Cowboys-Packers Historic Tie: Two Takeaways From Dallas’ Wild Shootout

The Dallas Cowboys walked away with an improbable 40-40 tie against the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football, marking the highest scoring game in NFL history to end in a tie.

Dallas is now 1-2-1 on the season and has displayed multiple trends through many of these games, with the team likely needing to win the majority of games moving forward in a shootout manner.

Luckily, these trends should help Dallas prepare for games during the rest of the 2025 regular season.

With that in mind, here are the two biggest takeaways from another Cowboys shootout:

Offense Shines, Defense Faulters (Again)

Through the first four weeks of the season, the Cowboys have established themselves as one of the best offenses in the entire league.

Entering Monday Night Football, Dallas leads the NFL in several offensive statistics, with the Cowboys pacing the league in both passing yards (281.3) and total yards per game (404.3).

Additionally, Dallas ranks 12th in the league in rushing yards per game (123) and eighth in total touchdowns (12) despite playing multiple stout defensive units to open the season.

Generally, this offensive output should be enough to help a team win games and compete for a spot in the postseason; however, that may be difficult due to the defense’s disastrous start.

Through the first four weeks of the season, the Cowboys have the worst defense in the NFL, and it has not been close.

Dallas is currently last in the NFL in yards per game allowed (420.5), tied for last in passing touchdowns allowed (10), second-to-last in passer rating allowed (123), and last in 40+ yard passing plays allowed (7).

These performances have included Dallas allowing at least 30 points in each of the last three matchups, resulting in the team ranking second-to-last in the league in points per game allowed at 33.

The lone bright spot in this Cowboys unit comes from the rushing defense, which has shown slight improvement compared to last season.

However, the team still ranks near the middle of the league in several defensive rushing statistics, indicating that the improvement has not been significant enough to consistently slow down rushing attacks.

Moving forward, Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus must find answers to slow down opposing teams or risk wasting one of the most explosive offenses in the league.

Special Teams Stepping Up

Although the Cowboys’ defense has struggled to remain effective during the first quarter of the season, the special teams unit has continued to shine in multiple ways.

Unsurprisingly, Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey has been incredible to open the season , currently making every extra point attempt and going 9/9 on field goals, including making all four of his attempts from over 50 yards.

On multiple kickoffs, Aubrey managed to kick the ball to a perfect location and force the Packers to take a touchback inside the endzone, resulting in Green Bay starting the drive at the 20-yard line rather than the 25-yard line.

These types of plays completely shift the level of aggression that opposing teams must use to open a drive, allowing Dallas to be more aggressive and force the Packers into additional offensive plays.

In addition to Aubrey, the rest of the Cowboys’ special teams unit shone in Week 4 against the Packers.

After the defense allowed a second touchdown to open the game, the Cowboys’ special teams blocked an extra point by Green Bay and ran the ball back to the opposite end zone for two points.

While two points may not seem important early in a shootout, this singular play completely changed the game script and helped keep the Cowboys tied with the Packers through various portions of the game.

Cowboys punter Bryan Anger also managed to send his four punts a total of 190 yards, often forcing the Packers to start deep in their own territory and work their way up the field.

Additionally, the Cowboys allowed an average of just 5.3 yards per punt return, helping keep the Packers away from the end zone during one of the most crucial phases of the game.

Dallas has clear issues on the defensive side of the ball, but the special teams unit has quickly found itself as one of the better units in the league.