The Cowboys did the hard part on Green Bay’s opening scoring drive, then left the important part unfinished. Two third-and-13 conversions turned a manageable possession into a 90-yard touchdown march and began Sunday night’s 23-13 loss at Lambeau Field.
That is the uncomfortable value of good early-down defense: it is useful only if the series ends with a punt, a turnover or at least a field goal. Dallas repeatedly made Green Bay earn difficult yardage, then allowed Jordan Love to keep the drive alive.
The sequence was precise. From the Packers’ 10, MarShawn Lloyd lost 2 yards on first down. A 7-yard completion to Savion Williams set up third-and-5 at the Green Bay 15, but Love found Williams again for 15 yards.
Lloyd then lost 3 yards at the Packers’ 30. On second-and-13, Love’s pass fell incomplete. That created the first third-and-13, at the Green Bay 27, and Christian Watson beat the situation with a 27-yard catch to the Dallas 46.
Green Bay did not score immediately after that conversion. Pierre Strong Jr. ran for no gain, then Matthew Golden caught a 37-yard pass to the Dallas 9; a taunting penalty on Golden was enforced from there. A no-play ineligible-man penalty, a Dallas neutral-zone infraction and Love’s incompletion followed before the Packers reached second-and-10 at the Dallas 24.
Love was sacked by Quinnen Williams on that play.
Still, the Cowboys had another chance to end the series. On third-and-13 from the Dallas 27, Love completed a 14-yard pass to Strong. Green Bay eventually reached third-and-6 at the Dallas 9, where Love found Golden for the 9-yard touchdown.
Fourteen plays, 90 yards and 6:30 had produced a 7-0 lead. Dallas had made the Packers’ running game uncomfortable; it had not made the drive stop.
The problem grew larger before halftime. Green Bay converted 9 of 10 third downs in the opening half and led 17-0. The Packers finished with only 57 rushing yards on 26 attempts, a modest 2.2-yard average. Kenny Clark and Elijah Garcia joined Williams with sacks, and Dallas’ front regularly won enough on early downs to force Green Bay into long-yardage situations.
But long yardage became an invitation rather than a boundary. Green Bay finished 11-for-18 on third down, and those conversions sustained possessions even when the rushing attack went nowhere. The Packers’ 8:17 drive after Evan Williams intercepted Prescott ended in a field goal, for example, but it also demonstrated how one missed stop can turn a favorable change of possession into another scoring opportunity.
Dallas was substantially better after halftime. Green Bay opened the third quarter with a three-and-out, facing third-and-17 before punting. Dallas answered with a touchdown, briefly giving the improved defense a more manageable deficit.
