The Dallas Cowboys are in the midst of producing one of the best seasons in franchise history. The team is currently 13-3, easily claiming the NFC and the second best record in the NFL awaiting their first playoff match against Green Bay Packers this Sunday.

Aside from all this, the team is led by two rookies: Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, who both are putting up stellar stats and runner-ups for the MVP, in their first season in the league.

Prescott, a fourth round pick, wasn’t even supposed to play this season. Dallas’ beloved Quarterback Tony Romo suffered an injury in the third preseason game against the Seattle Seahawks. This gifted the young quarterback an opportunity to show his potential and win over the hearts of millions of Cowboy’s fans.

In his first NFL game, Prescott threw for 227 yards, completing 27 of 45 pass attempts and rushing for one touchdown. The Cowboys ended up losing 20-19, but the rookie’s play did not go unnoticed by the coaching staff or the fans. In Prescott’s second game, he threw for 292 yards and rushed for another touchdown. The Cowboys won the game 27-23, giving Prescott his first win as the new starting quarterback.

The rest is history as he led his team to a 13-3 record, while throwing for three,139 yards with 23 touchdowns (20 passing, 3 rushing) and only four interceptions while maintaining a passer rating of 65.8. Prescott was not a lone wolf in regard to the team’s success. The running back from Ohio State, Elliott, also played a large role.

Elliott has transitioned well from college to the pros, being drafted fourth overall. Running behind a stellar offensive line, he has been able to rack up yards each and every game, making him the unanimous league leader in rushing yards, running for 1,631 yards and 15 touchdowns, as well as being a MVP candidate next to QB Prescott. The success is nothing new to Elliott, as he has achieved the same amount of success as he had in college, even though he started off slow.

In his first game, he rushed for only 51 yards on 20 rushing attempts and one touchdown. The following game, Elliott rushed for 83 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. It wasn’t until week three that he surpassed the 100 yard line marking, putting up 140 on 30 rushing attempts. From this point on, he would continue to rush for over 100 yards and posting numbers such as: 138, 134, 157, 107 and 159.

After the ninth game, Elliott became the second Cowboys rookie running back to exceed 1,000 rushing yards following Tony Dorsett. Soon after, he beat out Dorsett’s’ rookie rushing record after defeating the Baltimore Ravens.

This season gave the Cowboys a vivid picture on how the future of the franchise will be with Prescott, Elliott and the talented offensive line. The two rookies have yet to experience the playoffs and as everyone knows it’s a whole different ball game. The level everyone plays at increases and the stakes are greater.

The first opponent the Cowboys face are the Green Bay Packers. Any Cowboys fan will believe that the game against the Packers is a win because the Packers weren’t even supposed to be in the playoffs this season. The Packers have a record of 4-6. It wasn’t until the loss to the Redskins that quarterback Aaron Rodgers promised to get his team back on track, and indeed he did just that by leading the Packers to a six-game winning streak and a playoff win.

Going into the playoff game, the Packers are without their star receiver Jordy Nelson, but Rodgers is red hot throwing for 2,029 yards and 19 touchdowns in the last seven games. On top of that, the Packers have been utilizing the extremely talented running back Ty Montgomery, which proves effective for the team.

Despite all of the positive things the Cowboys have going on, my prediction is that Green Bay Packers will beat the Dallas Cowboys 30-24. Going into this game with the best running defense and going up against the best rushing offense, it will come down to the quarterbacks. Rodgers will continue his amazing winning streak all the way to the Super Bowl. Prescott has had an amazing rookie year, but if I needed a game winning drive, I would put my trust in Rodgers because Prescott and Elliott have yet to play in a playoff game.

Only tonight’s game will tell if the new players can keep it together for a win in their first playoff game. If they manage to beat the Packers, the Cowboys could then possibly win the Super Bowl.