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Cowboys, Packers clash in battle of 10-1 teams

Nov 29, 2007 - 2:00 PM Green Bay (10-1) at Dallas (10-1) Thursday 8:15 pm EST

IRVING, Texas (Ticker) - The Dallas Cowboys are 10-1 for the first time ever. The Green Bay Packers are 10-1 for the first time since 1962.

Something will have to give when the teams collide Thursday night at Texas Stadium in their highly anticipated showdown.

This is the game of the year in the NFC and could determine home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.

It also marks only the second matchup of teams with records of 10-1 or better since 1970. The previous such contest took place in 1990 between the New York Giants and San Francisco 49ers.

The winner of Thursday's contest clinches a playoff spot and can also wrap up their division title with a little help.

A Dallas win, coupled with a loss by the New York Giants, gives the Cowboys their first NFC East title since 1998. They have not won a playoff game since 1996.

The Packers, meanwhile, can clinch their first NFC North crown with a victory and a loss by the Detroit Lions.

The Cowboys have won five in a row since a 48-27 loss to the New England Patriots on October 14, while the Packers have reeled off six straight wins since a 27-20 defeat to the Chicago Bears on October 7.

The contest features the two top-rated quarterbacks in the NFC in Dallas' Tony Romo and Green Bay's Brett Favre. The Cowboys and Packers boast the league's second- and third-best offenses, respectively.

Remarkably, Favre is on target to have the best season of his career at age 38. Still, to continue his remarkable run he will have to reverse a pair of trends.

Including the postseason, Favre is 0-8 at Texas Stadium - his most losses in any road venue. The Packers have not won in Dallas dating to a 20-10 victory on Christmas Eve in 1989.

The losing streak includes three straight playoff defeats from 1993-1995.

Still, the Packers have won seven straight road games, one shy of a franchise mark. This year, Green Bay is 5-0 away from Lambeau Field.

"What they should be talking about is how many road games we've won in the last two years here because that, in my opinion, pertains to us as a football team," Green Bay coach Mike McCarthy said.

The key matchup could be Packers cornerback Al Harris against Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens, who has been an integral part of Dallas' potent offense.

Owens had his string of four straight 100-yard receiving games end in the Cowboys' 34-3 rout of the New York Jets on Thanksgiving.

However, he already has gone over 1,000 yards receiving yards for the season and is just behind New England's Randy Moss for the most yards in the league.

Thursday's game concludes a stretch of three games in 12 days for both teams. The Packers also played on Thanksgiving, defeating the Lions, 37-26.