ARLINGTON, Texas – Jourdan Lewis was preparing for the NFL Draft the last time Aaron Rodgers did this to the Cowboys back in January.
But Lewis knew exactly what Rodgers could do a late-game situation – and the Green Bay Packers' star quarterback delivered yet another clutch throw Sunday, this time against the Cowboys' outstanding rookie cornerback.
With 16 seconds remaining and the Packers down 31-28 at the Dallas 12-yard line, Rodgers lofted a perfect back-shoulder throw to Davante Adams in the left corner of the end zone – just past Lewis – for the winning touchdown.
"Just got my head around late," Lewis said. "He threw it exactly where it had to be and he found the ball. Great play."
Lewis, the Cowboys' third-round pick, broke up a similar throw one play earlier. He was terrific in his fourth NFL game, breaking up three passes and tying for the team lead with seven tackles.
Rodgers' heroics weren't tied to one single throw. He completed passes to eight different Packers receivers Sunday and had three touchdown passes, including two in the second half to erase a six-point Cowboys lead at halftime.
In the Packers' divisional-round playoff win last season, Rodgers' winning drive started with only 35 seconds left and ended with Mason Crosby's 51-yard field.
Sunday, he had a full minute and 13 seconds – an eternity for the former Super Bowl MVP – and drove the Packers 75 yards for the deciding touchdown will only 11 seconds left.
He completed 3 of 5 passes on the 9-play drive for 40 yards, starting with back-to-back completions to Adams and Martellus Bennett that got Green Bay across midfield with 47 seconds remaining.
A 15-yard run by rookie Aaron Jones – who gained 125 yards on the ground and averaged 6.6 yards per carry – got the Packers in field position at the Cowboys' 32-yard line.
But Rodgers' 18-yard scramble two plays later – moving left and eluding tackles from defensive linemen Benson Mayowa and David Irving – was the type of play the Cowboys prepared all week to prevent.
The directive all week was clear: Don't let Rodgers break containment, or "the well," as Cowboys defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli said. At times they did. Other times, Rodgers got loose and made plays with his arm and feet.
"Our plan was to keep him in the pocket and we let him get out," defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford said. "We tried to crush the pocket and that kind of takes away from rushers rushing the way they want to, but that was what we had to do. I mean, the guy's a magician getting out of there and for making plays."
Two plays later, Green Bay was in the end zone – silencing over 90,000 fans at AT&T Stadium for the second time in 10 months.
