Packers at Cowboys Big Three Sunday Night Game Preview

The Green Bay Packers (2-1) will look to rebound from their loss to the Browns when they face the Dallas Cowboys (1-2) on Sunday night at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

Here are three players to watch for the Cowboys, three players to watch for the Packers, a look at the three phases and three keys for a Green Bay victory.

Time, TV, Weather for Packers-Cowboys

Date and Time: Sunday at 7:20 p.m.

TV: NBC, with Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth on the call and Melissa Stark on the sideline.

Betting Line: Packers are 6.5-point favorites at FanDuel Sportsbook.

Weather: Partly cloudy with an evening temperature of 71 degrees and a southeast wind at 6 mph, according to Accuweather, though the roof at AT&T Stadium might be closed.

Matchup History: The Packers lead the series 22-17 and have won five in a row and 10 of the last 11 matchups. The Packers are undefeated in AT&T Stadium, winning all five of their games in Arlington since the stadium was built. They have scored at least 34 points in all five games.

Packers-Cowboys: Three Players to Watch for Dallas

1. TE Jake Ferguson

Dallas Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson makes a touchdown catch against the Green Bay Packers in their 2023 wild-card game. | Tim Heitman-Imagn Images

Jake Ferguson, who played his college ball at Wisconsin, has emerged as one of the better tight ends in the NFL and is one of the more reliable options in the Cowboys’ passing attack. Among tight ends, he is No. 1 with 27 catches – eight more than any other player at the position – and second with 183 yards.

Ferguson leads the Cowboys in catches and is second only to All-Pro receiver CeeDee Lamb in yards. Lamb suffered a high-ankle sprain last week against the Bears and is expected to miss four to six weeks. With the Cowboys’ best receiver going down, Ferguson should see even more opportunities than he already was getting.

In the 2023 playoffs, Ferguson caught 10 passes for 93 yards and three touchdowns against Green Bay.

2. WR George Pickens

Similar to Ferguson, George Pickens is expected to get the ball even more with Lamb being out.

Pickens has built up a rapport with Dak Prescott after being traded from the Steelers to the Cowboys in May. Picks is third on the team with 13 receptions and 166 receiving yards and has two of Prescott’s three touchdown passes.

The 6-foot-3 Pickens has shown that he is one of the best receivers in football when it comes to hands and body control, continually making incredible catches, including a one-handed touchdown catch against the Bears. Now, he will be catapulted into the WR1 spot, so he will have more opportunities to connect with Prescott.

3. RB Javonte Williams

Javonte Williams, who was a second-round pick by the Broncos in 2021, is on his way to a career year in his debut season with the Cowboys.

Williams rushed for 903 yards as a rookie but missed most of his second season due to injury. Williams rushed for 774 yards with a 3.6-yard average in 2023 and 513 yards and a 3.7-yard average in 2024.

In three games with Dallas, he has rushed for 227 yards with a 5.3-yard average. His three touchdown runs are only one off his career high. He is seventh in the league in rushing yards and is tied for third in touchdowns.

Without Lamb and to protect their defense, the Cowboys may want to lean on their running game even more.

Packers-Cowboys: Three Players to Watch for Green Bay

1. DE Micah Parsons

Micah Parsons will be making his return to Dallas, where he spent the first four years of his career before being traded to the Packers in late August.

Parsons has had a huge impact on the defense. Among all edge defenders with at least 60 pass-rushing opportunities, Parsons is third in pass-rush win rate, according to Pro Football Focus. The attention he draws creates opportunities for others, as well, and is a big reason why the Packers are 10th in the league with 10 sacks despite him only recording 1.5.

While Parsons is downplaying his return to Dallas as “just another game,” he should have a big impact on the matchup and should be flying all over the field as he continues to get into top shape after missing training camp and settles further into the Packers defense.

On Sunday night, it's The Micah Parsons Bowl, with superstar #Packers pass rusher returning to Dallas to face the Cowboys.

“I feel like it’s just going to be another game for me,” he said.

Really? ⬇️https://t.co/YrYeUgztTk
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) September 25, 2025

2. WR Matthew Golden

Matthew Golden started showing flashes of his full potential against the Browns, and the Packers will be looking to get him going against the Cowboys’ struggling secondary.

Golden led the Packers in receiving yards against the Browns, when they couldn’t really get the ball moving, and ended up having their longest play of the game with a 34-yard catch on third down.

While he has yet to find the endzone, the Cowboys’ secondary has struggled this season, giving up 450 passing yards and three touchdowns against the Giants’ Russell Wilson and 298 passing yards and four touchdowns against the Bears’ Caleb Williams. The Cowboys have had problems with giving up big plays – four Bears players had catches of longer than 30 yards last week – which Golden should be able to take advantage of.

3. The Offensive Line

It may not be one player, but the Packers’ offensive line needs to bounce back in a big way after its poor showing in Cleveland.

After being one of the better units in the NFL going into Week 3, the Packers allowed five sacks and six tackles for losses and was guilty of five penalties. PFF charged the unit with 17 pressures. While the Browns defensive front is an elite unit, it was one of the worst performances the Packers’ offensive line has put up in a long time.

The Packers should have an easier matchup this week against Dallas, which has only four sacks, though injuries could be a major factor. Right tackle Zach Tom will miss the game after being unable to play through an oblique injury last week, left guard Aaron Banks missed the second half last week due to a groin injury and didn’t practice on Wednesday, and left tackle Rasheed Walker and rookie tackle Anthony Belton popped up on the injury report, as well.

