Green Bay Packers, 26 Dallas Cowboys, 21
Packers QB Aaron Rodgers was extremely limited on one calf and Cowboys QB Tony Romo took a beating as well.
With both QBs limited in their mobility, two top running games flexed their muscles. Cowboys RB DeMarco Murray was heavily involved (25 carries for 123 yards) and the Packers used RB Eddie Lacy effectively as well, 19 carries for 101 yards.
With 4:16 remaining in the 3rd quarter, DeMarco Murray broke a 26-yard run and punched it in the next play for a 1-yard TD to put Dallas ahead 21-13. Normally, an 8 point lead against these Green Bay Packers would mean essentially nothing, but Rodgers had done little through the air to this point and was a complete liability on the ground game, quite literally unable to run.
Despite it all, Rodgers exploded in a way only the best QB in the league could. There were a few impressive after-the-catch plays by rookie WR Davonte Adams (who had the best game of his season at the right time) but the 13-yard knife to TE Richard Rodgers in the back of the end zone was one of the most impressive throws of Rodgers' career with 9 minutes remaining.
Make no mistake, the Packers' defense still folded and allowed the Cowbos back down the field as they have so often throughout the last four seasons. This time, they were bailed out by a by-the-book, complete-the-catch controversy that took away a spectacular, leaping, downright Irvin-esque catch by WR Dez Bryant 31 yards to the 1-yard line. It was a 4th-and-1 Texas gamble. Des had control going down, took two or three steps towards the end zone and reached toward the pylon. However, he did not control the ball coming back up or make "a football move" during his fall. The play was reversed and resulted in a turnover on downs. It is the technically correct call but it certainly does not pass the eyeball test, he caught the ball.
The Cowboys defense was no better. There was still 4:41 left in the game at this point but they crumbled under the now red-hot Packers who ran RB Eddie Lacy hard and had Rodgers convert the 3rd downs until the timeouts were used and the game was over. Tony Romo, Bryant and Murray never saw the field again.
KEY PLAY: The Dez Bryant reversal changed the game. I say both defenses were crumbling by that point so it's likely even if the Dez catch stood and a TD was scored. Rodgers would have had no problem driving the field to win the game. Still, you never know. The reversal kept that ending from us.
MVP: Aaron Rodgers. After the Cowboys went ahead 21-13 late in the 3rd quarter, Rodgers had only 95 yards passing. From the kickoff after Murray's TD to the final 12-yard wobble to WR Randall Cobb to seal the victory, Rodgers was 13/16 with 221 yards and 2 TDs.
Indianapolis Colts, 24 Denver Broncos, 13
After all the excitement of Divisonal Weekend, the present meeting of the past (Peyton Manning) and the future (Andrew Luck) was somewhat of an afterthought. It was an anticlimactic game. Manning and the Broncos' offense had a dominant opening drive but never again could move the ball.
Colts CBs Vontae Davis and Greg Toler were a huge reason for the Colts' defense's success. They won their match ups on the outside against WR Demaryius Thomas and WR Emmanuel Sanders. Manning alternated between unimpressive missed connections deep and ineffective short passes with no after-the-catch performances. Demaryius Thomas, blocking poorly and dropping screen passes, had one of the worst games of his career. It wasn't all disaster for Denver, Broncos RB C.J Anderson was a real silver lining. Anderson played his heart out, in a defining 4th-and-1, he was hit in the backfield 4 yards deep but still converted the first down.
While Manning struggled, Luck and the Colts offense consistently put together long drives against a stout Denver defense. Staying on the field has always been the go-to strategy against Peyton Manning, and the sudden balance that exploding RB Boom Herron added to the Colts' attack was important.
KEY PLAY: Manning did not look right. At the start of the 4th quarter, down 21-13, he was given 3 straight passing plays to get a drive going. All 3 passes traveled less than 5 yards down the field and all fell incomplete. This summed up the game.
MVP: QB Andrew Luck had many games this season that were much more impressive statistically. Still, this was a big one for Luck. Both his INTs were not careless pressings of a prodigy but the calculated risks of a wiser man. Both were on long 3rd downs and were essentially 40 yards punts. Luck played against a great Denver secondary and continued to move the ball. When the Colts' were in the red zone, Luck was able to finish. In many minds, today was the day Andrew Luck stopped being the new kid and started being a genuine NFL star.
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