Studs and Duds With Packers Routing Cowboys 17-0 at Halftime

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Could the Green Bay Packers build upon last week’s blowout win over the Chicago Bears by doing it again against the Dallas Cowboys? Or was it merely the fool’s gold that tends to sparkle against a backup quarterback?

Through the first 30 minutes, the Packers’ rout of the Bears was no fluke. With Jordan Love contributing 190 passing yards and one touchdown and 14 rushing yards and another touchdown, Green Bay is clobbering the Cowboys 17-0.

The Packers are 9-of-10 on third down. They entered the game ranked last in the NFL with a 27.6 percent conversion rate while Dallas’ defense was last with an opponent conversion rate of 52.6 percent.

Here are some first-half studs and duds.

Stud: QB Jordan Love

On the opening touchdown drive, Jordan Love was 6-of-8 for 109 yards. That’s only possible in Canada, but the Packers were guilty of 20 yards worth of penalties and a pair of negative-yardage runs to help Love eclipse 100 yards on a 90-yard touchdown drive.

Love completed a pair of third-and-13s before hitting Matthew Golden for a 9-yard touchdown on third-and-6.

Stud: WR Matthew Golden

It was a strong start for Matthew Golden – literally and figuratively. On the opening drive, he beat Shavon Revel deep for 37 yards to the 9. Golden was flagged for unsportsmanlike conduct for flexing in front of Revel; whether he said something, only the officials know. So, that moved the ball back to the 24. Another penalty moved it back to the 29. But the Packers scored, anyway, when Golden beat Ameer Speed on a post for a 9-yard touchdown.

Dud: WR Matthew Golden

Midway through the second quarter, Jordan Love threw one of his majestic deep balls. It should have been a 43-yard touchdown but Golden, who was 2 yards in front of Ameer Speed, dropped the pass. It was a four-point play, as the Packers settled for a field goal.

Late in the first half, Golden almost made an incredible, twisting touchdown catch but couldn’t hang onto the ball while falling to the turf. The first few notes of "Bang on the Drum" were played and some fireworks were set off.

He made up for it a moment later with a leaping, 21-yard catch on an extended play to give Green Bay a first-and-goal at the 2. On the next play, Golden drew a pass-interference flag on DaRon Bland. Love scored on a sneak on the next play to make it 17-0 with 23 seconds left in the half.

Stud: LB Zaire Franklin

On the second play of the second quarter, Zaire Franklin blitzed up the middle and clobbered Dak Prescott. The floating pass was almost intercepted by Brandon Cisse and Prescott was slow to get up.

Stud: S Evan Williams

On the next play, with the Cowboys facing third-and-8 from Green Bay’s 17, Dak Prescott had a solid pocket as he muscled one over the middle to CeeDee Lamb. Lamb had position on Xavier McKinney at the goal line, but maybe it was all a trap as Evan Williams jumped in front of the pass for the interception.

“For sure. For sure. You got to attack these opportunities,” Williams said this week of the challenge of facing the high-powered Cowboys. “If you’re hesitant in any facet, that’s when you get exploited as a defense. When you’re unsure or questionable about what you’re going to do, that’s when explosives start to show up and things can go downhill in a hurry.

“As a back end, you’re licking your chops for opportunities like this when you know the ball’s going to be in the air, and it’s up to you to stop it. That’s what we look forward to on any Sunday. It’s our job to shut down receivers like this, and when you get those opportunities, can’t shy away from it.”

Dud: Running Game

As we wrote before the game, this was the classic case of the stoppable force squaring off against the movable object. The Packers entered the game ranked 32nd with 60.4 rushing yards per game and 31st with 3.05 yards per carry. The Cowboys were 32nd with 168.4 rushing yards allowed per game and 29th with 5.10 yards allowed per carry.

Green Bay’s running game was horrendous. Nine handoffs to running backs gained 11 yards. Even Jordan Love’s 13-yard scramble didn’t put much lipstick on the pig.

Stud: RB Pierre Strong

The Packers’ best running back? Until Josh Jacobs returns, it’s probably Pierre Strong. On the opening possession, Jordan Love didn’t have any options on third-and-13, so he checked it down to Strong, who broke Ameer Speed’s tackle and gained 14 yards. Later, after Evan Williams’ interception, Love on third-and-8 checked it down to Strong again. He split two defenders for a gain of 10 and another first down. Those plays led to both of their first-half scores for a 10-0 lead.

Dud: First-Down Offense

The Packers entered the game ranked 17th with 5.42 yards per first-down play. It certainly wasn’t because of the running game, which was last in the NFL with 2.47 yards per carry – 0.36 yards worse than No. 31 Las Vegas and 0.89 yards worse than No. 30 Miami.

During the first half, Green Bay ran the ball eight times or 7 yards – the last of those was Jordan Love’s 1-yard quarterback sneak – and attempted seven passes that gained 11 yards.

Studs: CBs Keisean Nixon and Brandon Cisse

The Cowboys have one of the best passing attacks in the league with Dak Prescott throwing to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. Prescott finished the half 11-of-15 passing for 86 yards and two interceptions. Lamb caught 2-of-6 passes for 22 yards and Pickens caught his only target for 16.

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