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Packers vs. Cowboys line, odds, picks: Our experts pick Dallas to beat Green Bay

Published

4 months ago

January 14, 2024

Packers vs. Cowboys line, odds, picks: Our experts pick Dallas to beat Green Bay

Mike McCarthy’s past and present converge on Sunday when the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys meet in a playoff game. McCarthy’s Cowboys are a touchdown favorite at home against a Packers team that captured the final wild card by winning its final three games.

This is the middle game of Sunday’s playoff tripleheader and will kick off at 4:30 p.m. ET from AT&T Stadium. FOX will handle the broadcast.

NFC East champion Dallas (12-5) is the No. 2 seed, tied with San Francisco and Detroit for the best record in the conference. The Cowboys have also won 16 in a row at home, but their last loss in AT&T Stadium came in this round two seasons ago.

McCarthy knows that success with this storied franchise is measured by more than just making it to the playoffs, and the first step in attempting to end Dallas’ Super Bowl drought (going on 28 years) is beating the team he won a Lombardi Trophy with 13 years ago.

Green Bay (9-8) hasn’t returned to the Super Bowl since that magical 2010 season, but this Packers team under coach Matt LaFleur has already defied expectations simply by getting into the playoffs.

After some initial success, Jordan Love experienced the typical growing pains that first-year starting quarterbacks go through in the NFL. Combined with some key injuries led to a 2-5 record for Green Bay through the end of October. But Love has gotten into quite the groove over the last eight weeks, throwing 18 touchdown passes and just one interception. That helped fuel a 6-2 finish to capture a wild-card berth and earned Love bragging rights over predecessor Aaron Rodgers in one aspect – leading the Packers to the playoffs in his first season as the starter.

The question now is how Love will fare when the stakes are raised and when facing a Dallas defense that finished the regular season ranked fifth in both points and total yards allowed per game. This unit also features two of the best in the league for creating havoc and coming up with big plays in linebacker Micah Parsons and cornerback DaRon Bland. A complimentary Green Bay running game powered by Aaron Jones – who has three straight 100-yard efforts – will take some of the offensive load off of Love. Christian Watson is questionable for this game with a hamstring injury.

For the Cowboys, much of the focus will be on how their offense performs, especially since McCarthy calls the plays. But there also will be plenty of pressure on quarterback Dak Prescott. The league leader in touchdown passes with 36 (Love finished second with 32), Prescott is just 2-4 in the playoffs, including a home loss to the McCarthy/Rodgers Packers in the divisional round during his 2016 rookie season. Prescott’s previous playoff experience should help him against a Green Bay defense that finished the regular season ninth against the pass.

The Packers also know that Prescott will look for CeeDee Lamb early and often. Limiting the league’s receptions leader (135 for 1,739 yards and 12 touchdowns) while not allowing running back Tony Pollard to get going on the ground will be critical if Green Bay wants to hand its former coach another deflating postseason defeat.

Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander is questionable with shoulder and ankle injuries.

All odds from BetMGM. Looking for NFL tickets? Buy them here.

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(Photo of Dak Prescott: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)

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Dallas, TX

2024 UIL tennis regional results: See how boys and girls from Dallas-area schools fared

Published

5 hours ago

May 9, 2024

Press Room

2024 UIL tennis regional results: See how boys and girls from Dallas-area schools fared

CLASS 6A

THURSDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Brandon Cowling/Kate Delgado, Wylie d. Caroline Artho/Barrett Stroud, Amarillo, 6-1, 7-5

THURSDAY’S CHAMPIONSHIP MATCH

Trevor Short/Hope Willis, Wylie d. Brandon Cowling/Kate Delgado, Wylie

Find more high school sports coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.

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Dallas, TX

Dallas Cowboys Add ‘Jack-Of-All-Trades’ Receiver in 2025 NFL Draft?

Published

13 hours ago

May 8, 2024

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Dallas Cowboys Add ‘Jack-Of-All-Trades’ Receiver in 2025 NFL Draft?

Could the Dallas Cowboys add a versatile and elusive wide receiver in the first round of the 2025 NFL Draft? Dallas drafts Oregon transfer receiver Evan Stewart with the No. 26-pick in the latest mock from ESPN.

Talk about a homecoming! Stewart is a Frisco, Texas-native, which is where the Dallas Cowboys headquarters is located.

Oregon wide receiver Evan Stewart attempts to avoid defensive back Solomon Davis during practice / Ben Lonergan/The Register-Guard / USA

Could Stewart be a Dallas star alongside receiver CeeDee Lamb? Currently the Cowboys room is highlighted by Lamb, Brandin Cooks, Jalen Tolbert, Kavontae Turpin.

“I want to show that I am a jack of all trades,” said Stewart during Oregon practices. “…I can go up and get it like a big receiver, I can move like a little receiver. I’ve got great hands, I’m very quick, very fast.”

Stewart transferred from Texas A&M, totaling 1,163 receiving yards and six touchdowns in two seasons in college station, despite an early season ankle injury in 2013 that resulted in diminished production. Stewart’s undeniable talent and experience was highly sought after in the portal, ranking as a top-5 overall athlete in the portal.

Stewart’s goal for the Oregon 2024 football season is clear.

“That ball, man. I’m trying to get those passes,” Stewart said during Oregon’s spring practices. “(Oregon suited everything that I was looking for. I wanted to be in a great program that had a lot of order and construction. Everything is so much better here, honestly, I’m happy with my decision.”

Stewart already turned heads in a Duck uniform during spring football practices. Possibly the biggest get for the Ducks in the transfer portal this year by coach Dan Lanning. Oregon enters their inaugural season in the Big Ten Conference as one of the favorites to win the Big Ten Title, with much thanks to additions like Stewart.

Dallas’ rookie mini camp is May 10-11. It’ll be a first-look at the Cowboys’ first-round 2024 NFL Draft selection Tyler Guyton. The hope is that Guyton, a former Oklahoma offensive tackle, can help reinforce the Cowboys offensive line quickly.

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What we learned in FC Dallas' win over Memphis

Published

20 hours ago

May 8, 2024

Press Room

What we learned in FC Dallas' win over Memphis

Photo via FC Dallas

FC Dallas picked up another much-needed win on Tuesday night, a US Open Cup Round of 32 win over USL Championship side Memphis 901.

This morning, as I am sitting at a pub in the Pittsburgh Airport, I thought I would take a few minutes to discuss the comments made by head coach Nico Estevez and the game’s goal scorer, Logan Farrington, after last night’s win. I’m also going to take a quick look back at a game that FC Dallas had control over…for the most part.

This won’t be our normal breakdown of the game since we do need to quickly turn our attention to Saturday’s game with Austin FC.

For a coach who needed to go for it in a Cup tournament game at home against a lower-division team, Estevez really didn’t push things all that much with his lineup choice. He stuck it out once more with the 3-4-3, as he reintroduced Jesus Ferreira and Asier Illarramendi back into the lineup after the two weren’t ‘fully fit’ enough, Nico’s words there to do so in Toronto last week.

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