Packers vs. Cowboys: Score and Twitter Reaction from 2017 NFL Playoffs

The Green Bay Packers advanced to the NFC Championship Game with a 34-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

It's Packers head coach Mike McCarthy's 10th win in 17 postseason games, surpassing Vince Lombardi's nine playoff wins as coach for most in team history, per NFL Network's Rich Eisen.

Mason Crosby's 51-yard field goal as time expired was the difference Sunday.

Crosby's decisive tally came one play after a 36-yard reception by Jared Cook on 3rd-and-20. The Packers tight end somehow got both feet down before falling out of bounds. Fox Sports: NFL showed Cook's toe-drag to complete the catch:

Cook finished as Green Bay's leading receiver, catching six passes for 104 yards and a touchdown.

Even with Jordy Nelson unavailable, Aaron Rodgers threw for 356 yards, two touchdowns and an interception on 28-of-43 passing.

Dak Prescott nearly matched Rodgers, going 24-of-38 for 302 yards, three touchdowns and an interception. Ezekiel Elliott also ran for 125 yards on 22 carries, becoming the first Cowboys rookie to break 100 yards on the ground in the playoffs since Duane Thomas in 1970, according to ESPN Stats & Info.

The Packers got off to a hot start, jumping ahead 21-3 with 7:37 left in the half.

A 50-yard field goal by Dan Bailey gave the Cowboys an early 3-0 lead, but Green Bay responded quickly with a 34-yard touchdown reception by Richard Rodgers. Aaron Rodgers somehow slipped his pass between the helmet and outstretched right arm of Cowboys linebacker Sean Lee. NFL on ESPN shared a photo of the moment:

Rushing touchdowns by Ty Montgomery on back-to-back possessions padded the Packers' advantage.

Much of Green Bay's early success started at the point of attack. The Packers offensive line gave Rodgers a lot of time in the pocket and opened up holes on the ground for Montgomery.

Former Packers tight end Jermichael Finley praised the unit on Twitter:

"

Man that @packers o line!

— Jermichael Finley (@JermichaelF88) January 15, 2017"

Former NFL quarterback and current NFL Network analyst David Carr thought the lack of a consistent pass rush by the Cowboys would be a major factor:

Before the game could get too out of hand, though, Prescott hooked up with Dez Bryant on a 40-yard touchdown pass with 6:03 remaining in the first half. NFL Network shared a replay of the score:

Bailey made it a one-score game, 21-13, at the 1:00 mark of the second quarter after connecting on a 33-yard field goal.

Rodgers stunted the Cowboys' momentum after he opened the second half with a three-yard touchdown pass to Cook. The Packers needed only six plays to go 75 yards for the touchdown.

ESPN's Jemele Hill thought the drive was the perfect response to Bailey's field goal late in the first half:

Left tackle David Bakhtiari exited in the second quarter with a knee injury, according to the Packers' Twitter account. His return for the start of the third quarter coincided with Green Bay's quick scoring drive, and ESPN.com's Bill Barnwell credited him with playing a big role on the possession:

The Cowboys got in the red zone on their next possession before Prescott threw an interception to Packers safety Micah Hyde. Yahoo Sports' Charles Robinson provided a visual representation of how Dallas fans reacted to the turnover:

But Rodgers returned the favor, throwing an interception to Cowboys safety Jeff Heath after Green Bay got the ball back. That helped set up a six-yard touchdown pass to Jason Witten to bring Dallas to within eight points, 28-20, with 11:39 remaining in the game.

After the Cowboys forced Green Bay to punt, Prescott engineered an 11-play, 80-yard drive to tie the game. He hit Bryant on a quick slant on 3rd-and-2 for the touchdown and then converted the two-point attempt on a designed quarterback draw to make it 28-28 with 4:08 left in the final quarter.

Deadspin's Lindsey Adler felt sorry for Tony Romo, as Prescott's heroics all but ended any chance he would come into Sunday's game:

"

We've all been there, man. pic.twitter.com/LiMjMUw1CT

— Lindsey Adler (@lindseyadler) January 16, 2017"

After the Cowboys tied it up, Arizona Cardinals cornerback Patrick Peterson was glued to his television:

"

Wow @dak showing some grit there on the 2 point conversion!! We got action boss!!! What's Arod gonna do????? #GBvsDAL

— Patrick Peterson /P2 (@P2) January 16, 2017"

Prescott's touchdown pass left a lot of time on the clock for Rodgers to get the Packers in position for the go-ahead score.

Bryant's controversial non-catch in the 2015 NFC divisional round remains a contentious topic among Cowboys fans, and another officiating decision factored into a big moment Sunday.

After getting flushed out of the pocket, Rodgers heaved a prayer downfield, and Heath intercepted the pass before going out of bounds. Cowboys cornerback Anthony Brown got flagged for pass interference, though, nullifying the interception and giving the Packers a first down.

ESPN.com's Mark Schlabach understood Cowboys fans' frustrations but thought the call was correct:

Four plays later, Crosby's 56-yard field-goal attempt sneaked inside the right upright.

After their drive stalled inside Packers territory, Dallas settled for a 52-yard field goal by Bailey to tie the game at 31-31 with 35 seconds remaining.

That left the Cowboys' fate in the defense's hands, and Dallas was unable to stop the Packers on a long third down, which cost the team the game.

Losing at home on a last-second field goal is a tough way to end the season, but the Cowboys are headed in the right direction after Prescott's and Elliott's excellent rookie seasons.

Romo's future will be a big question for Dallas. The veteran quarterback carries $19.6 million in dead money in 2017, per Over the Cap, so releasing him isn't an option. Given his age, the 36-year-old may not be content to fill a backup role once again, however, so the Cowboys will likely evaluate all of their trade options this offseason.

The Packers, meanwhile, will focus their attention on next week's conference title game against the Atlanta Falcons, who are fresh off a 36-20 victory over the Seattle Seahawks in which Matt Ryan threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns.

The two teams met earlier in the year, with Atlanta prevailing 33-32 at home in Week 8 after Ryan threw a touchdown pass to Mohamed Sanu late in the fourth quarter.

The rematch is scheduled for next Sunday at 3:05 p.m. ET inside the Georgia Dome.

Postgame Reaction

Randall Cobb said after the game that Rodgers' pass to Cook in the fourth quarter was improvised in the huddle, according to The MMQB's Robert Klemko:

"I knew it was good," Cook said of his catch, per USA Today. "It was a perfect throw by Aaron."

"Unbelievable effort," Rodgers said, per the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "I mean, what a game, what a game. We're going to celebrate this and move on to Atlanta. We're just going to enjoy this right now."

Cowboys wide receiver Brice Butler remained upset about the officiating after he was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct on a 2nd-and-5 at Green Bay's 37-yard line in the first quarter. According to the Dallas Morning News' Jori Epstein, Butler ran afoul of the rules after he joined the huddle and talked to teammates but failed to participate in the play.

NFL Network's Jane Slater shared Butler's comments: "Never heard of it in my life. [We] couldn't beat the stripes. You can quote me on that."

Prescott is looking forward to having more opportunities in the playoffs after Sunday's loss.

"These are the games I dreamed as a kid of playing in," he said, per Jon Machota of the Dallas Morning News. "I hope to play in many more of them."