ARLINGTON, Texas -- Well that settles it. The Green Bay Packers absolutely adore the fact that Jerry Jones had the foresight to get this marvelous stadium built. They have visited it twice, and unadulterated magic has transpired both times.
Sunday was so sweet, so special for the Packers at AT&T Stadium that it was actually difficult for Green Bay linebacker Clay Matthews to decide upon his favorite memory at this venue: The Packers' Super Bowl victory against the Pittsburgh Steelers in February 2011, or the ridiculously improbable 37-36 season-saving win over the Cowboys that he had just participated in?
"Two big wins right there,'' Matthews said, amid the giddy Green Bay locker room. "We like it. We like it a lot here. It's been good to us.
"I'll tell you what, I haven't felt this way in a long time. I feel like we won a Super Bowl. I know that might be a little premature in saying. But I feel like I'm in college again, the way we were celebrating on the sidelines.''
Everybody associated with Green Bay felt a little younger and a little more carefree early Sunday evening. And why not? Trailing Dallas 26-3 at halftime in a game the Packers absolutely had to have to keep their playoff hopes alive, Green Bay scored touchdowns on its first five second-half possessions and tied a franchise record for the largest comeback in team history, at 23 points. All with backup quarterback Matt Flynn starting his third straight game in the place of injured starter Aaron Rodgers, and throwing four second-half touchdowns to spark the miracle win.
Nobody could scarcely fathom how it had taken place, but the Packers put together a rally for the ages, and now can somehow see their way to the playoff berth that has looked like a cruel mirage ever since Rodgers broke his left collarbone early in a Week 9 loss to Chicago. At 7-6-1, Green Bay remains a half-game behind first-place Chicago (8-6), and neck and neck with Detroit (7-6), which takes on Baltimore at home on Monday night.
But 7-6-1 never felt so good. Especially if Rodgers is finally ready to return for Green Bay's regular-season home finale against Pittsburgh next Sunday. This game wasn't just a potential springboard to bigger things for the Packers, it was a warp-speed catapult that sent them rocketing into the stratosphere. At least from an emotional standpoint.
http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/nfl/news/20131216/green-bay-packers-dallas-cowboys-tony-romo/#ixzz2nea2ZlFL
Don Banks wrote: