Packers-Cowboys Matchups: Green Bay Has Only One Advantage (But It’s Huge)

The Green Bay Packers are riding high after a 31-7 win over the Chicago Bears, and will now move to their second of four consecutive games against teams that hope to be in the NFC playoff picture by the end of the season.

The Dallas Cowboys are coming to Lambeau Field for a Sunday night matchup, and they’ll be on extended rest after losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Thursday night.

Can the Packers string together some success, improve to 4-2 and get their season fully on track after it looked destined to be headed off the rails through the first month of the season?

Here are the matchups that will determine whether they do or not.

Cowboys Pass Offense vs. Packers Pass Defense

Jonathan Gannon and Dak Prescott are familiar with each other. Gannon was the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles in 2022 and faced Prescott once during that season. Prescott threw for 347 yards, three touchdowns and led the Cowboys to 40 points against an Eagles team that fell just short of a Super Bowl.

They faced off when Gannon was the head coach in Arizona in 2023. Prescott threw for 249 yards, one touchdown and one interception while only being able to muster 16 points. Last year, Gannon held the Cowboys’ offense down again, allowing just 17 points.

Of course, the personnel is drastically different. Green Bay’s defense was dominant against Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum on Sunday. Yes, those are backup quarterbacks, but the Packers have struggled against Tommy DeVito in the not-so-distant past.

Green Bay Packers cornerback Keisean Nixon (25) break sup a pass against Dallas Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb. | USA TODAY Sports via Reuters Connect

This week is a much more difficult challenge. The Cowboys are loaded with talent on offense, especially at receiver. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens are arguably the top receiver duo in the NFL. The Packers’ secondary has been a potential sore spot during the season, but they have not really been tested by a top-tier receiver since facing Justin Jefferson in Minnesota the first week of the season.

Can the pass rush, which had four sacks on Sunday, make Prescott uncomfortable without Micah Parsons on the field? Last year, the answer was no. The Packers sacked Prescott once as he put up 40 points on Green Bay’s defense.

This is the matchup that will decide the game on Sunday. One potential key to watch is Prescott’s propensity to make some mistakes. The Packers are coming off a game in which they had five takeaways, including three interceptions. In a game that could be a shootout, takeaways could decide the game.

Advantage: Push.

Cowboys Rush Offense vs. Packers Run Defense

Much like the passing defense is coming off its best game of the season, Green Bay’s run defense was excellent against Chicago. Some of that was due to game flow, with the Bears chasing a two-score deficit for most of the game. Some of that was also due to the absence of Kyle Monangai, who is Chicago’s most violent runner.

Still, they held D’Andre Swift to 43 yards on nine carries. They held the Bears to 81 rushing yards, which was more than 100 yards less than their season average and by far their lowest total of the season.

Dallas averages just 3.8 yards per carry. The question for the Packers is how much will the absence of Javon Hargrave affect their run defense. Hargrave’s injury likely bumps rookie Chris McClellan into an even bigger role. Plus, first-year player Anthony Campbell will have to rebound quickly after missing the last three games with an ankle injury. Are either ready?

They’ll face an offensive line that is big and got a boost last week with the return of Pro Bowl guard Tyler Smith. Perhaps that will kickstart a ground game led by Javonte Williams. Overall, the Packers are riding higher coming into the game, but the unknowns on both sides make this too tough to call.

Advantage: Push.

Cowboys Pass Defense vs. Packers Passing Offense

Houston Texans quarterback C.J. Stroud (7) is pressured by. Dallas Cowboys linebacker Rashan Gary. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dallas made some significant changes after their defense was one of the worst in football in 2025. Christian Parker was named defensive coordinator, Caleb Downs was drafted in the first round, and they did some work on their defensive line, including trading for former Packers edge Rashan Gary.

Through five games, Gary has 15 pressures and one sack. That appears to be another trade with the Cowboys that the Packers won.

Dallas’ defense is putrid. It’s ranked 30th in passing yards allowed per play and are last with an opponent passer rating of 120.5. They have zero interceptions and are 29th in sack percentage.

