For the second time this season, the Dallas Cowboys found themselves in a thrilling overtime game at AT&T Stadium. This time, however, they couldn’t quite get the win, tying the Green Bay Packers, 40-40. This marked the Cowboys’ first tie since the 1969 season.
With the spotlight leading up to the game focused on who was no longer on the team, the Cowboys entered this Sunday night showdown against Green Bay with seemingly something to prove. And they gave the heavily favored Packers all they could handle.
Quarterback Dak Prescott was simply brilliant, completing 77.5 percent of his passes for 319 yards with three touchdown passes and no interceptions for a 124.9 passer rating. He also had a rushing score, marking the 22nd time in his career he has earned both in a game, the most in Cowboys history and tied for third among NFL quarterbacks since 2016.
George Pickens, stepping up for the injured CeeDee Lamb, had several key connections with Prescott, the receiver finishing with 134 receiving yards and two touchdowns. But he wasn’t the only one as Jalen Tolbert totaled 61 receiving yards and tight end Jake Ferguson added 40 and a touchdown. And on the ground, Javonte Williams continued his impressive season, averaging 4.3 yards per carry on his way to an 85-yard rushing effort with his own score.
In the end, though, the Cowboys defense couldn’t get the stops the team so desperately needed as Green Bay put up points on all four of its second-half possessions plus the overtime period, a total of 27. Packers quarterback Jordan Love ended the night with 337 yards passing and three touchdowns and no picks as well for a 118.1 rating, but receiver Romeo Doubs proved to be the real thorn in the Cowboys’ side. He hauled in a career-high three touchdown passes on the night.
Dallas scored on 4 of its 5 trips to the red zone, racked up 436 yards on offense and had possession for 34:27. But Green Bay was good on 5 of 6 red zone trips, totaled 489 yards and finished with a 35:33 time of possession mark. It was just that kind of night.
First Quarter
The start of this game certainly wasn’t what Dallas had in mind as the big play, which has plagued the team throughout this young season, reared its ugly head again. On the Packers’ third snap from scrimmage, Love threw deep to not one but two open Green Bay receivers with Matthew Golden recording the catch for a 46-yard gain. Soon enough, the visitors had the game’s first touchdown, thanks to a 2-yard catch by Doubs.
And while the Cowboys forced a punt on the Packers’ next possession, Prescott and company had yet to get any rhythm going on the offensive side of the ball.
Second Quarter
Green Bay was on the march again as the game moved into the second quarter, running back Emmanuel Wilson having taken a screen pass for 25 yards. That gave the Packers gains of at least 15 yards in the first quarter alone.
The Cowboys, though, appeared to have a much-needed interception when Trevon Diggs dove in front of the receiver on a would-be pick. Instead, Dallas was flagged for 12 men on the field, negating the turnover.
Given new life, the Packers found the end zone again. A 29-yard run by Chris Brooks got Green Bay to the Cowboys’ 1-yard line, and then Love threw a quick slant to Doubs for the score. But Juanyeh Thomas blocked the extra point, and Markquese Bell corralled the ball and raced to the goal line for two points, Dallas getting on the board, 13-2. It was the first defensive two-point conversion in franchise history.
But another big play on the Cowboys’ ensuing possession was nullified by another penalty. Prescott found Turpin downfield for what would have been a 23-yard gain, but Nate Thomas, who was in at right tackle for Terence Steele, got the flag. That, of course, led to another punt.
Making matters worse, Malik Hooker limped off the field with a toe injury during the Packers’ next possession. He soon headed to the locker room and did not return.
And then seemingly out of nowhere, the momentum swung completely behind the Cowboys. It started when Dallas got the ball back at its own 5-yard line with 5:50 left in the half. Prescott went to work, methodically taking his side down the field by completing all seven of his passes for 83 yards. The drive started with a quick 14-yard pass to Pickens with Prescott’s last throw of the series being a 28-yarder that saw the same wideout make a spectacular sideline catch.
Prescott then capped the 11-play, 95-yard drive with a quarterback draw from the 2-yard line, bullying his way across the goal line for the score.
