The Green Bay Packers keep finding ways to win even when the setup is far from ideal, and their 23-13 victory over Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday night fit that mold. The final score made it look tighter than it really was. Green Bay was in control for most of the night and, even with a roster full of bumps and bruises, kept grinding.
It was not a clean performance by any stretch. Matt LaFleur’s offense left plenty on the table. Still, a 4-2 start is hard to nitpick when this team has already been dealing with so many curveballs.
Matthew Golden was right in the middle of that push-and-pull. He kept getting open and made some eye-popping plays early, including his work against Shavon Revel and the Dallas secondary.
But he also had two would-be touchdowns bounce off his hands. The Cowboys did enough on defense to let Green Bay shrug off those misses and keep rolling, though against a stronger defense those drops could loom larger.
Even so, Golden still finished with 104 yards and a touchdown in primetime.
There was also a sobering night for MarShawn Lloyd. With Josh Jacobs out because of off-field trouble, this was the kind of moment many expected Lloyd to seize.
Instead, he carried the ball five times for just four yards and even lost touches to career backup Pierre Strong Jr. If Jacobs doesn’t return and dominate right away, Green Bay may have to live with some rough outings on the ground for a while.
The Packers’ defense, meanwhile, got strong contributions from a pair of names that may not stay under the radar much longer. Evan Williams and Brandon Cisse both intercepted Prescott, with Cisse recording the first pick of his career. Alongside Javon Bullard, they helped show off the depth and quality in that secondary during one of Green Bay’s better defensive efforts.
That same game also offered a few rough reminders about familiar faces on the other side of the ledger. Kenny Clark, now in Dallas after the Micah Parsons trade, had a solid revenge game against his former team.
But Rashan Gary and Cowboys defensive assistant Mike Pettine had quieter nights. Green Bay moving on from both of them looks increasingly justified, especially with Gary offering only so much as a run defender while his pass-rushing impact stayed muted.
Dallas, for its part, kept surrendering chunk plays through the air and failing to adjust, which called back some of the issues associated with Pettine’s time in Green Bay.
Jonathan Gannon deserves plenty of credit for the way this defense handled the Cowboys. His reputation took a hit during his run as head coach of the Arizona Cardinals, but he is quickly showing why the Packers wanted him.
Against Dallas, his group put Prescott and the offense in a bind for most of the night. Prescott threw two interceptions, including one erased by penalty, and the Cowboys’ run game never really got going.
Whether Gannon can keep producing that kind of result when the pressure rises is still to be seen, but the fit has been excellent so far.
And there is the larger picture: the NFC North is there for the taking. The division may end up being the strongest in football, but each team has a glaring flaw.
The Vikings still haven’t broken out of their offensive rut. The Lions’ secondary is thin.
The Bears remain all over the place from week to week, even with Caleb Williams. Green Bay has holes too, especially in the trenches on both sides, but games like this show the ceiling when Jordan Love is rolling and Gannon can unleash the creative stuff with a lead.
A championship push may be too much to ask right now, but if the Packers can hold things together until Parsons is back, they could be headed in the right direction.
In Other News...
Packers Fans Have Every Reason To Be Fed Up With This Rule
Week 6 gave Packers fans another reason to grumble about the NFLs roughing-the-passer standard, and it came on a play that looked like it should have swung momentum the other way. On a Dallas drop back, Green Bay got what appeared to be a key turnover, only for the sequence to be undone by a roughing-the-passer flag that immediately reignited the familiar argument over how the league applies the rule.
The frustration was especially sharp because it was not an isolated moment. A similar call also surfaced in the Chiefs game the same week, and both penalties erased interceptions in plays that had the feel of game-changing snaps. Green Bay still won, but the broader issue lingered afterward, since fans were left wondering why the league keeps turning potentially decisive defensive plays into discussion points instead of takeaways. [Read more 🡒]
Dak Prescott Took A Scary Hit And Green Bay Capitalized
Dak Prescott absorbed a heavy shot to the ribs at Lambeau Field, the kind of hit that briefly quiets a stadium and leaves everyone watching to see how a quarterback responds. Packers linebacker Zaire Franklin delivered the blow, and Prescott was slow to get up before staying in the game, a sign of how physical the afternoon had become in Green Bay.
Prescott later said he was winded, and the Cowboys kept him on the field as the game moved on. He did not go for x-rays after the hit, and the next snap brought an interception, with Prescott appearing affected the rest of the way as Green Bay kept pressing its advantage. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Fans Immediately Feared The Worst After Tucker Kraft Went Down
A tense first half in Dallas delivered the kind of moment Packers fans dread, when Tucker Kraft went down after taking a hit to the knee and had to make his way to the bench while limping. The injury came as Green Bay tried to keep its offense moving, and the sight of one of Jordan Loves trusted targets walking off with a leg issue immediately shifted attention away from the scoreboard.
For now, the only thing clear is that the Packers are waiting for more information once the game reaches halftime, with the severity of Krafts injury still not known. Amid that uncertainty, Love did have reason to single out Matthew Golden, whose play on offense stood out in a first half that could have used a little more calm and a lot less concern. [Read more 🡒]