- [Narrator] It's January 15th, 2017.
We're in Arlington, Texas for a divisional round showdown
between the Green Bay Packers and hometown Cowboys.
Tied at 31 with the clock set to hit triple zeros,
this field goal could determine who advances
to the conference championship, deciding the fate
of two historic franchises headed down different paths.
But before we watch this kick,
it's essential to understand how we got to this moment
and meet the folks that got us here.
To do that, let's rewind.
(ambient music)
Setting up for a last second field goal,
an opportunity to inch one step closer
to the Super Bowl is a phenomenal position to be in.
It's nothing new for Green Bay,
but they keep taking the scenic route filled
with potholes to get here.
Since the beginning of the decade,
the Packers have been the NFL's cockroach,
refusing to die when things looked bleak.
Even in their championship 2010 season,
Green Bay crawled to the final wild card spot,
which led to an incredible post-season run on the road
before squirming off with the trophy.
You would think having arguably the best QB
in the league would be a free pass to success,
but shit happens.
Between random injuries, poor defensive play,
and weird starts to a season, Green Bay managed to hold on
to an impressive playoff streak through at all.
Of course, with A-Rod at quarterback,
Green Bay typically entered each season
with title hopes, and 2016 was no different,
except no one expected them to fall flat on their face
midway through the year.
After starting four and two,
the Pack took four straight losses to the chin
as the defense played atrocious.
Green Bay media members thought the season went
off the rails, and the playoffs seemed doubtful.
Despite the losing streak,
Rodgers remained cocky as ever, and believed
they could run the table to make the post season.
With six games remaining
in the final three all divisional match-ups,
Green Bay had to meet
their optimistic quarterback's prediction
to keep their postseason streak alive,
and that's exactly what happened.
Rodgers backed up his talk, putting up amazing numbers
as Green Bay slimed away with the division
in typical fashion, highlighted perfectly
by a late game winning drive over the Bears in week 15.
Experts changed their tone
and believed opposing teams should be petrified
to play this red hot version of Green Bay in the postseason.
After smoking the Giants in the first round,
then coming into this matchup against Dallas
and dominating early, journalists were one half away
from being spot on.
Green Bay started off the third quarter
with an imposing drive that ended with a tuddy,
giving them a commanding 15 point lead.
More impressively,
Green Bay's inconsistent defense kept Dallas in check.
Halfway through the third quarter
with Dallas in Green Bay territory,
cornerback Micah Hyde read this play perfectly
and killed any Cowboy's momentum with this pick.
Near midfield after the return, any points
from Green Bay would've made a comeback nearly impossible.
But if you take a peak at the scoreboard,
that's clearly not the case, which honestly,
isn't that surprising considering how often
these teams have found each other in tense situations.
Green Bay and Dallas are two
of the more storied franchises in NFL history.
In the late 1960s, the franchises squared off
in consecutive NFL championships,
with Green Bay claiming both wins in dramatic fashion.
The 1967 matchup, famously dubbed the Ice Bowl, saw
a legendary Packers quarterback Bart Starr smashing
the late game QB sneak for the win.
While Green Bay had the upper hand in the days
when coaches proudly rocked fedoras,
the '90s belonged to Dallas.
The Cowboys owned the Packers in the postseason
in a period where Dallas reached dynasty status.
It's a rivalry that spans decades,
but most recently, the Packers regained control.
In the 2014 playoffs, the teams faced off
in a tightly contested divisional round matchup
notorious for a controversial call
where a fourth quarter catch
from Cowboys receiver Dez Bryant that would've set them
up a yard away from a fourth quarter lead was overturned.
So these type of moments are the norm
whenever these teams meet in the postseason.
The Cowboys still have players
from that 2014 team looking for revenge tonight.
But Dallas made it this far, thanks to a surprising rookie
that wasn't even expected to touch the field.
