The Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys have opposite defensive focuses ahead their Divisional Round clash on Sunday.

The Packers have set their focus on stopping run and containing rookie sensation Ezekiel Elliott, who burned them for 157 yards in October, while Cowboys keyed in on the Packers’ passing attack - and keeping Aaron Rodgers inside the pocket.

Elliott’s rushing performance in the Cowboys’ Week 6 30-16 win over the Packers was his second best of the season, behind only his 159-yard effort against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 16. In total, the Packers defence allowed 191 yards rushing to the Cowboys in the October loss, the most in any game this season – and 20 more yards than they allowed in their first four games combined.

The Green Bay defence has held opponents under 100 yards rushing in each of their past four games, though they have only faced one top-20 rusher (Jordan Howard) in that span.
 

Starting Running Backs - Packers vs. Cowboys (regular-season stats)

 
RB Att Yards YPC TD Long
Ezekiel Elliott 322 1631 5.1 15 60
Ty Montgomery 77 457 5.9 3 24
 

Packers linebacker Clay Matthews told reporters this week that the team lacked discipline defending Elliott in Week 6, over pursuing the rookie and opening holes for him.

Embedded Image"He does a real good job of kind of finding the holes and being patient, and that's where he makes a lot of teams pay," Matthews said, per NFL.com. "I'm not saying we have to do anything special, but we need to do our job. If you look at the runs he hit on us the first time, it was guys just doing too much or kind of playing outside the scheme. 

“That's what we're focusing on this week, is being accountable and doing our job and being where we need to be."

Defensive tackle Letroy Guion echoed the Matthews, stating the issues that plagued the Packers in Week 6 were “correctable.”

Unlike the Packers, a repeat performance from Week 6 for the Cowboys would be considered a success. Rodgers was held in check in the first meeting between the two teams earlier this season, completing 31 of 42 passes for 294 yards with one touchdown and one interception. He wasn’t completely shut down, but it was one of only three games this season in which he was held to one touchdown or less.
 

Starting Quaterbacks - Packers vs. Cowboys (regular-season stats)

 
QB Comp Att Yards TD INT Rating
Aaron Rodgers 401 610 4428 40 7 104.2
Dak Prescott 311 459 3667 23 4 104.9
 

Rodgers enters this game on a hot streak and it’s been two months since he last threw an interception. The 33-year-old has thrown four touchdown passes in each of his past three games and is coming off a dominant performance against the vaunted defence of the New York Giants. 

Against the Giants, Rodgers consistently evaded pass rushers and extended plays long enough to create big plays – though he was sacked five times.

The Cowboys have set their focus on containing Rodgers in the pocket and rely on their pass coverage to hold up until the front four can reach the quarterback. 

"The guy is an animal in there," Cowboys defensive lineman Tyrone Crawford told Dallas Morning News. "But I feel like if we can keep him in the pocket, we'll be able to get him down. Our coverage will hold up long enough where we can get him down.”

“The guy makes crazy plays no matter what," Crawford added. "I don't know how he does some of the things he does passing that ball. We just have to keep our lanes and make sure we don't lose [containment] to make sure he doesn't get out of the pocket."

Come Sunday, the focus for both defences will be keeping their opponents’ star contained. Something that’s proved to be easier said than done this season.