Packers advance to NFC Championship Game with hard fought 26-21 win

By: Kevin Holden Twitter

Posted: Jan 11, 2015 5:27 PM CDT

The Green Bay Packers are headed to the NFC Championship Game after holding off the Dallas Cowboys 26-21 Sunday afternoon at Lambeau Field.

In the Cowboys first playoff appearance at Lambeau Field since the 1967 \"Ice Bowl\", Dallas led for the entire second and third quarters thanks to the running of DeMarco Murray (123 yards, 1 touchdown) and a few key throws from Tony Romo (191 passing yards, 2 TD, 0 INT). But Aaron Rodgers, playing through obvious pain, put up one of the gutsiest performances of his career late in the game, finding Davante Adams for a 46 yard score late in the third quarter and adding the go-ahead score to Richard Rodgers after the Packers recovered a Murray fumble.

In the closing minutes, Dez Bryant caught a long pass for a first down inside the Packers 5-yard line, but after reviewing the play, officials decided that Bryant did not have full possession of the ball when he landed at the one yard line. Dallas lost the ball on downs because of the overturned call, and the Packers ran out the clock to win the game.

Rodgers finished with 304 yards and three passing touchdowns without an interception. Eddie Lacy ran for 101 yards, helping the Packers hang in the first half when the offense was moving slowly. Davante Adams led the Packers with 117 receiving yards on seven catches, while Jordy Nelson also went over 100 yards receiving yards on the day.

It's the Packers first playoff win since January 2013, when they beat the Minnesota Vikings at Lambeau Field, and just the second playoff win since the Packers' Super Bowl victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers.

Green Bay advances to face the Seattle Seahawks at CenturyLink Field, the site of the Packers' 36-16 season opening loss. Seattle is also a memorable place in recent Packers history as the site of the September 2012 \"Fail Mary\", a Russell Wilson pass that was ruled a game winning touchdown against the Packers by replacement referees. The NFL and its regular referees settled their dispute a few days later.