Nelson was back to playing like one of the NFL’s best wide receivers, which he was in 2014 prior to missing the entire 2015 campaign with a torn ACL. He was a major driver in Green Bay’s six-game winning streak to close out the season and win the NFC North title, earning one of the 10 best grades among wide receivers in four of those six weeks, according to Pro Football Focus.

PFF grades and position ranks for Packers QB Aaron Rodgers, WR Jordy Nelson

Week Opp. Rodgers (rank) Nelson (rank) 17 DET 83.8 (4) 67.6 (60) 16 MIN 93.1 (1) 86.1 (1) 15 CHI 89.3 (2) 80.8 (7) 14 SEA 86.8 (2) 74.3 (20) 13 HOU 76.8 (14) 87.3 (2) 12 PHI 89.4 (2) 82.7 (9)

His absence in 2015 also contributed to a rare bad season from Aaron Rodgers and the Packers offense. They still managed to make the playoffs as a wild-card team and win an opening-round matchup with the Redskins before losing in the divisional round to the Cardinals, but Rodgers earned the lowest PFF season grade of his starting career, at 87.3 (still good for ninth-best in the NFL that year), and the passing offense wasn’t at nearly the same level as it was the season before.

However, there are five good reasons the Packers can still pull off the upset of the Cowboys on Sunday, even if Nelson isn’t able to play.

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Rodgers has other pass-catching weapons at his disposal

There’s no question Nelson has been the Packers’ top pass-catcher this year, earning a WR rating of 122.4 that is second-best in the NFL. But there is hope in the form of Rodgers’s other weapons. Randall Cobb is coming off a three-touchdown performance against the Giants, and on the season he ranked seventh in the league with a slot catch rate of 72.9 percent.

Davante Adams ranked 45th among wideouts this season with a grade of 75.1, which would have been higher were it not for his nine dropped passes (tied for fourth-most in the NFL) on 84 catchable targets. Still, he hauled in 75 catches for 997 yards and 12 touchdowns. Tight end Jared Cook has emerged as a receiving threat, as well, ranking 19th at his position group in PFF grades.

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Green Bay should be able to run the ball against Dallas

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In the Packers’ Week 6 loss to the Cowboys, the Packers managed just 78 rushing yards on 24 carries, good for only 3.3 yards per carry. That was back when Eddie Lacy was still the team’s starting running back.

Things have changed following Lacy’s injury and the team’s decision to move Ty Montgomery from wide receiver to running back. He has proven to be a dynamic dual-threat weapon in the backfield as both a runner and a receiver, while recent signee Christine Michael broke five tackles on just 10 carries in the win over the Giants and their excellent defensive front.

Against a Cowboys run defense that ranked just 26th in run defense, the Packers should be able to get something of a running game going on Sunday, which could help offset Nelson’s loss in the passing game.

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Rodgers is simply playing at another level right now

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As colleague Mike Renner detailed last week, Rodgers has been on fire since Week 7. His second-worst grade of the year came against Dallas in Week 6, but he has been a different quarterback since then, earning the highest PFF QB grade in the league during that stretch.

Rodgers has rarely missed a throw during this hot streak, and he’s playing far better than back in Week 6. That’s important, as the Cowboys’ secondary excelled in that matchup, with starting cornerbacks Morris Claiborne and Brandon Carr earning impressive grades of 84.9 and 80.5, respectively, and throughout the game, Rodgers had very small windows through which to throw. It won’t be easy for Rodgers in this one, especially if Cobb and Adams receive more attention in coverage than they’re used to when Nelson is on the field, but Rodgers is playing at an elite level right now.

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Aaron Rodgers’s passing numbers Season Yards YPA Pass yds/game Adj. comp. % PFF grade 2016 4428 7.3 261.4 74.6 92.9 2015 3821 6.7 219.2 73.1 87.3 2014 4381 8.4 262.9 75.7 95.7

The Packers’ offensive line excels in pass protection

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Green Bay led the NFL this season in pass-blocking efficiency, allowing just 15 sacks and six QB hits on the year. David Bakhtiari and Bryan Bulaga both rank among the top three offensive tackles in pass-block grades, while T.J. Lang is second among guards and Corey Linsley ranks eighth among centers.

The Cowboys have struggled to generate much of a pass rush all season long, ranking 25th in PFF grades in that facet of the game, and while David Irving has come on strong in recent weeks, he and the other Cowboys’ pass-rushers will have to play at a high level to get pressure on Rodgers. In the Week 6 matchup, Rodgers was under pressure on just five of his 45 dropbacks.

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The Green Bay defense isn’t perfect, but it has a chance to slow down Dallas

The extent to which the Packers can limit what has been a high-powered Cowboys offense this season could take some pressure off of a Nelson-less Packers offense. Dallas’s success has been well-documented: It has a very good offensive line, particularly when it comes to run-blocking, and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott has been the league’s rushing leader, while fellow first-year player Dak Prescott has been a revelation at QB.

Prescott has earned the third-best QB rating in the league from a clean pocket, at 118.0, while he has ranked just ninth under pressure at 75.8. That was on display in the teams’ first meeting, when Green Bay was able to generate pressure on just six of 29 dropbacks and Prescott lit the Packers up when given time to throw.

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But on the season, the Packers ranked seventh in pass-rush grades and fifth in run defense. There are concerns in the secondary, but this is far from a lopsided battle in the trenches. If they can slow down the Cowboys’ running game and get to the rookie quarterback with their pass rush, it could be enough to keep the game in reach for the Packers’ offense.