Cowboys Lose to Packers in Overtime 31-28
Has Aaron Rodgers ever been the Dallas Cowboys worst enemy? In leading his team to a come-from-behind, 31-28, overtime victory over the Cowboys, the Green Bay Packers quarterback once again established himself as the villain, destroying head coach Mike McCarthy’s Green Bay homecoming.
COWBOYS LOSE TO PACKERS IN OVERTIME, 31-28
Rodgers attempted only six throws in the first half but completed four of them, and he went 10 for 16 the rest of the way for 224 yards overall, three touchdowns, and a passer rating of 146.7. With his help, the Packers tied the game with 14 straight points in the fourth quarter, and they went on to win the game with a field goal in the extra period.
Of course, it was the Packers who caused the most harm on the field. Dallas’ defense once more failed to thwart an opponent’s rushing attack as Green Bay amassed 207 rushing yards, including 138 and a touchdown by Aaron Jones. In terms of offense, Dak Prescott struggled throughout the day. His two interceptions resulted in two Packers touchdowns, although neither of his errors was helped by his receivers. In contrast to the team rushing the ball on 31 snaps, he dropped back 48 times during the game and completed only 58.7 percent of his passes for 265 yards and three touchdowns, a 78.6 rating.
CeeDee Lamb was Dak Prescott’s main target that day. Lamb tied his personal best with two touchdown catches and recorded a career-high 150 receiving yards, the most by a Dallas pass-catcher this season.
Dallas had a 5.1 yards per carry average and 159 total running yards when they did run the ball, which was mostly successful. Ezekiel Elliott was once more injured, so Tony Pollard ran the ball 22 times for a career-high 115 rushing yards.
INITIAL QUARTER
The Packers used their ground game frequently and early, moving the ball 61 yards on 12 of their first 16 plays. However, despite having the ball in their hands for an extended period. More than 10 minutes in the first quarter—Green Bay was unable to score any points.
Prescott only completed three of his first seven passes, and the Cowboys only managed three-and-outs on each of their opening two series.
2ND HALF
However, the Dallas quarterback’s three first-quarter touchdown passes all came on the team’s third drive of the contest as the offense began to click. As the time moved into the second quarter, the Cowboys continued the drive.
They maintained their momentum heading into the end zone with an impressive effort of 83 yards on 17 plays by 8:21 am. Prescott completed all 10 pass attempts during a 58-yard streak, 5 of them connecting with Lamb for 40 yards. Lamb also scored by lunging across the goal line for a 3-yard touchdown and an early lead.
But the Cowboys were on the doorstep minutes later when DeMarcus missed Lawrence’s strip sack on his third snap of the Packers-Rogers’ next ball possession. That left Jaron Kurth’s safety down to the prize, handing the ball to Dallas at the Green Bay 10-yard line. The forced fumble was the 18th in Lawrence’s career and the third in franchise history. But then Prescott retaliated. On third down, he threw into the crowded middle of the endzone, where Packers safety Rudy Ford intercepted the pass and returned it at the Green Bay 33-yard line.
Unfortunately, the Packers took advantage of their gift. Rodgers faced a third-and-one at his line for his 42 yards and found Christian his Watson running down the right touchline. Shortly after, Brown walked into the locker room with a concussion to get ready for the day. Then disaster struck again. The Cowboys advanced to midfield when a misunderstanding between Prescott and Lamb led to another easy interception by Ford. This time, he took the pick back to his 24-yard line in Dallas, where he returned 34 yards with just over two minutes left at halftime to give his team a great field position at home.
That was enough time for the Packers to take advantage of another Cowboys turnover, running his back he shot down the center with Jones serving a point before a touchdown and he trailed 14-7. dashed to the left pylon for the lead. But we weren’t even half done yet. When Prescott and the Cowboys offense started with him 34 with 1:37 on the clock, the quarterback had him 55 yards and he had 6-of-7 attempts. The last of these was a 5-yard completion by Dalton Schultz to put the game into a break.
THIRD QUARTER
Turnovers continued to be a big story in the game, but this time the Cowboys came out on top. Brian Unger went deep into his territory and droned a 55-yard player. That player saw three Dallas defensemen approach a Packers return man and force a fumble. Sean McKeon dove on the ball to set the Cowboys at the Green Bay 45-yard line.
Two snaps later, Prescott threw a perfect pass to Lamb for a 30-yard gain. Also two more snaps later, Pollard rushed down center 13 yards for a touchdown and lead. I went up.
Regaining momentum, the Cowboys scored another with 21 unanswered points on a 7-play, 86-yard drive. Malik Davis came back and gave Pollard a breather and quickly capitalized on his chance. Carrying the ball 36 yards three times. However, a 35-yard connection between Prescott and Lamb gave the team the fourth touchdown of the night.
4TH QUARTER
Playing in front of a cold but rowdy home crowd, the Packers didn’t want to walk away quietly, especially with Rodgers behind center. The quarterback quickly returned and adjusted a 9-play 76-yard drive to make it a 1-score play. Rodgers hit a third-and-three on his 7-yard scramble, then against Watson. He ended the streak with a big 39-yard touchdown his completion.
But the Rogers-Watson combo is still far from complete. The pair teamed for another touchdown just minutes later. This time, the score came thanks to a 7-yard pass that closed out a 10-play, 89-yard possession. Kudos may have fallen to Rogers and Watson, but it was the ground attack that chewed up the mileage. Green Bay running back Jones and AJ Dillon combined for 54 yards on six carries.
Both teams had chances to steal the ball in his final two minutes, but neither team advanced and Dallas went into overtime for the first time this season.
WITH TIME
The Cowboys won the toss and wasted no time past midfield to the Packers’ 35-yard line to his line. However, instead of kicking long-field goals in the fourth and third, they chose to try instead. Leaving Prescott’s pass attempts under heavy pressure incomplete.
And Rodgers did what Rodgers did, with Allen Lazard finding a wideout on the over-center slant. Also the receiver splitting the defense for a 36-yard gain at the Dallas 20-yard line. A few snaps to set up a field goal and Mason Crosby came out. His 28-yard chip shot attempt split the post to give the Packers the win.
The loss pushed the Cowboys back to 6-3 on the season. Dropping them to third place in the tough NFC East, followed by a game against the 8-1 Minnesota Vikings.
For more latest sports news, Click here.