamously stated on ESPN First Take, the only thing resembling America’s team about Dallas is the star on their helmet and the cheerleaders shaking their pom-pons in everyone’s living rooms Sunday.
Dallas falters, Green Bay conquers.
Packers 34 Cowboys 20
Luke Hanish has the right idea with the warm hat.
Luke Hanish: The Cowboys could possibly have THE only defensive unit that makes ours look halfway decent. After Monday night’s beat-down by the Bears, the Cowboys will also be without Sean Lee. Stephen Jones has done a lot of talking this week trying to inspire the team. Look for the Cowboy defense to at least play better than Monday. Offensively, the Pack can hopefully continue to roll as their second half against Atlanta was impressive. Look for a close game throughout as both teams certainly need this one.
Cowboys 27 Packers 21
Ray Rivard is hoping that Matt Flynn can bring about a Christmas miracle for the Packers.
Ray Rivard: In this must-win game in Dallas, the Packers will score some points and get the opportunities to fly home with a win. But this is a must-win game for the Cowboys, too. Yes, Matt Flynn and the Packers defense heated up in the cold last week, but let’s remember one thing: the Packers beat a team that came into legendary Lambeau Field with a 3-9 record – and Packers squeezed out a win by a single point. Not really a dominant performance.
Without Aaron Rodgers, the Packers don’t have a chance in Dallas. Eddie Lacy will eat up yardage, but the Packers defense won’t have enough answers for Dallas’s running game and the Romo-to-Bryant combination.
I’m hoping I’m dead wrong on this, but I just don’t have high expectations today.
Cowboys 27 Packers 17