By the time the Dallas Cowboys kickoff their Week 6 matchup with the Green Bay Packers, it will have been 10 days since they last played a game. That's a long time to sit with an embarrassing loss, and there have been changes since the defeat that left them stumped at 2-3.
However, with his past Sunday's results from division, and with a team ready to move onto the rest of the season, the Cowboys’ first opportunity to change their fate brings a familiar opponent. A week ago, the Packers were in the same position as Dallas and managed an impressive win.
There are reasons to believe the Cowboys can do the same in Week 6; here are three things to love about the matchup with the Packers.
Where's Micah?
Despite a hopeful matchup between pass rusher Micah Parsons and his former team, the All-Pro won’t return in Week 6. Now, he can lay on the bench all he wants in watching the clash between the two historic franchises.
Packers are not anticipating that their standout pass rusher Micah Parsons will return to practice this week as Green Bay prepares for Sunday night’s game vs. the Dallas Cowboys, per sources. There still is uncertainty about exactly when Parsons will return from his knee injury,… pic.twitter.com/Lng2iQFFwB
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) October 12, 2026
Parsons remains on the PUP list, and the hope is he can begin practicing next week. That will rob fans of watching an anticipated matchup between Parsons and a Cowboys’ offensive line that struggled to slow down a Tampa Bay Buccaneers front four who doesn’t have anyone near the level of Parsons.
In his first game against the Cowboys last year, Parsons managed to sack quarterback Dak Prescott once, but he wasn’t a big factor in the tie.
Zero running game
One of the areas where the Cowboys’ defense continues to have issues is stopping the run. After allowing running back Bucky Irving to run for 165 yards, Christian Parker’s group gets an easier assignment in Week 6.
The Packers have the worst rushing attack, and one of the least explosive RB rooms, in the NFL, running for a league-low 60.4 yards per game. That’s close to 20 yards worse than the next team on the list.
It’s a truly dormant running game that could be missing two starting offensive linemen and its star RB, Josh Jacobs, remains on the commissioner’s exempt list until next week. The current backfield leader is MarShawn Lloyd, who averages under three yards per carry and has yet to rush for over 37 yards in a game this season.
This is an ideal chance for the Cowboys to prove they can stop the run and force the Packers to be a one-dimensional offense. If the defense can’t stop the Packers from running all over them, it might be a long day at the Lambeau Field office.
Struggle to stop the run
On the flip side of the run game, the Packers also can’t stop opponents from running at will. Green Bay’s rushing defense is tied for 25th in the league, allowing close to 130 ypg on the ground. They’ve also allowed eight rushing touchdowns through five games, which is second worst in the NFL.
Some of the damage can be attributed to Atlanta Falcons’ RB Bijon Robinson, who rushed for 194 yards and two scores in Week 3, but it’s still a Packers defense that has struggled to stop the run.
The Cowboys have to be happy to see a defense that has issues against the run because they have their own problems moving the ball on the ground, ranking 30th in the league at under 82 ypg. If they want to be a balanced offense, Brian Schottenheimer and Klayton Adams’ group must find a way to be better at running the ball.
The Cowboys have a golden opportunity to win the ground game against the Packers.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Packers issues with run game among 3 things Cowboys can love in Week 6