Green Bay Packers vs. Dallas Cowboys: 1995 NFC Championship
By Tim Muma
Although the Green Bay Packers ranked a fool’s gold 4th in points allowed, the defense was 14th in yards, played uninspired, and could not get off the field that day in Dallas.
Tied at 17 with four minutes left in the first half, the Packers pinned Dallas back on their own 1-yard line.
Green Bay’s defense had a chance to give Favre the ball with great field position and a shot at a surprising halftime lead. Instead, the Cowboys stuffed it right down their throat.
Emmitt Smith started things off with a 25-yard run and Dallas didn’t look back. They marched on an 11-play, 99-yard drive to eat up the clock and punch Green Bay in the gut.
With less than 30 seconds left, Smith found the end zone to put the home squad up 24-17 at the break. The Packers’ offense would fight back to take the 27-24 lead after three quarters, but that drive was a tone-setter and took a lot out of the defense.
His offensive line pushed around the Packers’ 7th-ranked run defense while Smith hit holes quick and punished would-be tacklers.
Starting in the 3rd quarter and ending in the 4th, Dallas would again traverse on a backbreaking drive. This time they would go 90 yards in 14 plays to retake the lead at 31-27. They wouldn’t trail again.
The key to those long journeys was Smith, who ran for 150 yards and three touchdowns.
His offensive line pushed around the Packers’ 7th-ranked run defense while Smith hit holes quick and punished would-be tacklers.
Those long drives helped the Cowboys put up 38 points – the most the Packers gave up all season – and dominate time of possession (17 minutes more) to keep the NFL’s MVP off the field.