Since their victory over Green Bay in January 1996,
the Cowboys failed to reach another conference championship
with the Dez catch representing the latest haymaker
in a series of gut punching playoff blows.
Dallas looked to fight back after that rough punch,
but it's kind of difficult to do so without a quarterback.
Starting QB Tony Romo got hurt early in the 2015 season
playing just four games, and without him,
Dallas only won once.
That stinker of a season led the Cowboys
to the fourth overall pick in the 2016 draft.
Although Dallas rarely prioritized drafting QB,
with Romo's health concerns and no true succession plan
in place, it was time to find their future signal caller.
With the fourth overall pick,
Dallas wasn't able to snag the top prospects,
leading them to draft running back Ezekiel Elliott,
but it was all part of their plan.
Owner Jerry Jones had eyed
Memphis quarterback Paxton Lynch,
willing to swing a trade, but unfortunately,
their offer wasn't strong enough, leaving Jerry devastated.
So I can't imagine how the old geezer felt going over two,
missing out on another QB they wanted later in the draft.
With the late fourth round pick, Dallas finally settled
and selected Dak Prescott out of Mississippi State.
Prescott had been an excellent college quarterback,
but NFL scouts thought that was his ceiling
when Dak played in a spread offense at Mississippi State
and experts feared he lacked the skills to adjust
to a pro style offense.
Look at how they flamed this man,
trash footwork, jumpy in the pocket, scared to throw deep.
Scouts thought he essentially needed to rework
his whole game, and that's just naming a few.
Luckily, Dak wasn't expected to start anytime soon,
and honestly, Dallas didn't even want him to be the backup,
although it came to a point where they had no other option.
Romo suffered a severe back injury during the preseason,
and despite team officials hoping
the rookie wouldn't have to see the field,
Dak was named the starter for the 2016 season.
Cowboys fans could only hold their breath,
hoping his impressive production from preseason carried over
and that he would lean on the big boys up front.
It's the hope that kills you as a fan, but luckily
for Dallas, Dak exceeded expectations almost immediately.
After a tough opening loss,
The Cowboys ran off seven straight wins.
Throughout the stretch, experts praised Dak
for the exact things they slighted him for
when he was drafted.
It also helped that he could rely
on his fellow rookie in the backfield,
with Zeke running through defenders on a weekly basis.
The two dynamic rookies fed off each other,
terrorizing opponents, which they made especially clear
after a dramatic come from behind win
against a tough Steelers opponent.
Dak and Zeke put up video game numbers,
but their ability to close out the game
in a hostile environment on the road proved
they weren't afraid of the bright lights.
They also felt pretty comfortable playing at home.
Despite a tight week one loss,
Dallas wrecked shit under their own roof.
A star quarterback can change the fortune
of a franchise for years.
It happened in Green Bay with Rodgers,
and after failing multiple times to get the guy
they actually wanted, Dallas literally tripped and fell
into a pot of gold, landing Dak.
The Cowboys mirrored their successful 2007 season,
but behind Dak's stellar play, media members believed
the franchise would finally purge his playoff pass,
except their potent offense came out flat.
Apart from their opening drive,
the Cowboys offense looked lifeless,
causing the commentators to question
if Dak was capable of bringing his team back.
- [Sports Announcer] But you wonder as they go
into the second half, you know, there's no question
that Romo gives them an opportunity for more big plays.
- [Narrator] Granted, that interception Dak threw
to start the third technically was a big play,
but before Dallas fans let the disappointment
of yet another playoff failure wash over them,
Rodgers followed up Dak's turnover
with an interception of his own.
With little time remaining in the third quarter,
Dallas needed to score fast, and as they proved earlier
in the season, Dak and Zeke were built for these moments.
After driving the ball downfield, Dallas faced
a tough yardage situation where Dak delivered a strike
for first down before finding the end zone
on the next play, cutting Green Bay's lead to eight.
