Why Can’t the Cowboys Beat Aaron Rodgers?

Why Can’t the Cowboys Beat Aaron Rodgers?

It could be that Aaron Rodgers is just that good.  And, he is good.  He is the NFL’s all-time leader in passer rating and by a large margin. [1] Better than Tom Brady, Joe Montana and every other quarterback past and present.  He is also the all-time leader in touchdown to interception ratio.[2]  He is a stone cold killer, who is quality in the clutch as Cowboy fans know all too well.   While clearly capable of leading game winning drives, he is surprisingly ranked only 89^th in career 4^th quarter comebacks.1  That may simply be because he does not often find himself playing from behind.  His career record is 94 wins and 46 losses.1  He is winner, a Super Bowl champion and a future hall of famer.

Or, it could just be poor coaching?  It certainly does not help the cause that the Cowboys defensive co-ordinator Rod Marinelli now owns a 2 and 14 record against Rodgers.  The record makes it apparent that if Marinelli has not figured out how to stop Rodgers yet, he probably never will.  With that knowledge, I would imagine that the Cowboys coaching staff would have learned from their playoff defeat in January, and try not to give Rodgers the ball back with too much time on the clock.  That was not the case this Sunday.

Perhaps the real reason is simply the Cowboys personnel.  Maybe the Cowboys are just not good enough to beat a team like the Packers, or an elite QB like Rodgers, when it matters most.  They have a young and inexperienced secondary that is lacking top tier talent at the safety position.  This secondary has been struggling all season and a quarterback like Rodgers is going to exploit that every time.  Dallas’ linebacker corps is a disaster without Sean Lee and that is not a good situation with the All-Pro’s history of injuries.  The Cowboys only chance to stop Rodgers was with a consistent pass rush.  The Dallas defensive line has improved quite a bit this season and they have some young stars in the making in Collins and Lawrence.  Unfortunately, after a hot start, they could not get to Rodgers when they needed to in the 4^th quarter with the game on the line.

If you ask me I will tell you that right now, of all the reasons I have mentioned, it is simply because the Cowboys are just not good enough.  Do not lose faith though, things can change quickly in the NFL.  The Cowboys have the potential to get better and beat a team like Rodgers and the Packers in the playoffs.  It may take a couple of years, it may be next year or it could even happen later on this season but it can happen.  It must happen, or the Cowboys will be unable to end their 21 year championship drought.

[1] www.profootballreference.com

[2] The Football Database www.footballdb.com

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