Packers rally for playoff win over Cowboys

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant is unable to catch a pass against Green Bay Packers cornerback Sam Shields in the fourth quarter in the 2014 NFC Divisional playoff football game at Lambeau Field on Sunday.

AFP/Green Bay, WisconsinGreen Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers shook off a calf injury to deliver two late scoring drives that lifted the Packers to a 26-21 NFL playoff win over Dallas on Sunday. The Cowboys, making their first playoff trip to Green Bay since the “Ice Bowl” of 1967, endured their first road defeat of the season after eight victories. A video review in the final five minutes that stripped Dez Bryant of a catch near the end zone helped to dash their hopes. Rodgers completed 11 of 14 passes for 173 yards on touchdown drives in the third and fourth quarters as the Packers scored 13 unanswered points to rally from a double-digit deficit. He and the Packers will play the reigning Super Bowl champion Seahawks in Seattle next Sunday in the National Football Conference title game, with a berth in the NFL’s championship extravaganza on February 1 on the line. The Seahawks powered past Carolina 31-17 on Saturday. The Packers will battle for the conference title for the first time since they beat Chicago after the 2010 season en route to their fourth Super Bowl crown. Green Bay, who had fallen behind after an early strike for a 7-0 lead, whittled the deficit to 21-20 on Rodgers’ 46-yard touchdown pass to Davante Adams. Rodgers, nursing a left calf injury that had him looking uncharacteristically tentative in the first half, then put the Packers ahead with a 13-yard laser to reserve tight end Richard Rodgers for a touchdown. The Packers then failed on a two-point conversion attempt but still led 26-21 with 9:10 left in the game. Cowboys quarterback Romo threw for 191 yards and two touchdowns and NFL rushing leader DeMarco Murray had 25 carries for 123 yards and a TD in the defeat that ended their first playoff run since 2009. “I don’t want to make this about the officiating,” Garrett said. “We didn’t do what we needed to do to win this ballgame. We have to live with that.”

Colts down Broncos to advance in playoffs Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts derailed Denver’s bid for Super Bowl redemption on Sunday, ousting the Broncos from the NFL playoffs 24-13. The Broncos were humbled 43-8 by the Seattle Seahawks in last season’s Super Bowl. While the Seahawks have reached the National Football Conference title game to remain in the running for a return to the NFL’s championship showcase, it’s the Colts who will take on the New England Patriots next Sunday for the American Football Conference crown and spot in the February 1 Super Bowl in suburban Phoenix, Arizona. Luck, who took over from current Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning in Indianapolis when the Colts parted ways with the veteran, threw for 265 yards and two-touchdowns and piloted a decisive drive that took 8:14 off the clock in the fourth quarter to book the Colts’ first trip to the conference championship since 2009. Indianapolis’s defense limited Denver to 288 yards - 115 fewer than their season average. The Broncos had won all eight of the regular-season home games by an average of almost 15 points. Manning, a superstar quarterback and future Hall of Famer whose post-season resume is nevertheless uneven, fell to 11-13 in the playoffs. He threw a touchdown pass on Denver’s opening possession, but looked tense and tentative much of the night as he completed barely half of his attempts (26 of 46) and threw for just 211 yards. Luck won’t have much time to savor the success, with a huge challenge awaiting next week in Foxborough, Massachusetts. The Patriots routed the Colts 42-20 in the regular season and ousted them in the second round of last season’s playoffs 43-22. Rodgers calf trouble to continue ahead of Seattle clash Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers overcame a painful calf injury to beat the Dallas Cowboys, but it is likely to remain a concern for the NFC title game at Seattle next week. Rodgers showed signs of a limp at times during Sunday’s game and it was clear his mobility was limited and he chose not to run with the ball. “The pain in my calf helped make that decision very easy,” said Rodgers, who threw for three touchdowns. “We’ll see how it feels in the morning but I will probably go through the week similar to last week as far as practice goes and just see how it feels as the week goes on.” He had only reduced involvement in practice last week as he tried to give the calf, which he injured against Tampa Bay and aggravated on Dec. 28 against Detroit, time to heal. “I’ve got to give a lot of credit to our training staff, they spent a lot of hours with me this week and did a great job of getting me ready,” he added. Rodgers also used a more unexpected form of treatment for the injury. “I’ve been getting a lot of acupuncture the last six to eight weeks, so I just supplemented the treatment I got here with that,” he said. Despite Rodgers having limited movement, Packers coach Mike McCarthy said he was not worried about his quarterback not making it to the end of Sunday’s game. “Every time I asked him he said he was fine. I just kind of go with it and when the medical people are concerned that is when I get concerned. They weren’t concerned today,” he said. Nor was he worried that Dallas’s defense might get to Rodgers and add to the pain. “He’s a great athlete and does a good job at keeping his body out of a tough position,” McCarthy said. “I was comfortable with the way the protection was around him and the way he played.”