ARLINGTON, Texas -- It’s time to consider Micah Hyde among the Green Bay Packers' top playmakers on defense.

After what he’s done the past six weeks -- and what he did in Sunday’s NFC divisional-round win over the Dallas Cowboys -- his name belongs with the likes of Mike Daniels, Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers and Ha Ha Clinton-Dix.

It was Hyde, the fourth-year jack-of-all-trades defensive back, who saved at least three points -- and possibly seven -- with his third-quarter interception of Dak Prescott after the Cowboys quarterback had driven his team deep into Packers territory.

And he did it in classic Hyde fashion. The heady 26-year-old recognized something he saw on film during the week of preparation and, as cornerback LaDarius Gunter told him just before the snap, he went after it.

“We know if we load the box possibly that they’re going to have a run solution, whether it’s a glance by the No. 1 receiver throwing a slant,” Hyde said. “[It’s] a ‘key play, a now play,’ whatever you want to call it. They showed it on film, and Gunt behind me said, ‘Go get it.’ I didn’t want to just go and leave him, but he said, ‘Go get it,’ and I did. The rest is history.”

Hyde jumped the route and stepped in front of a second-and-1 pass from the Packers’ 19-yard line that Prescott had intended for slot receiver Cole Beasley. Before the ball was even out of Prescott’s right hand, Hyde was tracking it.

“Micah had the huge interception there, the instincts and the awareness obviously getting the key on the play,” Packers coach Mike McCarthy said. “That was a big play in the game. We each had one takeaway in the game, so, and any time you take the ball away from a big time offense like that it obviously factors in the outcome.”

Hyde’s interception was the Packers’ only defensive stop in a six-possession stretch that began in the second quarter and ran through the end of the game. The Cowboys scored three touchdowns and two field goals during that span.

It was Hyde’s fourth interception in his last six games. Among those was his game-clinching pick of Detroit’s Matthew Stafford in the Week 17 regular-season finale that gave the Packers the NFC title. In that game, Hyde was forced to move from his usual position in the slot to the outside cornerback spot after injuries decimated that position.

Against the Cowboys, injuries hit the secondary again. After Morgan Burnett dropped out in the first half with a thigh bruise, the Packers had to play rookie Kentrell Brice in Burnett’s safety spot, which forced rookie cornerback Josh Hawkins to move into the dime package.

“It’s the Packers, man,” Hyde said. “You saw Morgan went out, we had two rookies out there. KB was making plays. He came up big. Hawk had to go out there. We’ve dealt with that adversity all season, and it’s been paying off.”

Speaking of paying off, Hyde’s big plays should only serve to increase his value. He will be a free agent this offseason, and his interception run started not long after the Packers told Hyde they wouldn’t talk with him about a contract extension. When, or if, they inquire about a deal now, they might expect to pay in the neighborhood of what Burnett received when he signed a deal in 2013 that averages $6 million per season.

Next up for the Packers is Matt Ryan and the high-scoring Atlanta Falcons in Sunday’s NFC Championship Game, and the Falcons had better know where Hyde is at all times because there's a good chance Hyde will know where Ryan wants to go with the ball.

“The guy made a great play,” Prescott said. “Bad pick. I wish could have held the ball at that point. It was a great play by them.”