The Green Bay Packers (4-6) scored a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns and then beat Mike McCarthy’s Dallas Cowboys (6-3) in overtime to avoid a sixth-straight loss and potentially provide a season-changing win on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Here’s the good, the bad and the ugly from the Packers’ overtime win over the Cowboys:
The Good
Christian Watson, Rudy Ford and the run game: Watson caught three touchdown passes, including two in the fourth quarter and two over 30 yards. Ford intercepted two passes, including one in the end zone to prevent the Cowboys from going up two scores in the first half. The Packers also rushed for over 200 yards, including 138 from running back Aaron Jones. Matt LaFleur’s team got big plays down the field, timely takeaways (including a fourth-down stop in overtime) and a consistently effective run game. Throw in the best game of the season for Aaron Rodgers, and this is a true formula for winning football games for the 2022 Packers.
The Bad
Late first half defense. The Packers took a 14-7 lead with 1:42 left in the second quarter and were planning to receive the ball to start the second half with the lead and all the momentum. Instead, Dak Prescott led a stress-free drive down the field in just 1:34 to tie the game with eight seconds before the half. Prescott completed six passes, many against soft coverage, to drive the 66 yards needed to score. The big play was a 23-yard completion to Michael Gallup against Rasul Douglas with 19 seconds left. Dalton Schultz scored two plays later. This was a game-changing sequence; the Packers punted to start the second half and the spiral began.
The Ugly
Amari Rodgers returning punts. Blame Rich Bisaccia. Despite four fumbles in the first nine games, the Packers special teams coordinator kept running out Rodgers to return punts, mirroring the definition of insanity. And, predictably, he fumbled again, and this one turned the game on its head. The Cowboys recovered, quickly scored, and the rout appeared to be on. A drive later, Dallas scored again to go up 28-14. The Packers were able to overcome this 21-point swing (including the final drive to end the first half), but Rodgers’ fumble could have easily been the season-ending mistake for this team. After the fumble, Bisaccia replaced Rodgers with Keisean Nixon. The Packers desperately need a punt returner.
