Packers Pull Off 2nd-Largest Playoff ATS Upset in a Decade

Packers Pull Off 2nd-Largest Playoff ATS Upset in a Decade article feature image
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Patrick McDermott/Getty Images. Pictured: Jordan Love #10 of the Green Bay Packers.

The Packers have pulled off the second-largest playoff ATS upset in a decade, according to data accumulated by the Action Network.

Green Bay closed as a 7-point underdog on the spread for this game in Dallas, where the Cowboys hadn't lost a game all season. Win a 16-point win — which could've been far more if not for two Cowboys garbage time touchdowns — the ATS margin on this game was +23 for the Packers.

That 23-point margin is the largest ATS difference since the 2020 Tennessee Titans went to Baltimore to take down the No. 1 seeded Ravens in the divisional round. The Ravens will face a similar test next weekend after a bye week, which has plenty of fans in Maryland conjuring up memories of that monumental defeat.

The 23-point margin is the second-largest ATS difference by a team that was a 7-point underdog or more since 2009.

Among all-time Packers upsets, this Wild Card round beatdown of the Cowboys ranks highly, too.

It's the second-largest Packers upset of all-time, just behind a 1996 Packers win during the divisional round on the road against the 49ers. During that game, Brett Favre and the Packers were +10 road underdogs against a 49ers team that was just a few years removed from its dynasty.

The Packers won 27-17. The following year, the Packers beat the 49ers again in the divisional round — en route to a Super Bowl victory.

The third-largest Packers playoff upset was also against the Cowboys. That took place in 2017 during a legendary game in which Jared Cook made an absolutely unbelievable,  tip-toeing, 35-yard catch along the sidelines to set up an eventual game-winning field goal as time expired. For that contest, Aaron Rodgers and company were +5.5 underdogs on the spread.

About the Author
Avery Yang is an editor at the Action Network who focuses on breaking news across the sports world and betting algorithms that try to predict eventual outcomes. He is also Darren Rovell's editor. Avery is a recent graduate from Northwestern University's Medill School of Journalism. He has written for the Washington Post, the Associated Press, Sports Illustrated, (the old) Deadspin, MLB.com and others.

Follow Avery Yang @avery_yang on Twitter/X.

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