The Cowboys’ win probability entering the fourth quarter of Sunday’s game was 93 percent. It might as well have been 99.999 percent. The franchise had never lost a game it led by 14 points entering the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys were 180-0 all-time in the regular season when leading by 14 points after three quarters and 15-0 in the postseason under the same circumstance, according to ESPN Stats & Info.
The Cowboys’ win probability reached 96 percent when, on third-and-seven from the Dallas 39, Aaron Rodgers threw an incompletion. The Packers faced fourth down, trailing by two touchdowns and with only 13:31 remaining.
Rodgers, though, threw a 39-yard touchdown to Christian Watson on the next play. The rest was, literally, history.
Green Bay won 31-28 in overtime.
“It’s just a fine line out there,” Cowboys executive vice president Stephen Jones said Monday on 105.3 The Fan, via Mark Lane of WFAA. “You play against a guy like Aaron Rodgers, which you have tons of respects for as we said last week going into, [and] he’s backed into a corner. He made some amazing plays for the Packers down the stretch with the fourth-and-[seven], which is tough knowing that he’s got to throw it and knowing what we do best, which is rush the passer and play pass defense. But he made the play. Hats off to him. The rookie over there [Watson] made some big plays with his speed after a tough start, and you have to give the Packers credit. Obviously, a tough place to play, Lambeau, and we’ve got to play better. Usually looking at how we played this year defensively you feel pretty good about it going into the fourth quarter. But at the end of the day you’re going against Aaron Rodgers in a very difficult place to play, and we didn’t get the job done.”
Rodgers is the Cowboy killer. Twice, he has beaten the Cowboys in the postseason. In the regular season, Rodgers has 14 touchdowns and one interception against the Cowboys and the Packers are 6-3 in games he has played against them.