Cowboys waste early chances as offense stalls in 23-13 loss to Packers

The Cowboys finally gave their defense a takeaway and three sacks. Their offense could not turn those openings into a competitive Sunday night at Lambeau Field.

Dallas lost 23-13 to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday, falling to 2-4 after being shut out 17-0 in the first half. Dak Prescott threw two interceptions before halftime, and a rushing attack that produced only 48 yards left the Cowboys trying to work their way back through the air.

Prescott finished 34 of 54 for 258 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. CeeDee Lamb caught nine passes for 70 yards, while George Pickens had six receptions for 73. Those totals did little to change the game while Green Bay was building its lead.

Dee Winters gave Dallas a chance late in the first quarter with the team's first interception of the season. The initial touchdown return was overturned because he had been touched down, leaving the offense to start at the Green Bay 42. The Cowboys reached the red zone before Evan Williams intercepted Prescott on a throw intended for Lamb.

A second first-half opportunity ended the same way. Lamb slipped coming out of his route, Brandon Cisse intercepted the pass, and the Packers used the ensuing possession to add Jordan Love's 1-yard touchdown sneak with 23 seconds left in the half.

Dallas's defense had helped put the offense in that hole. Green Bay converted nine of 10 third downs before halftime, including four on its opening 90-yard touchdown drive. Matthew Golden caught the 9-yard scoring pass and finished with six receptions for 104 yards. Love threw for 276 yards.

The Cowboys' best stretch came immediately after halftime. The defense forced a three-and-out, Jonathan Mingo returned the punt, and Dallas drove 46 yards for its first score. Lamb's 17-yard catch on fourth-and-2 kept the possession alive before Javonte Williams powered in from the 1.

That made it 17-7 with 9:19 left in the third quarter. The Packers responded with a field goal, and the next meaningful chance to cut into the lead ended when Javon Bullard broke up Prescott's fourth-down pass near midfield.

Trey Smack followed with his third field goal to make it 23-7. Dallas later reached the Green Bay red zone again, only to turn the ball over on downs when Prescott's fourth-and-11 throw went out of the end zone.

Ryan Flournoy caught a 6-yard touchdown with 44 seconds remaining. The two-point attempt failed, leaving Dallas two scores behind. The Cowboys also lost KaVontae Turpin to a rib injury on the opening kickoff; he was ruled out for the remainder of the game.

Dallas travels to Philadelphia for Monday Night Football on October 26. Before then, the Cowboys have to address an offense that wasted favorable field position and a defense whose improved second half could not undo all those early third-down conversions.

Monday update: Green Bay's zone coverage

An NFL.com analysis published Monday, October 19, added detail to how Green Bay limited Dallas. Citing Next Gen Stats, Kevin Patra reported that the Packers played zone coverage on 76.8 percent of Dak Prescott's dropbacks. Against those looks, Prescott averaged 4.3 yards per attempt without a touchdown; both of his interceptions and Green Bay's only sack came against zone.

In postgame comments carried in Monday's report, Prescott said Green Bay stayed deep and forced Dallas to throw underneath. He said the Cowboys needed to catch those passes and gain yards afterward. Coach Brian Schottenheimer said the lack of a running game had left the offense too dependent on passing and that Dallas needed to restore its balance.

Joseph Hoyt's independent Dallas Morning News report documented the imbalance: 54 pass attempts against 15 rushing attempts. The zone figures apply only to plays facing that coverage.