* There were two huge plays in this game everyone probably has forgotten in a 27-16 finale. With the Cowboys leading just 20-9 late in the third quarter, on fourth-and-33 and their own 15, punter Mat McBriar unleashed a 65-yard punt, and when coupled with a personal foul on the Packers, bringing the ball back half the distance to the goal line, the Packers were beginning at their own 13 with just 21 seconds left in the quarter. That was a 72-yard field-changing play. Earlier, McBriar hit a 53-yard punt and rookie Martellus Bennett, playing on coverage special teams for the first time in his NFL career because of the injury to Deon Anderson, made the tackle at the Green Bay 12. * How tough was it for the Cowboys offense in the first half? Three red-zone possessions ended in a field goal, an interception in the end zone and another field goal that wouldn’t have been possible if Flozell Adams hadn’t recovered Tony Romo’s fumble when sacked at the 21. Also, the Cowboys were plodding along with only 83 yards of offense at the 7:53 mark of the second quarter until four plays later when Felix Jones unleashed that 60-yard touchdown run to give the Cowboys a 10-6 lead. * Without Anderson available, the Cowboys compensated by running their three-tight end offense nearly 20 times, most of the time running the ball. And that included on Jones’ 60-yard touchdown run, when tight end Tony Curtis, lined up as the H-back, led into the hole and Jason Witten, lined up on the line of scrimmage, sealing the Packers to the inside so Jones could scoot outside to the left. * And please don’t think Charles Woodson was solely responsible for shutting down Terrell Owens (two catches, 17 yards). Yes he bumped him off the line and was in man coverage, but he almost always had a safety hovering over the top, and one reason why on Jones’ touchdown run there was no safety over to that side of the field. Woodson also floated away from Miles Austin over to T. O. on the 63-yard completion. - Mickey Spagnola
