Streaking Packers Show Rout of Bears Was No Fluke, Do It Again vs. Cowboys

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Was the Green Bay Packers’ blowout victory over the Chicago Bears last week real or was it a byproduct of circumstances, including facing a backup quarterback?

Nope.

The Packers kicked themselves in the shins repeatedly but outclassed the Dallas Cowboys 23-13 on Sunday night at Lambeau Field. It was Green Bay’s third consecutive win. After a sputtering start to the season, it is 4-2 headed into next week’s game at the Detroit Lions.

The running game was horrendous. The pass protection was faulty. They dropped touchdown passes. They hit double-digits on penalties.

None of if mattered, though, as Jonathan Gannon’s defense was dominant.

This wasn’t against Tyson Bagent, Rome Odunze and Luther Burden, as was the case last week. It was against Dak Prescott, CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.

Not until the final drive of the night, when the Cowboys (2-4) scored a meaningless touchdown, did Prescott get past 200 passing yards. At the 2-minute warning, Lamb and Pickens combined for 12 catches out of 26 targets for 108 yards.

Jordan Love was 23-of-41 passing for 276 yards with one touchdown and his first-ever interception on a Sunday night start. He would have had about 340 yards and three touchdowns if not for dropped touchdown passes by Matthew Golden and Christian Watson. Golden, though, caught six passes for 104 yards and the opening touchdown as Green Bay rolled to a 17-0 halftime lead.

Finally, an Exclamation Point

With the Packers leading 23-7, the Cowboys embarked on the most tedious drive imaginable. On third-and-20, Ty’Ron Hopper was flagged for illegal contact to give the Cowboys a first down.

Next, Carrington Valentine – who had just entered the game after Brandon Cisse sustained a stinger – intercepted Dak Prescott but Lukas Van Ness was flagged for roughing the passer for shoving Prescott.

After the Cowboys converted on fourth-and-5, Karl Brooks was flagged for roughing the passer.

Finally, the Packers made a play that held up. Van Ness sacked Prescott on first down to set the stage for fourth-and-11, when Zaire Franklin and Van Ness converged on Prescott, who flung a pass toward the goalposts, where there were no Cowboys receivers located.

That gave Green Bay the ball with 5 minutes to go and essentially ended the game. With 4 minutes to go following a first-down conversion by Tucker Kraft, a “Let’s Go Brewers!” chant rang out; it was shut down by public-address announcer Bill Jartz, who told the fans it wasn’t the right time.

The Division Race

With the Vikings and Lions having their byes and the Packers winning their third in a row, here are the NFC North standings through Week 6:

Minnesota, 5-0.

Green Bay, 4-2.

Chicago, 4-2.

Detroit, 3-2.

Blown Opportunities

The Cowboys pulled within 17-7 to start the second half but Jordan Love had the response.

Or so it seemed.

First, Love on fourth-and-3 found Tucker Kraft in the flat for a tackle-breaking gain of 14. One play later, Love bought time to his left – left tackle Jordan Morgan pancaked his defender – and unleashed a missile to Christian Watson for what should have been a 26-yard touchdown. The reliable Watson, who is having a second-to-none season, dropped the pass in the end zone.

Trey Smack, who missed three kicks last week, booted a 44-yard field goal to make it 20-7 with 5:02 left in the third quarter.

The Packers forced a punt, with Evan Williams coming free on a blitz to force an incompletion. However, Green Bay started at the 6 and couldn’t move the ball, with former Packers Pro Bowler Kenny Clark smoking center Sean Rhyan for a third-down sack.

The Packers appeared to get off the field but blew that opportunity when, on third-and-6, Dani Dennis-Sutton was flagged for taunting on an incomplete pass. The Cowboys were flagged for holding, meaning there were offsetting penalties. Given a reprieve, Prescott hit George Pickens for 7 and a first down on the final play of the third quarter.

Moments later, the Cowboys faced a third-and-2. Isaiah McDuffie was unblocked on a blitz and forced an incompletion. On fourth down, Prescott booted to his left and tried to hit CeeDee Lamb at the sideline, but Javon Bullard made a leaping breakup to give the Packers the ball at Dallas’ 49.

The Packers turned that into a 29-yard field goal. Love connected with Golden for 20 yards before getting hit into the middle of next week by Caleb Downs and Golden again for 12 yards on third-and-5 before getting hit by Rashan Gary. That made it 23-7 with 10:06 remaining.

At that point, Dallas’ feeble defense, which ranked at or near the bottom of the league in practically every category, including sacks, had three sacks, seven tackles for losses and eight quarterback hits in a step-backward performance by the line.

Packers Rolling at Halftime

Green Bay led 17-0 at halftime. Even with some dropped passes, no running game whatsoever and a feeble first-down attack, it was total domination.

The Packers forced a punt to start the game, then marched 90 yards for a touchdown. Love was 6-of-8 passing for 109 yards – yes, 109 yards on a 90-yard scoring drive – because of two penalties for 20 yards and two rushing plays that lost 5 yards. After a pair of third-and-13 conversions, Love hit Matthew Golden on third-and-6 for the score.

After Green Bay forced a three-and-out punt, a key moment followed. After Love was sacked on first down, he threw an out to Golden. Linebacker Dee Winters saw it coming, jumped the route and made a tumbling interception. Winters got up, ran through a couple would-be tacklers and scored on a 43-yard pick-six.

A replay review, though, showed Golden touched Winters down at the 43. It was maybe the biggest tackle of the game. The Cowboys drove into the red zone but Prescott was picked off near the goal line by Evan Williams.

The Packers turned the turnover into a chip-shot field goal to lead 10-0. Golden dropped a 43-yard touchdown pass, but the Packers moved it to second-and-goal at the 1. However, Pierre Strong was stuffed on a run and Tucker Kraft couldn’t get his shoulders upfield on a catch in the flat.

After Brandon Cisse’s first career interception, the Packers extended their lead to 17-0 just before halftime. Bo Melton drew a 37-yard penalty for interference and Golden had a 21-yard catch to set up Love’s 1-yard sneak.

The Packers, the worst third-down offense in the league, went 9-of-10 in the first half. It was a remarkable achievement, considering Green Bay averaged less than 1.5 yards per play on first down.

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