By Mike Ramczyk
Sports Editor
GREEN BAY – Dallas Cowboys quarterback and Burlington native Tony Romo did just about everything he could to will his team to victory Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Unfortunately for the Cowboys, Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers did a little more, and then some.
Hobbled by a torn calf muscle, Rodgers engineered two second-half touchdown drives, and the Packers benefitted from a controversial call to win in come-from-behind fashion, 26-21, and advance to their first NFC Championship game since 2010.
Green Bay improved to 13-4 overall and will travel to play the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks, the No. 1 seed, Sunday at 2 p.m. Dallas finished the season at 13-5.
Down 21-13 with just under two minutes left in the third quarter, Rodgers found Davante Adams on a third-and-15. Adams shaked and baked past the Dallas safety and sprinted into the corner of the end zone to cut the Cowboys’ lead to 21-20.
After Dallas was forced to punt, Rodgers struck again. This time, with 9:10 left in the ball game, he scrambled out of the pocket to his left and hit Richard Rodgers with a fast ball between two defenders for the 13-yard score. Green Bay now had its first lead since the first quarter at 26-21.
But Romo wasn’t done. After a 30-yard run by DeMarco Murray put Dallas at midfield, Romo found Dez Bryant on a first-down pass and Cole Beasley to set up a pivotal 4th-and-2 at the Green Bay 32.
With around four minutes left on the clock, Romo lobbed a perfect deep ball to Bryant, who beat Sam Shields in man coverage and appeared to catch the ball and set up Dallas at the 1-yard line. Initially called a catch on the field, the instant replay determined Bryant didn’t maintain possession of the football throughout the entire process of the catch.
Instead of securing the ball into his body, Bryant extended the ball toward the goal line in an attempt to score. In doing so, the ball hit the ground and popped into the air, thus negating the catch. Dallas went from 1st and goal down by 5 with a couple minutes left to a turnover on downs.
Green Bay used the remaining four minutes to run out the clock and capped it with the victory formation.
Romo wasn’t making any excuses in his press conference after the game. Though the call ultimately led to the loss, Romo said
he doesn’t worry about officials’ calls because he knows he can’t change them.
“The season’s over, that’s the biggest disappointment,” Romo said. “The calls don’t go your way sometimes. I threw the ball where I thought Dez could make a play on the ball, and he did a good job. Whenever they go to replay, you always hope for the best. Obviously, it didn’t turn out that way.”
It was Romo’s first playoff game in his home state. He was a Packers fan growing up, and he has appreciated all of the local support this past week from his hometown of Burlington.
“‘I’ve got a special place in my heart for Burlington,” Romo said. “I know it’s tough supporting me in this part of the country. It means a lot.”
Romo finished 15-for-19 with 191 yards and 2 TDs for an impressive 143.6 rating. Murray ran for 123 yards and a touchdown on 25 carries.
Rodgers went 24-of-35 for 316 and three touchdowns, with most of his damage coming in the second half as he completed his last 10 passes. Eddie Lacy ran for 101 yards on 19 carries, and Adams finished with 117 yards on seven catches.
Randall Cobb caught eight balls for 116 yards, including a diving, game-sealing 12-yard grab on 3rd-and-11 with 1:42 left in the game.
Check Thursday’s Burlington Standard Press for more coverage of this game, including more quotes from Romo, Dallas coach Jason Garrett, Rodgers and Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy.
Also, LIKE the Standard Press Sports Facebook page for photos from the game.
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