After trading Aaron Rodgers to the New York Jets, 2023 was supposed to be a rebuilding year for the Green Bay Packers. Unproven Jordan Love took over under center for Rodgers, tasked with leading an offense that was by far the youngest in the NFL.

Growing pains were expected and they came early. Green Bay was 2-5 to start the season, as a pair of three-touchdown performances for Love in Weeks 1 and 2 quickly became a seven-game run with eight touchdowns, 10 interceptions, and a passer rating of 72.5.

But the team turned a corner, as did Jordan Love. From Week 11 onward, the Packers went 6-2, and the team went from near the bottom of the NFC North to a Wild Card spot. A win over the Chicago Bears in Week 18 secured Green Bay a postseason berth and a Wild Card game against NFC East champions the Dallas Cowboys.

The two teams last faced off in the playoffs in the 2016 season, when Packers kicker Mason Crosby hit a game-winning 53-yard field goal as time expired.

This year, the Packers have the luxury of playing without pressure. Just making the playoffs in Jordan Love's first season is a feat — anything other than that is a bonus. As for the Cowboys, they have the pressure of being a #2 seed plus the added worry of having to rebound from disappointing playoff defeats (both due to poor late-game execution) each of the last two seasons.

The Packers certainly have the offensive firepower to take down the Cowboys despite entering Wild Card Weekend as the under. But one major flaw will ultimately doom them in the 2024 NFL Playoffs.

Inability to stop the run

Few offenses in the league have been as prolific this year as the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas leads the NFL with 29.9 points per game, including seven games with at least 38 points scored. The ground game has been pivotal to the Cowboys' success in 2023.

The Cowboys are middle-of-the-pack in rushing offense but are 10-1 this when surpassing 100 rushing yards. Tony Pollard leads the way with 1,005 yards on 252 carries The rushing game has struggled in recent weeks — leading to some poor performances from the offense overall. Between Weeks 15 and 17 Dallas averaged 82 rushing yards game and just 16.7 PPG. Two of their five losses on the season came in this stretch and four of their five defeats this year came when rushing for less than 100 yards.

Green Bay's defense has had trouble stopping the run this season, giving up 128.3 yards per game. That mark is the fifth-worst in the NFL. This defense has allowed at least 200 yards on the ground in four contests this season — all of them ended in defeat. But this front seven has been better as of late. The Packers allowed less than 100 rushing in four straight contests to finish the season, though this stretch came against a quartet of underwhelming offenses (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Carolina Panthers, Minnesota Vikings, and Chicago Bears).

The Packers have been more effective against the pass this season, ranking ninth in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game, so making Dallas one-dimensional is a must.

With Jordan Love currently playing his best football Green Bay has the offensive firepower to compete with anybody. But their success in the NFL playoffs will come down to whether this defense can solve the run-stopping issues that have plagued it all season long.