Cowboys Keys to Victory Against Packers

Last weeks game is a good indicator of how the Cowboys will deal with fierce adversity and they may face the same test against the Packers. The Cowboys are pretty banged up across the board from the offensive line to the defensive line.

We have several players listed as questionable, but like most of the year, our players have dug deep and gutted it out. Look no further than our rookies Zack Martin and Anthony Hitchens playing with ankle issues. As a vet, you can’t pull yourself out of the rookies are stepping up.

As for the game, the elements have been talked about all week and if it were snowing I would say there could be a factor, but there isn’t any indication that we’ll have any precipitation for the game. The conditions will be close to what we saw in New England’s game, hovering at 20 degrees.

Here are my keys to victory:

— Containment. This is the same as last week on defense. The Lions have better weapons in the passing game with Tate and Johnson. This week the Cowboys have Cobb and Nelson. They’ll be played similarly by the secondary.

— Flush Rodgers out of the pocket early and see if that calf is going to “go”. Supposedly, he has a tear in the calf and I’m not sure if this is true or just some gamesmanship by the Packers. If Rodgers is gimpy, the defensive line will get their sacks.

— Big game needed by the same playmakers: Crawford, Carter, Hitchens, Lawrence all need to have repeat performances and more. Give us more guys! Grate cheese!!

— Marinelli could be the x-factor having seen these Packers offense for several years as the Lions HC and Bears DC, so the familiarity could be a deciding factor.

— Tackle well. The fundamentals will need to be sound. In watching the other divisional games, I’ve seen some bad tackling, so we need to keep swarming like we have all year. Keep it up.

— Swarm on Lacy and hit him. I would be nice to have Rolando McClain in this game to add some physical hits on the running back. If McClain plays, this will be good for the run defense. If not, we’ll be fine with Hitchens.

— More bold calls from Garrett. I like how Garrett was confident in his team on offense, and if needed, I’d like to see more of the same from Garrett.

— Let’s jump on the Packers early and snuff them out by the 3rd quarter. I want to see the Cowboys exhibit killer instinct and go for the kill early. Keep your foot on their neck and take the “W”

— Another big game from Dez. He’s been on a tear and I look for Dez to make a statement again on the road. Big players make bigtime plays in the playoffs. We’ll need it from Dez and he’ll rise to the test again.

— Anthony Spencer has turned it up just in time and is wreaking havoc the past few weeks. Spencer is a complete player when healthy. He’ll boost the run defense and he’ll get in Rodgers face.

— Beas Nut! I have a feeling the Packers will throw blitz packages at Romo and players like Cole Beasley could make them think twice. Beasley has quietly continued to be a big go-to guy for Romo and defenses have yet to key on him at all.

— Make TWill TD struts. Williams needs to keep the resurgence going and keep that TD strut going. Let’s go!

— Force more takeaways. We have had some great moments with taking away the ball, and we’ll beed more of it. Let’s get the ball back on special teams and let’s strip the ball from the Packers.

— Scott Linehan knows what the Packers do defensively, so he could be the other x-factor from a coaching angle. I like how our assistants match-up against the Packers in this one. Which team’s players execute the gameplans will be the key factory.

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Let’s see how our ‘Boys do against the Packers. It’ll be a complete game, the Cowboys have been gritty all year, so if there are moments in this game that make you cringe, just remember this 2014 version does not quit.

Let’s go Dallas! #FinishTheFight