Dallas wasn’t done, though. When Love then dropped back to pass from his own 27-yard line, defensive end James Houston stripped ball and fell on the fumble to give the Cowboys the ball at the Green Bay 15-yard line with 13 second remaining.
On the very next snap, Prescott then found Pickens in the middle of the end zone for the team’s second touchdown, the Cowboys going into the break with an improbable 16-13 lead.
Third Quarter
The Cowboys didn’t immediately carry that momentum into the third quarter, but they soon found it again.
After Dallas was forced to punt on its opening series, the Packers came right back with a nine-play, 76-yard drive to retake the lead. Green Bay had gains of 14, 19 and 14 yards during the series with 15 more coming on a Cowboys face mask penalty. The score then came when running back Josh Jacobs powered up the middle from the 1-yard line.
But the Cowboys responded with a 12-play, 80-yard drive of their own with Prescott completing 8 of 9 pass attempts for 60 yards. Along the way, he found Turpin for a big 15-yard gain on third-and-6 before eventually finishing off the drive with an 8-yard dart to Ferguson for the touchdown, the Cowboys back on top, 23-20.
Fourth Quarter
Now a seesaw battle, it was Green Bay’s turn, and the visitors used their next possession to again score. The big blow came when Love scrambled for 25 yards with a defensive holding call adding another five. Set up at the Cowboys’ 32-yard line, the Packers were across the goal line five plays later. Jacobs broke through the line, juked the secondary and ran the final 18 yards for the touchdown.
So the home team took its turn. Getting the ball with 11:34 remaining, Dallas went on an extended 14-play drive that ate 6:49 off the clock. Prescott continued his brilliant play, but this time it was Williams doing the heavy lifting. The running back had six runs, including the final four of the series, for a total of 29 yards. He took a direct snap from the 1-yard line and muscled his way across the goal line for the touchdown, the Cowboys ahead again, 30-27.
Could the Dallas defense now get a stop? In a recurring theme, they couldn’t. A missed pass breakup and a missed tackled led to first downs, but a personal foul penalty on linebacker Marist Liufau proved critical. That additional 15 yards moved Green Bay to the Dallas 29, and from there, Green Bay eventually reached the end zone with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Love to Doubs.
With the extra point, the Cowboys had one more chance, down by four. And Turpin got things going with a 46-yard kickoff return that put Prescott and company at their own 47 with 1:38 left in the game.
That was plenty of time. The Cowboys needed only four plays to cross the goal line after Prescott hit Ferguson for seven, Tolbert for 19 and finally Pickens, who took the pass on the left side, spun away from the defender and then sped down the sideline 28 yards to the pylon for his second touchdown of the night.
Now leading 37-34, the Cowboys had to hold on for 35 seconds after Brandon Aburey’s kickoff. But although Green Bay started at its own 26-yard line, a swing pass to Jacobs on the first snap picked up 25 yards to the Dallas 49. And they eventually worked forward to the Cowboys’ 35-yard line where, with four second left, Packers kicker Brandon McManus was good from 53 yards to send the game into overtime, 37-37.
Overtime
Getting the ball first, the Cowboys wasted no time marching down the field again. On third-and-5 at the Dallas 36-yard line, he again connected with Pickens for a 22-yard gain and then threw a 34-yard completion to Tolbert, who made a beautiful catch by coming back to the ball and keeping both toes in bounds to put the Cowboys at the Green Bay 5. But the Cowboys couldn’t punch it in from there, having to settle for a 22-yard field goal from Aubrey to jump ahead, 40-37.
Needless to say, the pressure was really on the Dallas defense now. And the Cowboys looked like they might get the job done when the Packers faced a fourth-and-6 at their own 24-yard line. But a 14-yard pass moved the chains, and from there, the Cowboys could never recover.
Green Bay quickly worked its way down the field and found itself with a first down at the Dallas 12-yard line. And the defense almost had the stop when Love’s pass to the end zone with six seconds left was broken up by Jack Sanborn.
Unfortunately, one second remained on the clock, which allowed McManus to kick a 34-yard field goal to end the game in a tie, 40-40.
