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

The Green Bay Packers made a statement before their Wild Card game against the Dallas Cowboys even kicked off. They won the coin toss. Instead of deferring — the same call that got Jaire Alexander suspended when he crashed the captains’ meeting at the middle of the field in Week 16 — they took the ball.

The message was clear. The Packers, a 7.5-point road underdog, were going to come out and try to smack the Cowboys in the mouth.

They succeeded. Green Bay dominated early on both sides of the ball en route to a 27-0 lead and an eventual 48-32 win in Dallas. Jordan Love was nearly perfect in his playoff debut, throwing for three touchdowns and 272 yards in a night where he was one incompletion away from a perfect 158.3 passer rating. The Packer defense rose up when it mattered, reducing Dak Prescott’s 402-yard, three-touchdown afternoon into a Blake Bortles-ian act of futility.

Let’s talk about how Matt LaFleur’s team took control of this game and didn’t let up until garbage time.