Week 6 Game Recap: Dallas Cowboys v Greenbay Packers

Cowboys win 30- 16.

What a dominate display by the Cowboys, again being guided around the field by two rookies. A surprising result considering the Packers at home are traditionally very difficult to beat. This was again all down to the Cowboys running game and the brilliant play by Dak Prescott.

The game started with what seems to be a staple of the Cowboys opening drives, a five-minute drive that results in points. The opening drive from the Cowboys had a variety of different plays, in which the Packers had no answer for. The Cowboys finished with Dak throwing a lovely pass to Cole Beasley. Beasley is becoming quiet a matchup dilemma for opposing defences, his speed and ability to get open, makes it easy for Dak to find him on short to intermediate routes.

The Packers seemingly could not find the consistency to get down the field and find the end zone. Being restricted to one field goal in the first half, and then turning the ball over on the next drive. The turn overs by the Packers killed their momentum today, and some costly and uncharacteristic mistakes by Aaron Rodgers ensured that the Packers couldn’t keep up with the Cowboys.

The second quarter was a must closer affair, with both defences doing well to restrict the opposition. Both offences had to settle for field goals in the second, yet at the very end of the quarter Prescott lead a 95-yard drive that resulted in a 20-yard touchdown to Brice Butler. Prescott showed his poise and maturity to drive the length of the field and give his team a 7-point lead going into the half.

The Packers came out in the third quarter and picked up were they left off, mounting lethargic drives that ended in turnovers. On a pivotal play on the Cowboys five-yard line, Aaron Rodgers fumbled the ball on a designed quarter back run. This play optimised the play calling for the Packers and execution on the day. Eddy Lacy was productive on the day, yet was not used enough and should have definitely been there on the 5-yard line to punch the ball in. The third quarter also saw Dak Prescott’s first intercept, breaking the record which he now holds at 176 passes completed without an intercept in their first games in the NFL. An impressive feat, considering the second highest player on that list is the future hall of famer Tom Brady.

Zeke Elliot also got going during this game, whilst he was held relativity in check through the first two quarters, he completely dominated the Packers defence by the end of this game. The Packers came into this game only allowing 167 rushing yard total for the season, the Cowboys finished the day with 191 rushing yards, Elliot owned 157 of these. Again the Cowboys mantra of being ultra physical on the line of scrimmage was just too much for the Packers to contain.

Whilst Rodgers did find Randall Cobb in the fourth quarter for a touch down, it was all too late, as Dak had previously found a wide open Cole Beasley for a touch down. The box scores suggest a closer game that it actually was, the Cowboys simply dominated the Packers on both sides of the ball.

An incredibly impressive victory for the Cowboys to go Lambeau field and walk away with the win. But this victory also speaks to the dominance and complete emergence of Prescott, if people had any doubts about his ability to play in the NFL, today he put all those doubts to rest. It looks like no defense can figure out how to stop this simple offensive plan that the Cowboys employ, it’s a physical and ultra violent way in which to run the ball and starve the opposition team of time with the ball, but no one yet has had the formula to stop it. Elliot looked amazing again, now having four consecutive games with over 130 rushing yards. The Cowboys defence also needs credit for this victory, whilst their secondary is showing improvement, the major star on the defence is Sean Lee. His energy and ability to make hits across the field sets the tempo for this defense that lacks a true pass rush at the moment. The Cowboys go into their bye week at 5-1 and full of confidence.

The Packers on the other hand are uncharacteristically playing without an explosive offensive punch. Their defense is a good enough unit, but without a dominate offense they will struggle, as they cannot spend as much time as they did on the field today and still be expected to make game changing plays. The offense looks like it could be in trouble, as we have seen in the past few weeks Rodgers is not looking like his usual MVP self. More involvement of Eddy Lacy is crucial, but outside of this, a lot of the problems are associated with the quarter back. Today he had so much time in the pocket, yet still missed open receivers and forced himself into more difficult situations. This team needs to get its offense sorted, if they are to make a deep run in the playoffs.