Following a quick stop by the defense,
the Cowboys went back to work with Zeke leading the charge
in the Green Bay territory, where Dallas found the end zone
for the second time in less than eight minutes
when Dak linked with Dez for a seven yard TD.
The Cowboys went for two and called Dak's number,
drawing up a design QB keeper
that he punched in to tie the game.
With their backs against the ropes,
the Cowboys' electric offense had finally woken up,
but their job wasn't finished.
Yeah, you're seeing that scoreboard correctly.
We're all tied up again with a completely different score.
Four minutes of game time seems like nothing,
but you can never put anything past these teams.
After the two punt conversion from Dallas,
Green Bay slowly drove the field before Rodgers tossed
an ill advised interception that ultimately got called back
because of pass interference.
That crucial turnover could have given Dallas the ball
with an opportunity to milk the clock and take the lead.
Instead, it helped set up a 56 yard field goal
that kicker Mason Crosby barely squeezed in,
giving Green Bay the lead.
(crowd cheering)
With one time out and little time to play,
Dak didn't flinch, and cooked up another miracle drive,
putting Dallas in field goal range.
Although they could have potentially taken a shot
for the end zone, after an 11 yard game put them
at Green Bay's 40, Dallas spiked the ball
and sacrificed the down, which they maybe would've wanted
back to set up an easier field goal,
go for a TD, or even burn a little more clock.
Anyways, that's not their concern now.
As Dan Bailey lined up for the kick,
the Cowboys could only hope Bailey would have enough leg
to potentially drill
an unbelievable second 50 plus yarder
in the last 100 seconds to tie the game, and.
- [Sports Announcer] Makes it through, tied at 31.
(crowd cheering)
- [Narrator] Cowboys fans rode the emotional rollercoaster
of watching their team get packed up early,
fight back, then go down late before tying it up again.
It's heart attack inducing material, but if Dallas can hang
on for 35 more seconds, this game will head to overtime.
And after Rodgers took a massive sack
followed by an incompletion bringing up a third down
and forever with little time remaining,
that's certainly where this game appeared to be headed.
Lined up in the shotgun formation,
Green Bay faced a make or break play.
Rodgers got the ball, spun to his left,
keeping his eyes down field
before tossing a dot down the Cowboys' sideline
where Jared Cook came up with a toe dragging snag.
From the reaction of the Dallas sideline,
the pass appeared incomplete,
until the referee ran down and signaled otherwise.
After reviewing the play,
Cook somehow contorted his body perfectly to get two feet
in bounds for a staggering 36 yard snag.
The call didn't match the controversial Dez catch,
but with three seconds left and Green Bay
in field goal range,
another jaw dropping grab could influence a trip
to the conference championship just two years apart,
which brings us here.
Just like that, Dallas watched their hopes of making
their first conference championship
in two decades take a severe hit.
But if Green Bay misses here, Dak will have a shot
in overtime to exorcise the playoff demons
that's haunted Dallas for years.
If the Packers knock it in, they'll spoil
the Cowboys' epic comeback and continue their role
as the team that simply refuses to go away.
It all comes down to this 51 yard kick.
Welcome to a moment in history.
- [Sports Announcer] Try to win it,
but a timeout is taken before the kick.
- [Narrator] Okay, maybe that's
what head coach Jason Garrett saved the time out for.
Freezing the kicker is a last ditch effort
with no real track record of success,
but you never know what can happen.
Now with nothing to drag out this kick,
welcome to a moment in history.
- [Sports Announcer] This to send the packers
into the NFC Championship game.
(crowd cheering) It is good.
The Packers are moving on.
- [Narrator] Yo, what's good?
Thanks for watching.
The Cowboys have really had some shit luck
in the postseason, so if you enjoy their pain,
check out this video, or if you want to see Green Bay fail
in epic fashion, we've also got you covered.
Don't forget to like and subscribe,
'cause we're gonna keep on dropping more heat.
I'm outta here.