Packers-Cowboys: The Three Phases

Cowboys on Offense

With Dak Prescott missing the second half of last season due to a hamstring injury, the Cowboys finished last year ranked 16th with 327.5 yards per game and 21st with 20.6 points per game, a big reason why they ended the season 7-10 and missed the playoffs.

The Cowboys are better this season, ranking fourth with 393.7 yards per game and 10th with 24.7 points per game. Those averages are skewed by their Week 2 performance in which they put up 478 yards and 40 points in an overtime win over the Giants. In their losses to the Eagles in Week 1 and Bears in Week 3, they averaged just over 350 yards and just 17 points, which would drop them to 10th in total offense and 28th in scoring.

Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) drops back to pass against the Chicago Bears during the first half at Soldier Field. | Matt Marton-Imagn Images

The Cowboys’ offense has been led by their passing attack, which averages 268 yards per game. Prescott has thrown for 800 yards through three games, the fourth-highest in the league. He has attempted 126 passes, which ties him with Joe Flacco for the most in the league. Two of his three interceptions came last week.

While their passing attack has been the driving force of their offense, they will play without one of their key players in receiver CeeDee Lamb following his high-ankle sprain against Chicago. Prescott still has solid weapons, though, led by receiver George Pickens, who led the NFL in yards per catch with the Steelers in 2023, and tight end Jake Ferguson, who caught 13 passes last week.

Losing Lamb could also mean that the Cowboys can lean on their running game. Their rushing offense was 27th last season with Rico Dowdle and Ezekiel Elliott in the backfield. Led by Javonte Williams, the Cowboys are 11th in rushing and second in yards per carry this season.

Cowboys on Defense

The Cowboys have one of the worst defenses in the league. They are 27th with 30.7 points allowed per game and 30th with 397.7 yards allowed per game.

Their biggest problem is their passing defense. They have allowed 288.0 yards per game through the air, the most in the league by 22.0 yards. They are also near the bottom of the NFL in sacks, so opposing quarterbacks have for the most part been working with clean pockets and lots of time to throw. A lot of these issues are due to losing Micah Parsons and not having a suitable replacement.

The Cowboys’ secondary, which features a pair of former All-Pro cornerbacks, is going into this week banged up. Trevon Diggs didn’t practice on Wednesday due to a shoulder injury and DaRon Bland was limited by a foot injury.

Kenny Clark, who was part of the Parsons trade, left their game against the Bears with an injury but was able to return in the fourth quarter. He has one of the team’s three sacks.

Cowboys on Special Teams

The Cowboys have arguably the best kicker in the NFL in Brandon Aubrey. He is perfect this season, making all six of his extra points and eight field goals. He has incredible range, going 4-of-4 from 50-plus yards this season, including a 64-yarder against the Giants.

The punter is veteran Bryan Anger. He ranks in the middle off the pack in average (47.5 yards) and net average (38.9 yards). He has put three of his punts inside the 20 and has yet to give up a touchback. Five of his punts have been returned for 69 yards.

KaVontae Turpin is the reigning first-team All-Pro returner. While he’s made a minimal impact this season (23.0 average on kickoff returns, 10.0 average on punt returns), he led the NFL with a 33.5-yard average on kickoff returns last season and had a touchdown in both phases.

Packers-Cowboys: Three Keys to Victory

1. The Offensive Line:

Green Bay’s offensive line needs to be play better than it did last week. First, it must sort through the injuries and pick a starting five. If right tackle Zach Tom (oblique) and left guard Aaron Banks (groin) are out, the Packers could go with Rasheed Walker at left tackle, Jordan Morgan at left guard, Elgton Jenkins at center, Sean Rhyan at right guard and Anthony Belton at right tackle.

That was the group that played the second half against Cleveland. They all need to play better, including Jenkins, who has struggled in his move to center.

“I feel like I’ve played like sh**, honestly,” he said. “Like, I can play a lot better. A lot of things, a lot of small detail things that I can fix, overall. But I just feel like I’ve played like sh** and definitely got to play better moving forward.”

2. The Pass Rush

While most of the attention this week will be on Parsons, all of Green Bay’s defensive linemen could be positioned to have big weeks.

Green Bay Packers defensive end Rashan Gary (52) celebrates after a sack against the Cleveland Browns. | Ken Blaze-Imagn Images

For Dallas, starting guard Tyler Booker will not play due to a high-ankle sprain and starting center Cooper Beebe is on injured reserve. Plus, both starting tackles have struggled. Among tackles, left tackle Tyler Guyton has allowed the fourth-most pressures and right tackle Terence Steele has allowed the eighth-most pressures, according to PFF.

There should be opportunities for Devonte Wyatt, Parsons, Rashan Gary and Lukas Van Ness, all of whom have been impact pass rushers for the Packers, to keep the Cowboys’ passing attack in check. Gary leads the NFL with 4.5 sacks.

3. Connecting Through the Air

The Packers’ offense had a tough time getting going through the air last week against the Browns. While a lot of it was due to the poor offensive line play, the Packers need to minimize their mistakes this week against the Cowboys.

Matthew Golden showed flashes last week, leading the team’s receivers with four catches, including a team-best 34-yard catch, but what the Packers do best is spread the ball around the offense and push the ball downfield. Dallas has struggled to contain opponent passing games this season, ranking 31st in opponent passer rating.

If Jordan Love can keep growing his connection with Golden, the Packers will have a chance to get their passing game back on track and get back in the win column.