Aaron’s World: Jones thrives and Packers survive at Dallas

AT&T Stadium is known as Jerry’s World but it might as well be Aaron’s World. Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers won Super Bowl XLV at the stadium, and posted victories over the Dallas Cowboys in 2016 and 2017.

It was Aaron’s World again on Sunday – but this time it was Aaron Jones’ World. Jones tied a franchise record with four rushing touchdowns as Green Bay upset Dallas 34-24 to improve to 4-1 on the season.

“We have that chemistry that maybe we’ve been lacking,” Rodgers said, pointing to outside linebackers Za'Darius Smith and Preston Smith for the “vibe” of the team.

Rodgers called Jones the “hot hand,” and he was sizzling. He rushed 19 times for 107 yards and the barrage of touchdowns and had team-leading figures of seven receptions for 75 yards.

Jones’ final touchdown run gave Green Bay a 31-3 lead late in the third quarter but Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott took over. Despite facing a strong pass rush, he threw a 40-yard touchdown pass to Michael Gallup and a 53-yard touchdown pass to Amari Cooper, with the latter cutting the margin to 34-24 with 7:46 remaining in the game.

Dallas pushed into the red zone on its next possession but the drive bogged down and kicker Brett Maher missed an easy 33-yard field goal wide right to seal the victory for Green Bay.

Rodgers didn't throw a touchdown pass, and he wasn't the singular star like he was in the 2016 playoff win against the Cowboys, but he was beaming in his postgame press conference.

“Days like today,” Rodgers said, “it’s not the greatest statistical game for myself but I feel like I played my best game of the season (with) the way that I was moving and seeing things. I’ve accomplished a lot statistically in this league. I just want to win now.”

Fourth quarter

Packers 34, Cowboys 24

The score: Dak Prescott threw a 53-yard touchdown pass to receiver Amari Cooper to get the Cowboys back into the game with 7:46 remaining.

The key play: On the touchdown, Cooper badly beat cornerback Jaire Alexander. Alexander compounded it by missing a tackle at about the Cowboys’ 30 and safety Will Redmond missed another tackle around the 5. That gave Cooper 11 receptions for 226 yards and pushed Prescott’s total to 424 yards.

Packers 34, Cowboys 17

The score: Mason Crosby drilled a 38-yard field goal with 8:07 remaining, a huge kick to give the Packers a three-score lead.

The key play: Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott had gotten hot, making a series of big throws under pressure in leading the Cowboys back from a 31-3 deficit. But given time, he threw the ball right to Packers cornerback Kevin King. Dallas receiver Michael Gallup turned left but the ball went right. King’s return to the Dallas 29 put the Packers in scoring position.

Packers 31, Cowboys 17

The score: Ezekiel Elliott ran through Dean Lowry for a 2-yard touchdown with 13:52 remaining to help slice Green Bay’s 28-point lead in half.

The key plays: On back-to-back plays, the Cowboys were bailed out by penalties. On first-and-goal at the 5, the shotgun snap struck receiver Randall Cobb. Za’Darius Smith recovered but the Cowboys benefitted from their own false-start penalty. On the next play, a hands-to-the-face penalty on Smith nullified safety Will Redmond’s end-zone interception. That gave Dallas a first-and-goal at the 2 and set up Elliott’s score.

Third quarter

Packers 31, Cowboys 10

The score: Despite a big pass rush by defensive tackle Kingsley Keke, Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott hit receiver Michael Gallup for a 40-yard touchdown.

The key play: Keke’s rush forced Prescot to essentially throw a jump ball but Gallup maneuvered past defensive back Tramon Williams to make the grab, then pulled away from Williams’ tackle attempt for the touchdown. Dallas then forced a three-and-out to keep faint hopes alive at the end of the quarter.

Packers 31, Cowboys 3

The score: El Paso native Aaron Jones had one heck of a homecoming. Jones ran over safety Jeff Heath for a 1-yard touchdown with 3:30 left in the third quarter. It was Jones’ fourth rushing touchdown of the game, tying a franchise record held by Jim Taylor, among others. The last player to do it was Dorsey Levens in 2000.

The key plays: Aaron Rodgers probably should have had a 64-yard touchdown pass to Marquez Valdes-Scantling but had to settle for a 39-yard gain on pass interference by Dallas defensive back Anthony Brown. That gave Green Bay a first down at Dallas’ 25.

Packers 24, Cowboys 3

The score: Dallas finally got on the board on Brett Maher’s 36-yard field goal with 5:54 remaining.

The key plays: A 25-yard completion from Dak Prescot to Randall Cobb gave the Cowboys a first-and-goal at the 7 but the Packers rose to the occasion. First, safety Will Redmond – playing for injured starter Darnell Savage – single-handedly defeated an option run. On second down, Za’Darius Smith threw aside backup left tackle Cameron Fleming and sacked Prescott for a loss of 9. On third down, Smith and Kyler Fackrell pressured Prescott into an incompletion.

