Dallas To Play Green Bay

	IRVING, Texas (AP) -- No Troy Aikman. No Reggie White. Which team
can adjust?
	The team that operates the best without its star player is the
most likely to win the Thanksgiving Day game between the Dallas
Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers.
	Dallas quarterback Aikman sits this one out because of a
sprained left knee ligament. Green Bay lineman White's elbow injury
will keep him on the sidelines.
	``This could work out better for us because the best quarterback
in the NFL won't be playing,'' Green Bay coach Mike Holmgren said.
	``I like our chances better without Reggie White roaming
around,'' Dallas fullback Daryl Johnston said. ``He just disrupts
your entire offense.''
	Dallas not only will miss Aikman on Thursday but it also will be
without Rodney Peete, who has trouble gripping the ball because of
a sprained right thumb. Peete could be available as the third
quarterback.
	Third-stringer Jason Garrett, who started one game for the
Cowboys last year, will start. Tommy Hodson, a former New England
player who hasn't played in two years, will be ready with only two
days of practice should something happen to Garrett.
	For the Packers, Don Gavey will step into White's spot at left
end.
	Other players like the Cowboys' Emmitt Smith and Green Bay's
Sterling Sharpe will play with injuries. Smith has a sprained
shoulder and Sharpe has toe problems.
	Dallas (9-2) can afford critical injuries much more than the
Packers (6-5). Dallas is two games ahead of Philadelphia in the NFC
East, while Green Bay trails Chicago and Minnesota by a game in the
NFC Central.
	``This is a must game for us,'' Green Bay quarterback Brett
Favre said. ``We've got to make our move now. There aren't that
many games left to play. We've got to start winning close games.''
	``We have to beat Dallas to get the respect we feel we deserve.
Until then we'll just be one of the top three or four teams in the
NFC,'' he said.
	Dallas beat Green Bay twice last year, including a 27-17 loss to
the Cowboys in the divisional playoffs in Texas Stadium.
	``I think we're a little more ready to play Dallas this time,''
Holmgren said. ``The first time last year some of the players were
too busy looking at the cheerleaders behind our bench.''
	Holmgren said Dallas has a huge edge because the Packers had to
play in Buffalo, then meet the Cowboys in another road game on a
short week.
	``Somebody must be mad at me,'' Holmgren said. ``This is not the
greatest deal in the world.''
	Dallas is 17-8-1 on Thanksgiving, including a 16-3 win over the
Packers in 1970. It's the first game on Thanksgiving for Green Bay
since 1986.
	If Dallas wins, it could clinch a wild-card spot should Detroit
lose to Buffalo on Thursday or Atlanta loses to Philadelphia on
Sunday.