We've got our first prime time game of the season tonight as the Green Bay Packers will be taking on the Dallas Cowboys at 7:20 PM CST from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on Sunday Night Football  This will be the first time the Packers return to the site of their Super Bowl XLV victory without any players from that game still on the roster, but their aspirations to achieve what that great team did are still alive and well. After a frustrating 13-10 loss to the Cleveland Browns, the Packers sit at 2-1, poised to prove that last week was a fluke, and they're still top contenders. Dallas, on the other hand, sits at 1-2, desperate not to fall behind on the season after suffering a 31-14 defeat at the hands of the Chicago Bears. Both teams will want to prove themselves in what could be a huge game tonight.   

The last time these two teams met was the wild-card playoff match-up in January of 2024, where the Packers demolished Dallas 48-32. The score makes it seem closer than it actually was, for in the fourth quarter, the Packers at one point led 48-16 before essentially switching into cruise control. Jordan Love went 16/21 for 272 yards and three touchdowns, with Romeo Doubs coming down with 151 of those yards, and Aaron Jones had 118 yards on the ground and three touchdowns himself. Darnell Savage also recorded a pick-six late in the second quarter. Cowboys owner, Jerry Jones, went on to call this game possibly the most painful loss in Cowboys history, saying “This loss hurt us, in every way, more than any one we’ve ever had.”

Last week was an absolute stinker on offense and special teams. I told myself that the Browns may seem easy on paper, but they have a great defense that can be disruptive. Jordan Love was sacked four times and hit eight more times. The offensive line was overwhelmed and marred by injuries, and they just didn't seem to make any changes to compensate for those issues. Was the team too caught up in their own hype to take a lesser opponent on paper seriously? We may never know. But that needs to change tonight in Dallas, and the Packers need to bring back the team we saw in weeks 1 and 2. 

Two players involved in a blockbuster trade just a few weeks ago are facing their former team tonight. Micah Parsons is now on the Packers, facing the Cowboys, and Kenny Clark is now on the Cowboys, facing the Packers. Both players will be looking to show their former team that they made a mistake in sending them packing.

What to see on Offense

Was it a fluke? Or wasn't it? This is the question that everyone has been asking in the past week, after a Packers' offense that put up 27 points in each of the previous two games only came away with 10 in Cleveland. The reality is, Cleveland's defense may be the best in football. Their strength is their pass rush, and with the Packers entering the game with a banged-up offensive line, it was going to be ugly. Lucky for the Packers, Dallas traded its pass rush to them a few weeks ago. 

Last week, Jordan Love was often running for his life when he dropped back to pass. Despite the absence of Zach Tom and Anthony Belton tonight, things could be different tonight as Dallas' pass rush has only generated three sacks and 12 QB hits in three games. They also rank dead last in pass defense when it comes to yards against, giving up an average of 288 yards through the air. That stat was boosted in week 2 when Russell Wilson demolished the Cowboys' defense for 450 yards passing. Yes, that Russell Wilson that was just benched in favor of Jaxson Dart. 

In the secondary, Dallas has Trevon Diggs at corner, who has barely shown up on the stat sheet this season, and Donovan Wilson, who has the team's lone interception so far. The lack of a pass rush has made Dallas' secondary ripe for the picking, and despite the absence of Zach Tom today, the Packers should still be able to give Jordan Love a chance to slice up a piece of the pie for himself to make up for the terrible performance last week. 

When Dallas traded Micah Parsons to the Packers, they grabbed Kenny Clark in return, and Jerry Jones stated that Clark would help build them up where they lacked in stopping the run. The irony in this, of course, is that the pass rush has fallen horribly, but to Jerry's credit, the Cowboys are much better at stopping the run. Besides Clark, the Cowboys also have Osa Odighizuwa plugging up the middle of the field, and the linebacker duo of Kenneth Murray and Jack Sanborn helping clean up. The Cowboys have held top rushers in each of their first three games to an average of 3.3 ypc, and their run defense has become a strength.

With a Packers running game that has struggled as of late, with Josh Jacobs only averaging about 3.1 ypc, I wouldn't put a lot of money on this being the game where Jacobs breaks out again. Shuffling along the offensive line has made it hard for Jacobs to get anything going in 2025, and if the Packers are going to go back to scoring 25+ today, they're going to have to do it from the arm of Jordan Love. 

