Same game, different views for Packers, Cowboys  

By Tom Silverstein of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Nov. 13, 2009

If you were tracking the fortunes of the Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys, their lines on a graph chart would pass each other going 100 mph.

Down like a high-speed elevator go the Packers, up like a rocket flare go the Cowboys.

At the halfway point of the season, the motives for victory Sunday at Lambeau Field couldn't be more dissimilar even when you consider the ultimate goal for both teams is to win the Super Bowl.

For the Cowboys, Sunday represents a chance to elongate the springboard lift they got from a critical road victory over NFC East rival Philadelphia last week, and for the Packers it is the ultimate survival challenge after a devastating loss to previously winless Tampa Bay.

There's a lot on the line for both teams.

"It's a big game," Packers cornerback Charles Woodson said. "It's not just going to be this game. We've put ourselves into that situation where every week is going to be a big game. Last week was a tough one. We let one get away, so every week is going to be big, starting with the Dallas Cowboys, who are really on fire right now."

The 6-2 Cowboys come into the game on a four-game winning streak that began with an overtime victory on the road against the lowly Kansas City Chiefs. They beat Atlanta, Seattle and the Eagles in the weeks following and sit alone atop the NFC East, one game ahead of Philadelphia and 1 games ahead of the New York Giants.

If the Cowboys win Sunday, the only obstacles between them and a 9-2 record are Oakland and Washington, a pair of 2-6 teams going nowhere. They absolutely want to ride the momentum they gained by beating the Eagles in Philadelphia.

"They've played at a high, high level the whole year and they're a tough team at their home place, even when they haven't had great seasons," quarterback Tony Romo said of the Eagles. "They're just hard to beat there. I think for us to go up there and do that, maybe gave us a little bit of confidence in the sense of knowing that we could go somewhere and win in an environment like that.

"But there's no midseason awards; we're not getting any Super Bowl trophies now or anything right now. So we don't pretend that it's any bigger than what that was. We needed to do that; that was big for us. But now all of a sudden this becomes the most important game of the season."

Oddly, the Packers don't have to win this game to remain in the hunt for a playoff berth; it just would help their cause all the way around to beat a team like the Cowboys. Of the Packers' 10 victories over the last two seasons, only two (Indianapolis and Chicago) came against teams that had a winning record at the time, and neither had a record as good as the Cowboys' is now.

The Packers aren't likely to make the playoffs with an 8-8 mark as San Diego did last year because potential wild-card teams like Atlanta (5-3), Philadelphia (5-3) and the Giants (5-4) are strong enough to finish with 10 or 11 victories. But just as some teams have bounced back at midseason, some have gone into the tank, and it's hard to know where others will be at the end of the season.

With Minnesota comfortably ahead in the NFC North at 7-1, the wild card is the only carrot dangling in front of the Packers.

Eight games in, their problems seem so deep that nothing short of a miracle can turn them around. However, their issues aren't widespread; they basically come down to a quarterback and offensive line that have taken a league-leading 37 sacks and special teams that have had three bad weeks in a row.

Fix those two things, and they have a chance.

"I think the guys feel good about their capabilities, their potential, their ability," offensive coordinator Joe Philbin said. "There's obviously a difference between potential and performance, but by some measures we're not a half bad offense. On paper, it's hard to say this is a bad offense besides the number of sacks we've taken. I think they believe in themselves."

The bigger question - as posed by team president Mark Murphy this week - is whether the coaching staff can make the changes that can foster a rebound. Coach Mike McCarthy lightened the players' load this week on the field, and there appeared to be more jocularity and looseness during practice.

Still, the pressure on general manager Ted Thompson and McCarthy to succeed can be felt all the way into the locker room, given the pair have failed to get the Packers to the playoffs two out of their three years together. If they continue on the course they've set this season, there are no guarantees either will be back next season.

The players seem to understand what's at stake, as evidenced by an open offensive players meeting earlier this week.

"We're professionals," quarterback Aaron Rodgers said. "We've got to be held to a standard of expectation from each other. The coaches expect the guys to play well when they get the opportunity. We expect each other to play well. We've got to win those battles. We've got to do better."

After the Cowboys game, the Packers host the 4-5 San Francisco 49ers and play the 1-7 Detroit Lions at Ford Field on Thanksgiving Day. Then they get 11 days to prepare for a home meeting against the 4-4 Baltimore Ravens.

If they're going to start a run, there's no better time to do it than Sunday.

"This definitely is a very important game," Packers receiver Greg Jennings said. "To go from 4-4 to a losing record, you just can't have that."

To assume they'll be playing a Cowboys team that isn't motivated would be a mistake. Though Dallas has had its midseason blips before under Romo, this is its chance to show it can steam-roll anyone who gets in its way. The Packers just happen to be next in line, standing there with a desperate look on their faces.

"We're 4-4, we know what's in front of us," Rodgers said. "We need a win."