GREEN BAY, Wis. -- The window was closing fast. The ball, fortunately for the Green Bay Packers, traveled faster.

Inches, not feet, separated the Dallas Cowboys' defenders, cornerback Sterling Moore closing from the left and safety J.J. Wilcox from the right. No way could a quarterback fit a touchdown pass between them.

Except one did.

And he might have been the only one who could have done it. It was, of course, Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers who rifled a 13-yard touchdown pass to tight end Richard Rodgers between Moore and Wilcox with 9:10 left in the fourth quarter for the winning touchdown in Sunday's 26-21 victory over the Cowboys in an NFC divisional-round playoff game at Lambeau Field.

"There's very few quarterbacks that can squeeze it through there on that," Packers backup quarterback Scott Tolzien said. "That's why he is who he is. It was pretty incredible."

And how many can do it with pain shooting down the back of their left leg?

"That's the whole other thing," Tolzien said. "Escaping the pocket, literally limping his way out of the pocket before he makes the throw, pretty spectacular what he did."

For some reason, Aaron Rodgers said his strained left calf hurt a little less when he moved to his left on Sunday. So when he took a few steps out of the pocket on that play -- one of the few times he did so all afternoon -- he knew he had a chance to fit the ball through that window.

"It looked kind of big when I threw it," Rodgers said, "and then it kind of got a little smaller as the ball got a little closer."

All the recipient saw was the ball.

"I guess it was pretty hard," said the rookie tight end, who caught only that one pass in Sunday's game. "The window closed pretty fast."

With that throw -- and with this performance -- Rodgers turned it into a playoff game for the ages. But the Packers may need him to be healthier for next Sunday's NFC Championship Game at the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks.

Except for the three times he took a knee to end the game, Rodgers took every snap from either the pistol or shotgun formations. He broke from the pocket only four times all game, according to ESPN Stats & Information, but he threw two of his three touchdown passes on such plays -- the 13-yarder to Richard Rodgers and a 4-yarder to tight end Andrew Quarless on the Packers' first drive.

That, Aaron Rodgers said, let him know what he could -- and could not -- do on his bum leg.

"I had an idea going in of what I'd be able to do, but it changed a little bit after the throw to Andrew," Rodgers said. "It was a little stiffer than I thought it would be, so I just kind of adjusted from there."

Stationary and ordinary in the first half, Rodgers cut it loose more in the second half, when coach Mike McCarthy spread out the formation more. After racking up just 90 yards by halftime, Rodgers finished with 316, completing 24 of 35 passes with three touchdowns and no interceptions. His passer rating of 125.4 was his second-best in 10 postseason starts.

"His performance in the second half, everybody wants to compare performances, that's as good as it gets," McCarthy said. "What he's done in this stadium the last two games with the condition of his calf is spectacular."

Now he will have to do it in a stadium where few have done it. Rodgers, in good health in Week 1, could not. He had one of his most ineffective games of the season in a 36-16 loss at the Seahawks back on Sept. 4. The Seahawks have the NFL's best record at home, 24-2, since the start of the 2012 season, including playoffs.

Rodgers almost certainly won't practice much this week. Last week, his only snaps came during Thursday's practice, and even then he took only about half of what he would normally take. But no one in the Packers' locker room would be surprised if Rodgers had another game like this.

"That's what was so impressive about what he did today," said Tolzien, who was active for only the second time all season just in case the Packers needed all three of their quarterbacks. "It wasn't like he was taking all the reps."

For the Packers, it was just their second playoff victory since they won Super Bowl XLV. If they win another one, it almost certainly will be because of another extraordinary Rodgers throw.

"He never surprises me," receiver Jordy Nelson said. "We've seen it all. That throw he had to Rich was unbelievable."