ARLINGTON, Texas – No Davante Adams, no problem for the Packers' offense.
The absence of Aaron Rodgers' No. 1 receiver led to the unleashing of third-year running back Aaron Jones, who was the unquestioned star of the Packers' 34-24 road victory over Dallas at AT&T Stadium on Sunday.
Jones not only dashed and darted his way to 107 yards on 19 carries – outrushing the Cowboys' Ezekiel Elliott by 45 yards – but he also tied a franchise record with four rushing touchdowns as the Packers built a 31-3 lead in the third quarter and then hung on for dear life.
"Aaron tonight, he definitely came up big," Head Coach Matt LaFleur said after his team improved to 4-1. "He broke a lot of tackles out there, and he finished runs. We knew going into the game we had to be physical, and it starts up front. I was really proud of our guys."
Oh, and Jones also was Rodgers' leading receiver with seven catches for 75 yards, giving him 182 yards from scrimmage in a tour-de-force performance in his home state of Texas.
He shined brightest in the same stadium that served as his coming-out party two years ago, when he posted his first career 100-yard rushing game in an even more dramatic Green Bay win.
"Yeah, he was running, and he was running well," Rodgers said. "His typical style, slasher, cutbacks, breaking tackles. I thought it was a great game for him. He was the hot hand. Got a lot of touches down in the red zone and finished those up nicely."
Jones actually was stopped on a run from the 1-yard line in the second quarter when the Packers settled for a field goal or he might have broken the franchise record with five rushing TDs. Four hadn't been achieved since Dorsey Levens in the 1999 regular-season finale. Terdell Middleton also did it once, and Hall of Famer Jim Taylor accomplished it three times.
Jones also now has eight rushing touchdowns this year, most in franchise history through the first five games of a season. He's been a huge part of the Packers getting to 4-1 and taking over sole possession of first place in the NFC North, as the Bears lost earlier Sunday in London to the Raiders.
But Jones' brilliance and a 31-3 lead wasn't enough to put the Packers on easy street. The Cowboys actually had a chance to make it a one-score game with just under two minutes left, but kicker Brett Maher missed wide right from 33 yards out, his second wayward field-goal attempt of the game.
The Green Bay Packers traveled to Dallas to take on the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium in a Week 5 matchup.
Dallas QB Dak Prescott was responsible for the roaring rally, hitting several big plays and throwing for a monstrous 463 yards – 226 to Amari Cooper on 11 catches and 113 to Michael Gallup on another seven grabs – on 27-of-44 passing with two TDs, one to each key guy.
The Cowboys pulled within 31-17 and got the ball back early in the fourth quarter, only to have the Packers' defense finally get the stop it needed.
Cornerback Kevin King, who played despite a groin injury that kept him out of practice all week, got Green Bay's third interception of Prescott. The resulting field goal allowed for a deep breath, at least temporarily.
"That ultimately could have been the difference," LaFleur said. "I know they missed the field goal right at the end, but (King's play) was critical. It made it a three-possession game. The turnovers, that was the difference today. When you're plus-three in turnover margin, there's a pretty good chance you're going to come out victorious."
The Packers dealt with their share of adversity, too, with players dropping out due to injury (center Corey Linsley, concussion; tight end Robert Tonyan, hip; Darnell Savage, ankle; King again at the end, knee; among others) and additional guys shuttling in and out of the lineup throughout the game. Za'Darius Smith was tended to on the field three times amidst getting two of the Packers' three sacks of Prescott.
Linsley's replacement, Lucas Patrick, actually had two wayward shotgun snaps that happened to go right into Jones' hands as the running back was preparing to cut in front of Rodgers for a handoff. So there were some good breaks, too.
It was a hang-in-there kind of afternoon, and the Packers got one interception from reserve cornerback Chandon Sullivan and a mistake-free if not statistically eye-popping performance from Rodgers that was in stark contrast to Prescott's day.
Rodgers, who finished 22-of-34 for 238 yards, had no touchdowns or interceptions and an 85.2 passer rating. He took only two sacks, one of them intentionally to run the clock late rather than throw the ball away to stop it.
"Days like today are not a great stat game for myself, but I feel like I played my best game of the season, the way I was moving and seeing things," Rodgers said as he improved to 4-0 in his career in this stadium. "I've accomplished a lot statistically in this league. I just want to win now."
The Packers did that, getting done what they had to, albeit in less-then-pretty and more-dramatic-than-necessary fashion.
"There was a lot going on," LaFleur said. "You have to adjust in this league and I thought our coaches did a pretty good job, but again, there's still a lot out there to clean up, and that's what we have to do moving forward."
