Article: Reducing the Dallas deficit Packers are improved, but run defense is key; PACKERS PERILS IN IRVING Summaries of the Green Bay Packers' six consecutive losses to the Dallas Cowboys under coach Mike Holmgr 1993 Oct. 3: Dallas 36, Green Bay 14 Cowboys quarterback Troy Aikman completes 18 of 23 passes for 317 yards and one touchdown. Wide receiver Michael Irvin catches seven passes for 155 yards, repeatedly burning cornerback Roland Mitchell. "I ain't gonna talk," Mitchell says after the game. "I never talk to the media." The early season loss leaves Green Bay with a 1-3 record. Jan. 16: Dallas 27, Green Bay 17 Trailing, 24-3, with 6 minutes left in the third quarter, the Packers finish strong but come up short in a National Football Conference divisional playoff game. Brett Favre throws for 331 yards and two touchdowns for the Packers, but Aikman throws for 302 yards and three touchdowns for Dallas. Says Favre: "I'm very happy with the progress I made and the progress the team made this season. I think we took a step forward today." 1994 Nov. 24: Dallas 42, Green Bay 31 Third-string quarterback Jason Garrett, subbing for the injured Aikman and backup Rodney Peete, throws for 311 yards and two touchdowns in what Packers general manager Ron Wolf calls the most frustrating of the six straight losses to Dallas. Emmitt Smith rushes for 133 yards for Dallas. The Packers lead, 24-13, early in the third quarter but can't hold on against the two-time defending Super Bowl champions. Green Bay falls to 6-6. Jan. 8: Dallas 35, Green Bay 9 The Terrell Buckley fiasco. Green Bay's defense gives up 14 plays of 10 or more yards, including passes of 94 and 53 yards. After the game, Buckley, the Packers cornerback, says: "I'd say we played pretty well. We challenged those guys and competed." Three Cowboys receivers surpass 100 yards: Irvin (111), Alvin Harper (108) and tight end Jay Novacek (104). Green Bay goes down meekly in the NFC divisional playoff game. 1995 Oct. 8: Dallas 34, Green Bay 24 The Packers go into the game with a 3-1 record and the National Football League's second-ranked pass defense. But it's the same old song as Aikman completes 24 of 31 attempts for 316 yards and two touchdowns. Irvin alone has eight receptions for 150 yards. "We thought there was no way this could happen," safety LeRoy Butler says. Jan. 14: Dallas 38, Green Bay 27 One week removed from their stunning upset of San Francisco in the playoffs, the Packers arrive in Dallas for the NFC Championship Game on an emotional high. Trailing, 31-27, early in the fourth quarter, Green Bay drives to the Cowboys' 46. On first down, Favre rolls right on a bootleg and tries to hit Mark Ingram on a deep sideline pattern. Dallas cornerback Larry Brown intercepts, and two plays later Smith scores on a 16-yard run to clinch it. The Cowboys pile up 419 yards and 27 first downs. "We keep coming down here and getting lessons," Packers coach Mike Holmgren says. "I'm tired of lessons."

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The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (Milwaukee, WI)

Article date:

November 17, 1996

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