By halftime of the Wild Card matchup between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys, it became evident that the Cowboys were following their playoff trend.
The Packers led 27-7 after two quarters of action, looking well on their way to securing a ticket to Levi's Stadium for a Divisional Playoff clash with the San Francisco 49ers.
The dominant performance at AT&T Stadium gave 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan a chance to start studying his first playoff opponent early. His staff had already initiated some work on the Packers, but as Sunday's game progressed, it became increasingly clear that all of their focus could be directed toward Matt LaFleur's team.
"We had mixed in [the Packers] a little bit earlier in the week, hitting up a couple of teams, but started really focusing on them halfway through the second quarter," Shanahan admitted. "Then [the Cowboys] scored at the end of the second quarter, so I kind of did [work on] both at halftime. And then, third quarter, I was set on one team."
"Started really focusing on them halfway through the second quarter."
Kyle Shanahan on when the Packers prep began as Cowboys were down big on Sunday. pic.twitter.com/y9YJcWBpyi
— KNBR (@KNBR) January 16, 2024
The Packers started the season 3-6 but have won seven of their last nine, including Sunday's playoff rout of the Cowboys. What has been the key to Green Bay's turnaround this season?
"Probably not turning it over," Shanahan responded. "And when you don't turn it over, no matter what happens, you got a chance to win in every game. The fact they've only had one pick in [nine] games is unbelievable. And when you start getting a running game going with that, with a real good defense, too, doesn't surprise me at all."
It helps that quarterback Jordan Love has been playing some impressive football, too.
"He's come a long way," Shanahan acknowledged. "He's playing at such a high level. To get thrown in there early in this year and have to go through some ups and downs, which he did some good things earlier in this year, too, but to not win all those games, when you're with a tough record in your first year [starting], the pressure that comes with that.
"And just to watch him each game, he's been consistent. For him to take care of the ball the way he's done has been unbelievable. I mean, the 21 touchdowns and one pick [over the last nine] games is unbelievable.
"He's extremely consistent in what they're asking him to do. Matt is very good at coaching the quarterback, and you can see that their quarterback is buying in, and plays very well in their system, and makes a lot of plays, has a big arm, and is a big dude, too."
"He's come a long way."
Kyle Shanahan evaluates Jordan Love's NFL progress pic.twitter.com/uoygZzFRvf
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) January 16, 2024
