The Cowboys and Packers are walking into Week 6 with very different vibes.
Dallas just got blindsided by Tampa Bay in a game it should have controlled. The Cowboys were heavily favored, the Buccaneers were 0-4, and Tampa Bay was starting an undrafted rookie quarterback. None of that mattered, because Dallas never really showed up and dropped to 2-3.
Green Bay, meanwhile, came out and flattened Chicago. That win was easily the Packers’ sharpest showing on both sides of the ball this season, and it pushed plenty of the early doom talk about Green Bay back into the background.
Sunday night at Lambeau Field brings another layer to this matchup, too. The teams met last season and played to a 40-40 tie, but before that, Green Bay had won eight of the previous nine meetings. So when people are picking this one, that history is in the mix.
The matchup concern that stands out most for Dallas is Green Bay’s passing game.
The Packers spent the first four weeks looking out of sync on offense, then found their rhythm against the Bears by lighting them up with the deep ball. That’s a bad development for a Cowboys defense that has had real trouble against the pass all season, sitting 21st in that category. And even that number doesn’t fully capture how shaky it’s looked, since teams have also been able to lean on the ground game against Christian Parker’s unit.
Dallas does have one area where it should feel decent: Green Bay hasn’t done much running the ball. The wrinkle, though, is that the Cowboys have given up a league-worst effort against the run, which turns this into a natural get-right spot for the Packers if they want it.
The flip side is that Green Bay has had its own problems stopping the run, ranking 24th. But Dallas isn’t moving the ball on the ground the way it did a year ago, so whether the Cowboys can actually take advantage of that weakness is very much up in the air.
There’s another wrinkle working against Dallas as well. Green Bay is allowing the fifth-fewest passing yards per game, and if that trend holds while the Cowboys fail to get their run game going, the offense could be stuck in a real grind.
Joey Porter Jr.’s return is expected to help with Dallas’ issues in the passing game, but there’s still the other side of the field to account for, and DaRon Bland has not been able to handle that job. The slot is also a concern if Caleb Downs is still spending most or all of his snaps at safety, which he has been doing amid Dallas’ injuries there.
The Cowboys should score enough to keep things interesting. But there’s real doubt that their secondary and pass rush can slow Green Bay’s passing attack enough to help Dallas come away with the win.
In Other News...
Cowboys May Be Rethinking Caleb Downs At The Worst Time
The Cowboys are heading into their next game against the Green Bay Packers with a notable adjustment in mind for rookie Caleb Downs, with the staff looking at using him differently and potentially sliding him back toward his original spot near the line of scrimmage. It is the kind of tweak that can say as much about where a defense is right now as it does about the player himself, and Dallas is making it with several contributors still sidelined by injuries.
Mike Pettines arrival as a senior defensive assistant adds another layer to the situation, giving the Cowboys another experienced voice as they sort through the latest version of their defensive puzzle. Elsewhere, the roster churn continues to be felt too, with Joe Milton having been signed off Dallas practice squad by the Philadelphia Eagles and now set to face his former team in an upcoming game. [Read more 🡒]
Cowboys Hit With Another Distraction Days Before Packers Game
With the Packers game looming, the Cowboys are dealing with another bit of fallout from their Week 5 win over Tampa Bay. The NFL announced its official disciplinary decisions and fined defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia $11,111 for a facemask penalty tied to unnecessary roughness in the second quarter against the Buccaneers.
The play cost Dallas a 15-yard penalty and an automatic first down for Tampa Bay, adding a little more irritation to a game already full of physical edge. It is the kind of detail that does not change the upcoming matchup on its own, but it does underscore how quickly the margins can become part of the conversation for a team trying to keep its focus on Green Bay. [Read more 🡒]
Former Cowboys Punters Tragic Death Brought An Emotional Family Reflection
Former NFL punter Kasey Redferns death has left a heavy mark on the football community, and for Cowboys fans it adds another somber note to a career that briefly ran through Dallas and several other NFL stops. Redfern, a Wofford product, spent time with the Jaguars, Chargers, Panthers, Browns, Lions, Cowboys and Falcons, a reminder of how many locker rooms he touched during his journey through the league.
Lauryl Redfern had shared updates as he battled brain cancer, offering a window into a fight that had become deeply personal for the family. His passing closes a difficult chapter, but it also underscores how quickly a players NFL story can become something much bigger than football, especially when the people closest to him are left carrying both the memories and the grief. [Read more 🡒]