Conversely, Jordan Love is coming off his best game of the season. His reconfigured offensive line has afforded him much better protection than the one that stood in front of him for the first three weeks.

Green Bay’s offense tore apart the Chicago defense. Love completed 25 of his 31 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns. He had as many completions on passes thrown 20-plus yards downfield as total incompletions. Both of his top receivers went for over 120 yards and Tucker Kraft looked as good as he has all season.

“Obviously, we’re always trying to get our playmakers the ball and those two guys are our best playmakers in that room right now,” coach Matt LaFleur said of Christian Watson and Matthew Golden’s combined 266 receiving yards vs. Chicago.

Sunday could mark the debut for Kevin Zeitler at right guard, although Travis Glover has played well since earning the starting job for the last two games.

Either way, there appears to be some stability up front for the Packers. Love is comfortable in the pocket – and a comfortable Love is not a sight a lot of defenses want to see. A bad defense definitely does not want to see that.

Advantage: Packers.

Cowboys Rush Defense vs. Green Bay’s Rush Offense

The stoppable force meets the movable object.

That’s not a joke, these teams are both ranked last in the NFL in this phase of the game. The Cowboys gave up 241 rushing yards against Tampa Bay. With Kenny Clark in the middle of the defensive line, they are last with 168.4 rushing yards allowed per game – 12 yards worse than any other team – and 29th with 5.10 yards allowed per attempt.

The Packers’ run game is so bad that we’re calling a game in which MarShawn Lloyd ran for 31 yards on 10 carries a step in the right direction.

It’s true. Lloyd looked more comfortable as a runner than he has during his career. He found the end zone twice, including running over Jaylon Johnson en route to his first score of the game. Is this the week the Packers’ ground game finds some traction?

It’s hard to say, but if there were ever a team to find some room to rumble against, it’d be the Dallas Cowboys.

Advantage: Push.

Special Teams

Dallas Cowboys place kicker Brandon Aubrey (17) kicks an extra point against the Packers last season. | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

Dallas’ special teams has one of the top kickers in football with kicker Brandon Aubrey, who is in scoring position as soon as the ball crosses the 50-yard line. He has struggled more than he usually does this year, as he’s 9-of-12 on field goals.

Their return game is led by KaVontae Turpin, who has some juice and is able to take the ball the distance. He did struggle last week against the Buccaneers with a costly fumble that resulted in points for the Bucs.

Green Bay’s special teams have been solid if unspectacular. The emergence of Trey Smack as a weapon at kicker and Skyy Moore providing competence in the return game has given them a baseline of at least average play.

Moore did leave Sunday’s game with an ankle injury, and Matthew Golden replaced him as a punt returner. That’s a situation worth monitoring this week, though coach Matt LaFleur said there was short-term concern for Moore – meaning it’s more likely that not that he will miss this game. Golden did have a nice debut with a 17-yard return late in the first half, when he looked more comfortable returning punts than he did all of last season or in training camp this summer.

Smack missed two field goals and one extra point after having a total of two missed kicks (one extra point and one field goal that was blocked) the first four games. Smack’s accuracy is something to watch this weekend.

“We’ve got a ton of confidence in him, and I think he’s built the right way in terms of his mindset,” LaFleur said on Monday. “I think you’ll see a guy that’s pretty determined. I don’t think he’ll be shaken up by that at all.”

Green Bay’s kick coverage was punishing Chicago’s return game with two big hits from Kamal Hadden, but also gave up a 60-yard-return after the game was in hand, so there are still some things to work on.

Ultimately, the greatness of Aubrey along with their rankings in kickoff coverage (first), kickoff return (sixth) and punt return (11th) give the Cowboys the edge.

Advantage: Cowboys.

Here's our Packers Stock Report following yesterday's game, including the almost-historic pace for Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, the ridiculous deep-ball game of Jordan Love and, I'm sorry, the playoff standings. ⬇️https://t.co/LsV8tGVi8J
— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) October 12, 2026

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