Day two of the NFL playoffs was just as exciting as day one with the No. 7-seed Green Bay Packers challenging the No. 2-seed Dallas Cowboys and the No. 3-seed Detroit Lions facing off against the No. 6-seed Los Angeles Rams. With the Packers entering their game as underdogs to the Cowboys and the Lions and the Rams being closely matched, both games were sure to be exciting.
Packers vs. Cowboys
Despite the Cowboys being heavily favored, the Packers opened with a bang, scoring a touchdown fairly early in the first quarter. Quarterback Jordan Love handed the ball off to running back Aaron Jones, allowing him to break through the Cowboys’ defense and into the endzone for a touchdown.
Unfortunately for the Cowboys, quarterback Dak Prescott threw an interception to Jaire Alexander near the endzone, allowing him to get a pick-six, and giving the Packers an early two-score lead.
The Packers continued to rack up points. Love threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver Dontayvion Wicks who was waiting for him in the endzone. His catch brought the score to 20-0.
Desperate for points, the Cowboys offense lumbered on. However, Prescott threw a catastrophic second interception, which Packers safety Darnell Savage was able to turn into another pick-six.
The Cowboys were slowly beginning to see their vision of making it to the next round of the playoffs slip away. However, they weren’t done yet. At the very end of the first half, tight end Jake Ferguson was able to score a touchdown for the team, finally putting them on the board and bringing the score to 27-7.
The Cowboys were able to close the gap a bit at the start of the second half as well. Although they didn’t score a touchdown, they were able to score three points with a 34 yard field goal.
The Packers did not let the Cowboys keep control of the ball for long, quickly responding with another touchdown by Aaron Jones.
This time, the Cowboys did not let the Packers begin a scoring streak. They shot back with a touchdown by running back Tony Pollard. Unfortunately, the extra point was unsuccessful, so the score was now only 34-16.
The Packers continued to score. Jordan Love threw a deep pass to a wide open Luke Musgrave, who widened their lead to 41-16.
This time the Cowboys did not respond with a score of their own. Instead, with the help of Jordan Love, the Packers scored again. The score was now 48-16.
Nearing the end of the fourth quarter, the Cowboys were able to score a touchdown with a two-point conversion. Minutes later, they scored another touchdown. Impressively, both of them were scored by tight end Jake ferguson.
However, the late-game touchdowns were not enough to win it for the Cowboys. The final score was 48-32, Packers. Despite being the underdogs in the game, the Packers were able to pull out a convincing victory. However, they would have to face the daunting San Francisco 49ers in next week’s NFC divisional round.
Lions vs. Rams
The Lions vs. Rams game also started out with a bang as Lions quarterback Jared Goff handed the ball off to running back David Montgomery for a touchdown.
Despite being in the red zone, the Rams were forced to respond with a field goal. Brett Maher kicked it for only 24 yards. However, the field goal allowed the Rams to inch closer to tying the Lions’ score of seven.
Near the end of the first quarter, the Lions were able to score again. Wide receiver Josh Reynolds bolted into the endzone, bringing the score up to 14-3.
The Rams were quick to respond. Quarterback Matthew Stafford threw a deep pass to Puka Nacua, who was able to sprint into the endzone. The Rams were now only a field goal away from tying the game.
However, Goff was able to move the Lions offense down the field. Once in the red zone, he was able to make a shallow pass to tight end Sam LaPorta who scored a touchdown, widening the gap between the scores of the Lions and the Rams to 21-10.
Not even finished with the first half yet, the Rams responded with another touchdown. Wide receiver Tutu Atwell even did an impressive flip into the endzone as he scored.
The second half was significantly less action-packed than the first half of the game. The Lions scored a field goal, to which the Rams swiftly responded with one of their own. Entering the fourth quarter, the score was 24-20, Lions.
The Rams desperately needed a touchdown to win the game. However, they fell short during the fourth quarter and only managed to score a field goal. The game ended with a nail-biting score of 24-23. The Lions’ victory not only meant that they would play either the Tampa Bay Buccaneers or the Philadelphia Eagles in the NFC divisional round next week, but it also meant that they had won their first playoff game in 32 years.
