The Packers punched the Cowboys in the teeth and Dallas staggered too long to respond

Defensively, the plan was simple. Dallas has an all-world talent in CeeDee Lamb. The Packers’ mission was to beat the crap out of him.

Green Bay didn’t send Jaire Alexander to track him across the field. Sometimes he got the team’s top cornerback. Others it was Keisean Nixon or rookie Carrington Valentine — an All-Pro kick returner pressed into action thanks to Eric Stokes’ absence and a seventh-round rookie, respectively. This should have been a buffet for a hungry receiver.

Instead, the Pack’s zone coverage made sure no one got off easy. Sometimes they pressed Lamb at the line of scrimmage and kept a high safety patrolling over the top. Other times they backed up and ran with him. But one thing held true no matter the situation; if the situation presented itself, they put hands on the All-Pro wideout.

It didn’t always work. Nixon drew an illegal contact penalty late in the first half that extended a Cowboys’ scoring drive that should have ended with 0:00 on the clock (Lamb made the catch anyway). But for the most part it did. Lamb was rattled early on and had just two catches for 18 yards on seven targets as Green Bay took a 27-7 lead into the half.

The star WR came alive in the second half as Dallas adjusted its game plan to keep him tucked into short routes that let him shrug off that coverage at the line and make a play before any safety help could clock in. He finished the game with nine receptions on 18 targets. Only two came on throws at least 10 yards downfield, one of which was a 47-yard bomb in a 24-point game with four minutes to play.

This did nothing to boost Dak Prescott’s confidence. The MVP candidate looked like a backup thrust into the spotlight on his home field. Green Bay’s zone coverage left holes to exploit, but the veteran quarterback rarely capitalized. He couldn’t maximize the open spaces players like Michael Gallup and Jake Ferguson found, instead throwing into traffic early with suddenly limited vision downfield.

There’s Prescott’s worst throw to Lamb, a moment where he tries to operate on a quick slant and completely blanks Darnell Savage lingering over the top as Lamb runs into his zone. The result is a pick-six so easy Preston Smith begins waving goodbye to Prescott and his playoff hopes 30 yards from the end zone:

By the time Prescott came back online it was too late. The only reason Dallas got on the board before halftime was because De’Vondre Campbell dropped what should have been a goal line interception.

Statistically, this was a 400-yard, three touchdown game from Prescott. No one will remember it that way. Green Bay’s beleagured defense made it look like Dallas was the team starting a playoff debutante Sunday. And when the Packers’ early lead meant the Cowboys could no longer concentrate on handoffs, it eased the pressure off one of LaFleur’s biggest weaknesses — a front seven that gave up 4.4 yards per carry and ranked 22nd in the league in rush game EPA allowed per play.

This was a best case scenario for Green Bay. Their offense came out firing. The Cowboys’ offense came out uneasy. Prescott failed to find his rhythm until he was already reeling, tearing pages from his playbook and putting the onus on Mike McCarthy to make game-saving adjustments. And once that became the plan, Packers fans knew they had little to worry about.

The trick now is doing it all over again against the San Francisco 49ers — the team that ended their seasons two of the last three years they made the playoffs.