ARLINGTON, Texas — When?

Never.

A rookie quarterback has never, ever taken his team to the Super Bowl. That is the daunting challenge awaiting Dak Prescott, a revelation this season for the Cowboys and not merely because he is willing and able to hand the ball to an even more precocious rookie, running back Ezekiel Elliott.

Rested and ready, the Cowboys (13-3) look to parlay their remarkable regular season into an extended playoff run. It starts Sunday afternoon at AT&T Stadium, where awaiting them will be the white-hot Packers and their super-nova-hot quarterback, Aaron Rodgers.

To take the Cowboys where no first-year quarterback ever has gone before, Prescott will have to navigate past Rodgers and then either Russell Wilson — a two-time Super Bowl participant — or Matt Ryan, an established NFL veteran quarterback and quite possibly this year’s NFL MVP. If Prescott makes it to Houston for Super Bowl LI, there to greet him could be Tom Brady and the Patriots.

“I want to get to where those guys are,” Prescott said. “I want to win multiple Super Bowls in this league. So it’s great going against those guys, seeing those guys on the other side and just watching them and knowing I have a good team and a team that can beat them.”

Ah, there’s the key with Prescott. He has a team that can beat the Packers — he does not have to do it himself. Elliott should be heavily considered for MVP honors after posting 1,631 rushing yards and 15 touchdowns, operating behind the league’s best offensive line, a unit that often provides several yards of cushion for Elliott to maneuver through and around. The Packers were the eighth-best run defense this season, but they were helpless three months ago as Elliott ravaged them for 157 yards.

Outdueling Rodgers might not be possible, not for Prescott or anyone else, for that matter. He shredded a fine Giants defense last week for 362 yards and four touchdowns in a 38-13 avalanche at Lambeau Field, the Packers’ seventh consecutive victory. In that streak, Rodgers has thrown for 2,029 yards, 19 touchdowns and no interceptions for a passer rating of 121.7. Those are silly numbers.

“He’s dangerous any time the ball is snapped,’’ Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said.

Garrett has painful proof of this, as Rodgers and the Packers beat the Cowboys 26-21 two years ago in the divisional round of the playoffs in Green Bay, with Rodgers throwing for 316 yards and three touchdowns for a passer rating of 125.4. Rodgers is 8-6 in his 14 playoff starts. His postseason passer rating of 100.3 is slightly lower than his regular-season career rating of 104.1. Rodgers, though, is just 4-5 in the playoffs since the Super Bowl run of 2010.

Prescott, meanwhile, becomes the 20th rookie quarterback to start a postseason game in the Super Bowl era. The record of the rookies in those games is 10-19.

Prescott has had plenty of time to think of all this, perhaps too much time.

“There’s a lot of things that go into it, but you’re a top-seed and you’ve been off for a week,” Rodgers said. “There’s added pressure of trying to hold serve at home and there’s the potential rust factor of haven’t played in a few weeks. We’re coming off a stretch where we had to win every game for the last seven to keep this thing rolling. There’s a lot to be said about momentum and about playoff experience I think.”

Cowboys C Travis Frederick vs. Packers NT Letroy Guion

The inside-the-trenches wrestling match could determine if the Cowboys will run wild, as they are wont to do. Frederick this season was selected to his third consecutive Pro Bowl and was named a first-team All-Pro. The product of Wisconsin is smart and strong and quick and tough and makes everything go up front. Guion is a 322-pound, nine-year veteran who led all Packers defensive linemen with 49 tackles. The former Vikings starter is a key in Green Bay’s run defense having any chance to deal with RB Ezekiel Elliott.

Dez not done: The infamous did-he or did-he-not Dez Bryant catch/non-catch against the Packers in a 2014 playoff game at Lambeau Field is part of postseason lore. Officially, it was ruled no catch in the end zone, though anyone who thought they knew anything about football thought it was a reception. Bryant was injured and did not play in the regular-season meeting, but the Cowboys did not need him, winning by 14 points in Green Bay. Bryant has found life with a rookie quarterback more challenging than his days hauling passes in from Tony Romo, but he could be a huge factor going against Packers cornerbacks LaDarius Gunter and Damarious Randall. Gunter, with help, did an exceptional job last week completely nullifying Odell Beckham Jr. Bryant and Dak Prescott got into a rhythm two weeks ago in the regular-season finale with two touchdown hookups.

The X-factors: It is always someone you least expect. There is plenty of star-power in this game, but someone lurking in the shadows likely will come up big and make an imprint to turn the tide one way or another. For the Packers, it could be running back Christine Michael, who came out of nowhere to enliven the running game last week against the Giants. Ty Montgomery was not effective and Michael provided a spark in the second half with 47 yards on 10 carries. For the Cowboys, it could be Lucky Whitehead, primarily a kick returner, who was instrumental in the regular-season victory over the Packers, though he rarely makes much of a contribution on offense. Whitehead gained 26 yards on a sweep that set up a touchdown and later added a 35-yard reception on another TD drive.

Next man up: The Packers will be without their top receiver, the aftereffect of last week’s helmet hit by Giants cornerback Leon Hall to the ribs of Jordy Nelson early in the second quarter. Nelson was not missed, as Randall Cobb (three touchdown receptions) and Davante Adams (one TD) amassed 116 and 125 receiving yards, respectively. Still, losing Nelson is a blow. He is in line for Comeback Player of the Year honors, returning from a torn ACL to catch 97 passes for 1,257 yards and an NFL-leading 14 TDs. Cobb and Adams can pick up the slack, and tight end Jared Cook is a factor now — he did not play against the Cowboys in the first meeting. Also, look out for Geronimo Allison, an undrafted rookie from Illinois, who came on strong toward the end of the season.

That old college try: For students or alumni, Michigan vs. Ohio State is known simply as “The Game.’’ Well, a facsimile of that storied rivalry hits the turf in Texas, as rookie Ezekiel Elliott (Ohio State) and second-year linebacker Jake Ryan (Michigan) knock heads once again. This is not a one-on-one confrontation, of course. The Packers will be in trouble if their defensive line cannot in some way neutralize the battle at the line of scrimmage and Ryan is subjected to the full brunt of massive linemen clearing him out of the way. Ryan was excellent (12 tackles, three passes defensed) in the playoff victory over the Giants.

Paul’s Pick

It’s tough ever to go against such a torrid quarterback as Aaron Rodgers, especially when his counterpart is a rookie in his first playoff game. If this were one-on-one, Rodgers would win in a landslide. The Cowboys are rested, at home and can play keep-away with the ball better than anyone. The Dallas offensive line is the determining factor.

Cowboys 27, Packers 24.