What to See on Defense

Let's get it out of the way early. Micah Parsons is ready to chase Dak Prescott even though he states that sacking Prescott will be painful, given that they are friends. Perhaps if they meet, he can give him the old "Nothing personal, just business" line. He may have several chances as well, with the Cowboys' line being as banged up as it is. Cooper Beebe has landed on IR, and Tyler Booker seems to be heading that way as well. Second-year left tackle Tyler Guyton has had his struggles this season, so the Packers' potent pass rush could be licking its chops heading into AT&T Stadium tonight. 

If Prescott manages to evade the pass rush, he will be down one of his best targets in CeeDee Lamb, who left last Sunday's game with a high-ankle sprain and is doubtful for tonight. Dallas still has George Pickens, however, who will likely see an increase in targets as well as KaVontae Turpin, who could add a bit of a wrinkle to their passing attack if given the opportunity. The Packers will need to work on locking down Turpin so he doesn't become a problem. Outside of the receivers, the Cowboys have tight end Jake Ferguson. The former Badger continues to make a name for himself in Dallas, and the Packers will need to cover him up so we don't have a repeat performance of a tight end shredding our secondary, as seems to be an occasional Packers tradition. 

The pass rush will surely benefit our corners when matching up against Dallas' receivers, but it will be those quick throws to get the ball out of Prescott's hands that the Packers need to put a stop to today. 

Dallas' run attack will be a point of reliance for them today to try slowing down the Packers' pass rush and helping out Dak. Javonte Williams and Miles Sanders have put together a decent running attack in the first three games of the season, but nothing spectacular. Jerry Jones was quoted as saying that the Cowboys are going to need to run the ball early and often to win Sunday, and the Packers will be ready to show whether or not last Sunday was a fluke when they gave up 94 yards on 18 carries and a touchdown to Quinshon Judkins of Cleveland. 

Unfortunately, the Packers could be without Devonte Wyatt after he left last Sunday's game with an injury. If so, they'll need Colby Wooden, Nazir Stackhouse, and possibly Warren Brinson if he's activated to step up in Wyatt's place. Hopefully, given the injuries along Dallas' interior line, the Packers will still have a bit of an edge against the Cowboys on the ground and will be able to stifle the running game from becoming an issue. 

Extra Notes

All preseason long, we bragged about having no issues at kicker. And while I wouldn't call one miss and one block in three games an issue at kicker necessarily, it's still not an ideal start for what should've been a very reliable part of the operation. Hopefully, we see a clean operation today from the field goal unit to make up for last week's issues. 

On Dallas' side, Brandon Aubry has been sensational this season with a perfect 8/8 record, with a long of a whopping 64 yards, tying for the third longest field goal in NFL history. Aubrey's success has been a luxury for Dallas, and the Packers will have to take his range into consideration with what they allow on defense. 

KaVontae Turpin is also a special teams weapon for the Cowboys, averaging 23 yards on kick returns and 10 yards on punt returns. The Packers will need to be disciplined on their kick and punt coverage this week so that they don't give up a big one. 

On the Packers' side of the kick return spectrum, Savion Williams seems to have nestled in quite nicely as a returner, averaging 24.5 yards on six returns. Every week, we're looking for him to break a huge return, and it may be coming soon.

On Punt returns, however, the Packers aren't looking as good. Matthew Golden seems to have taken over the role and only averages 4.3 yards on four attempts. Perhaps Golden is just getting his feet wet, or maybe we're going to see a change for the Packers' punt return game soon. 

In the End

The Packers are looking to prove that they are a force in the NFC and that last week was a fluke, while the Cowboys are desperate not to fall to 1-3 on the season. One of those teams is going to come away satisfied, while the other is going to be extremely frustrated. 

After today, the Packers will have a chance to cash in on some rest with their early week 5 bye coming next week. It's a chance to rest up and get healthy for what will hopefully be a run lasting well into 2026. In order to kick that off on a high note, they'll need to take care of business today, not only improving their record to 3-1 on the season, but improving the Packers' overall record in AT&T Stadium to 7-0. Go Pack Go.