ARLINGTON, Texas – The Packers and Cowboys both exploded on offense for four quarters plus the 10-minute overtime but didn't decide anything Sunday night at AT&T Stadium, ending in a 40-40 tie.
Here are five takeaways from a result that puts the Packers at 2-1-1 at their bye week.
- Defense became optional for both squads in this one.
The two teams combined for 58 first downs and more than 900 total yards, as QBs Jordan Love and Dak Prescott each topped 300 yards passing and threw for three TDs.
After the Packers stopped the Cowboys on the opening drive of the second half, every possession the rest of the game – five for the Packers, four for the Cowboys – resulted in points, with six touchdowns and three field goals through the third and fourth quarters and OT.
It was not the type of defensive effort the Packers had displayed through their first three games, and they left Dallas scratching their heads a bit.
Defensive lineman Micah Parsons, who was making his much ballyhooed return to Dallas a month after being traded to Green Bay, admitted he was "pissed off" at the defensive performance and he told Love, "Thank you for having our back today."
Head Coach Matt LaFleur gave credit to Prescott and the Cowboys' offense, but there weren't any immediate answers as to how the league's No. 1 scoring defense coming in had such a rough night.
"They made some big plays, they executed, we missed a lot of tackles," LaFleur said. "We've got to find a way somehow, some way to generate some takeaways."
- The one turnover in the game was huge.
Dallas began a comeback from an early 13-0 deficit by blocking the extra point on the second of Romeo Doubs' three TD catches on the night and returning it for two points.
Then the Cowboys drove 95 yards for a TD to make it 13-9, leaving the Packers 34 seconds in the half. Green Bay tried to push the ball down the field but got burned, as Love was strip-sacked at the Green Bay 15-yard line and Prescott threw the first of two TD passes to George Pickens on the very next play.
Suddenly, in a game the Packers dominated most of the first half, they were trailing at intermission, 16-13.
"We tried to be aggressive at the end of the first half and it bit us in the butt," LaFleur said. He added more later, saying "it backfired, and it killed us."
- The offense responded and then the shootout was on.
With every touchdown in the second half, the lead changed hands. The Packers would go up by four points, then the Cowboys would resume their lead of three. Rinse and repeat.
Running back Josh Jacobs finished with 157 yards from scrimmage (86 rushing, 71 receiving) with two rushing scores. His counterpart Javonte Williams had 100 yards from scrimmage (85 and 15) with one TD.
Doubs and Pickens combined for five TD receptions, with Pickens catching eight passes for 134 yards.
"We talked about it at halftime, it's an extremely deflating situation," LaFleur said of the end of the first half. "The key to this game, as in life in my opinion, is you've got to have resiliency.
"As deflating as it was, you've got to find a way to overcome it. I thought our guys battled back from it, just obviously didn't do enough to get the win."
Ultimately, after Pickens' second TD, which came in the final minute of regulation, Love drove the Packers into field-goal range. Brandon McManus sent the game to overtime tied at 37 with a 53-yard field goal.
"As an offense, we've got to keep battling, keep answering, staying in the game," Love said.
- Both teams squandered touchdown opportunities in overtime.
Dallas got the ball first and worked its way to a first-and-goal at the 5 after a long completion to Jalen Tolbert, but Green Bay's defense finally stiffened.
Parsons chased down Prescott for a zero-yard sack on a second-down scramble when he looked to have a running lane to the end zone. Then the coverage held up on third down to force a 22-yard field goal.
The Packers went right back down the field, converting on fourth-and-6 with a pass to rookie Matthew Golden to stay alive. Green Bay got to a first down on the Dallas 15-yard line but then bogged down and nearly ran the clock out on a third-down incompletion to the end zone, but one second remained for a tying kick by McManus.
"That just goes to the level of detail where we're not where we need to be," LaFleur said of the operation, clearly annoyed at the final sequence.
The play call on second down was to go for the end zone, but the Cowboys played deep coverage and Love took a checkdown throw that gained nothing. Then with the clock running there wasn't enough urgency to get lined up and look to the end zone again. It nearly cost the Packers the chance to kick on fourth down and get the tie.
"I was conscious of it," Love said of the clock. "Matt was in my ear saying 'ozone,' which means end zone or out of bounds.
"The operation took too long. We were wasting too much time right there."
Almost catastrophically.
- It wasn't a loss, but it wasn't satisfying at all.
This marked the first tie of the LaFleur era and the Packers' first tie since 2018.
"Obviously we didn't come down here to tie a football game, but that's what happened," LaFleur said. "It's disappointing in regards to too many critical mistakes that led to that tie."
Once again, the Packers are left wondering how they lost command of a game they controlled early, and then never really got it back.
"It sucks," Love said of the tie. "It doesn't feel good. It feels kind of weird."
