Grant Gordon’s takeaways:
- Dak and Co. rally for tie in stellar offensive effort. Tie ballgame or not, the Cowboys are feeling better than the Packers after this one. Dak Prescott captained his team back from a 13-point deficit to open the game and from four points down in the fourth quarter, as he turned in a monster showing with four total touchdowns to survive a reunion with Micah Parsons. Trailing by 13 points with 10:37 to go in the first half, the Cowboys might well have turned in their most pivotal points of a chaotic evening. Juanyeh Thomas sprang through to block a Packers point-after attempt and Markquese Bell gobbled up the pigskin and raced the other way for two points. In a game that seemed to be bound for Blowout City, the Cowboys said not so fast when Bell raced the other way. Two drives later, Prescott ran in a score and, after a Jordan Love fumble, threw a 15-yard TD to George Pickens to suddenly pull ahead, 16-13. Love and the Packers offense didn’t go away, turning in an excellent night on offense, as well. Still, though they’re now 1-2-1, the Cowboys survived a marquee game against Parsons and the Pack whilst changing the narrative. Prior to Sunday, the Cowboys were 0-3 without CeeDee Lamb. Pickens stepped up huge, though, hauling in two TDs and eight receptions for 134 yards, while Jake Ferguson (seven receptions for 40 yards, touchdown) continued to produce. Prescott (31 of 40 for 319 yards, three touchdowns and a rushing TD) delivered time and again and Brian Schottenheimer called a great game behind a banged-up offensive line. When Dak’s on, the Cowboys still have a chance. If nothing else, that’s probably the biggest takeaway from a tie ballgame on a Sunday night in Texas.
- Love was excellent in Dallas again. Returning to the scene of his greatest NFL triumph, Jordan Love was brilliant at the onset Sunday night, dissecting the Dallas defense on the opening drive. Perfect in his precision, he was 5 of 5 for 74 yards, including a 2-yard touchdown to Romeo Doubs. He would hook up with Doubs for three touchdowns in total, finishing his night with 337 yards through air. Problem was, in stark contrast to Love’s starry showing in an upset of the Cowboys in the playoffs two seasons ago, Dallas didn’t go away. To Love’s credit, neither did he and the Packers offense. Love had some major gaffes, namely a fumble in the second quarter and the mismanagement of a running clock at the end of the game in which disaster could’ve struck had his incompletion not hit the ground with one second left. Still, Love played winning football. Unfortunately, his defense did not.
- Packers defense doesn’t hold up its end. This was a troubling performance for the Packers defense, which began the season by stifling the Lions and Commanders — Divisional Round squads a season ago — and holding the Browns in check. Green Bay allowed season highs in points (40) and yards allowed (436), as Dak Prescott pecked away in the passing game, rarely facing pressure until late in the ballgame. Dallas’ defense allowed a season high in points to a third straight opponent, but, that’s not all that surprising. Green Bay’s woes were, especially considering the Cowboys were without all-world wideout CeeDee Lamb and two starting offensive lineman. For all the pomp and circumstance surrounding Micah Parsons’ return to Dallas-Fort Worth, he battled through a back injury to turn in a game-high seven pressures, three tackles, three QB hits and Green Bay’s only sack (which was for no gain). Every unit can have an off game, but after three weeks of imposing, tone-setting performances, the Packers defense had a very bad night that negated a rather sterling showing from Jordan Love and the offense.
Next Gen Stats Insight for Packers-Cowboys (via NFL Pro): Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott was pressured 10 times (24.4% pressure rate), with seven of those pressures coming from ex-teammate Micah Parsons. Kenny Clark, who was acquired by Dallas in the Parsons trade, had a team-best four QB pressures.
NFL Research: The Packers-Cowboys 40-40 tie is the second-highest-scoring tie in NFL history, trailing only a 43-43 stalemate between the Oakland Raiders and Boston Patriots in Week 6, 1964. With the end result for the host Cowboys, teams with 40 or more points and no turnovers at home, including the playoffs, are now 300-0-1 all time in the Super Bowl era.
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