One minute left on the clock was too much time to give Aaron Rodgers. The Dallas Cowboys knew it.
Dak Prescott led a masterful 17-play, nearly 9-minute drive culminating in a QB-keeper TD to give the Cowboys a 31-28 lead with 1:13 left in the game. The drive ended up being about 20 seconds too short.
After the game, Dallas owner Jerry Jones admitted the Cowboys would have liked to eat away a few more ticks off the clock, which wouldn't have allowed Rodgers to lead a seven-play touchdown march to steal the 35-31 victory.
"Yes, I think we all do," Jones said when asked if he felt the team left too much time on the clock. "We knew there was a likelihood they would get three. Now, you are always playing the odds of a turnover, an extended penalty or a play like that. That's what we played, and it got us."
The Cowboys' most curious play call came on the play prior to Prescott's TD run. With 1:24 left on the clock on a second-and-2 from the 11-yard-line, and Ezekiel Elliott in bulldozing mode, Dallas called a pass to the end zone from Dak to Dez Bryant that fell incomplete. Had the Cowboys run the ball, at the very least it would likely have caused the Packers to burn their third and final timeout. Instead, the clock stopped and Prescott rumbled for the score on the next play, giving Rodgers ample time and a timeout to work his magic.
Jones stopped short of questioning the play call after the loss.
"Well, it's a hard call. You absolutely have to have the ultimate respect for Rodgers in terms of his team," Jones said. "With a minute and a timeout in this particular case, it was more than likely a good chance for them to get three. Hopefully, you can keep them out of the end zone. The way to do that is to run the ball down to the end, but you take a chance of not getting the touchdown."