Packers 24, Cowboys 0

The score: Aaron Jones scored his third touchdown of the day, literally waving bye-bye to standout Cowboys defensive back Byron Jones on his way to the end one with a 5-yard score. Receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling delivered a key block against safety Darian Thompson, allowing Jones to get the corner. He became the first Packers running back since Ahman Green against Washington in 2002 to rush for three touchdowns in a game.

The big plays: The Packers have been horrible on third down for most of the season and were only 1-of-4 in the first half. On third-and-4, Aaron Rodgers fired a slant to Jones, who almost dropped it but held on for a gain of 12. A few plays later, on third-and-2, receiver Geronimo Allison was wide open on a post for a gain of 22.

Halftime

Packers 17, Cowboys 0

The opportunistic Packers defense was back at work. After getting pushed around by the Eagles in last week’s 31-24 loss, the Packers had two interceptions, two third-down sacks and a key third-down pressure with Dallas in scoring position late in the half.

Thus, the Packers had a 17-point lead despite a 218-215 edge in total yardage.

Aaron Jones had a huge half to carry the offense. After averaging just 3.3 yards in the first four games, Jones carried nine times for 66 yards and two touchdowns and four receptions for 48 yards.

Dallas had a chance to score late in the half. On second-and-5 from Green Bay’s 36, Kyler Fackrell pressured Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott to force an incompletion. On third down, a well-timed blitz had linebacker Blake Martinez and safety Adrian Amos coming free. Cowboys running back Ezekiel Elliott picked up Martinez and Amos hit Prescott for the incompletion. Brett Maher missed a 54-yard field goal.

Defensive backs Jaire Alexander and Chandon Sullivan had interceptions for the Packers. Under defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, the Packers entered the game with a 7-1-1 record when intercepting at least one pass.

Second quarter

Packers 17, Cowboys 0

The score: The Packers had first-and-goal at the 1 but, like last week against Philadelphia, couldn’t get it into the end zone. After a minus-1 for Aaron Jones, Aaron Rodgers went play-action on second down but didn’t have anyone open. On third down, his quick pass to Allison hit Cowboys DE Robert Quinn in the head.

The big plays: Right off the bat, it was Jones and Jones again. On first down from the 19, Rodgers caught a bad shotgun snap by fill-in center Lucas Patrick, handed it to Jones and let Jones do the rest, with a cutback run of 16. On the next play, Rodgers checked it down sidearm to Jones, who broke a tackle at the line of scrimmage and gained 22. Jimmy Graham had a great block. Including a spinning run to the 5 in which Jones gained 7 by breaking two tackles, Jones has eight missed tackles in the first half, by my count.

First quarter

Packers 14, Cowboys 0

The score: Aaron Jones struck again, following blocks from center Corey Linsley and right guard Billy Turner and a pancake of stud linebacker Leighton Vander Esch by rookie guard Elgton Jenkins to score from the 3. The Packers drove 89 yards and scored with 3 seconds to go in the quarter.

The big plays: Aaron Rodgers extended plays twice early in the series to hit his tight ends for big plays. On first down from the 11, Rodgers moved to his right and hit Jimmy Graham for 23. Two plays later, Rodgers escaped a potential sack and flipped a pass up the right sideline to Robert Tonyan, who made an acrobatic catch against safety Xavier Woods for a gain of 23 more.

Packers 7, Cowboys 0

The score: The Packers drove 53 yards on five plays, punctuated by Aaron Jones’ 18-yard touchdown run.

The big play: The Cowboys were on their way to an opening touchdown – and might have scored it had Amari Cooper not dropped a perfectly thrown pass by Dak Prescott. Instead, he dropped it and the ball bounced right to cornerback Jaire Alexander, who returned it 29 yards to the Cowboys’ 47. On the touchdown, coming on second-and-10 from the 18, he cut behind right guard Billy Turner, then stiff-armed the defender around the 6 and waltzed in from there.

Inactives

WR Davante Adams (toe), cornerback Tony Brown (hamstring), G Cole Madison, G/T Adam Pankey, RB Dexter Williams, RB Jamaal Williams (concussion), OLB Tim Williams.

The two noteworthy parts: First, cornerback Kevin King (groin) went from doubtful on Friday to questionable on Saturday to active on Sunday. Second, even with Jamaal Williams out, sixth-round rookie Dexter Williams can't get on the 46-man roster. Tra Carson, who had been on the practice squad, was activated on Saturday and jumped into the No. 2 position behind Aaron Jones, as we predicted.

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