6 takeaways from Cowboys’ tie with Packers: Dak, Pickens shine; defense falters
Despite being big underdogs in front of the home crowd at AT&T Stadium on Sunday night, the Dallas Cowboys played the Green Bay Packers to an unusual 40-40 tie Sunday night.
The result was representative of how both sides of the ball performed, as the offenses were unstoppable from the second quarter on, and the defenses could not buy a stop.
In one of the more unique games in the Cowboys’ franchise history, here are six takeaways from the result:
Without a defense, Cowboys will continue to falter
When the second half became a heavyweight fight with haymakers being thrown by both sides, the Cowboys’ defense just needed to find one stop any any point with how the Dallas offense was performing behind quarterback Dak Prescott and receiver George Pickens.
Instead, Green Bay scored points on every possession after the halftime break, including the game-tying field goal in overtime.
“We played a great team today,” cornerback Trevon Diggs said. “We got to get off the field on third down. I think that’s the main part. Once we do that, we’ll be ready.”
With the offense scoring points in flurries and keeping Dallas in games, it won’t matter if the defense cannot stop a nosebleed. That proved evident Sunday night.
With three of the next four opponents having offenses ranking in the bottom 10 in yards per game, the time is now for the Cowboys’ defense to figure out its issues before the gauntlet that awaits in November and December. If it doesn’t, this will be a season wasted for an offense that simply deserves better.
Dak Prescott carried this team
This offense has had to play at an elite level to get a win and a tie this season with a supporting defense that, well, doesn’t support. But with Prescott at quarterback, the Cowboys continue to find the timely plays in big situations to hang with opponents.
Statistically, Prescott is in the upper echelon of passers in the league through four weeks, and his timely play on Sunday night gave Dallas the plays when it was needed. In the second half, Prescott threw for 206 yards and two touchdowns to power the Cowboys to a tie. As he puts the team on his back — so much so that he was actually getting his back treated in the second half after taking a hard hit — he continues to find tight windows and open receivers in the smallest of fractions.
“I don’t know if a 1-2-1 record would say that,” Prescott said about his hot start. “I just want to keep playing the way that I’m playing or get better every week.”
This defense may not do Prescott any favors all season, but in a season where his experience is really paying off in a league starved for consistent quarterback play, it could lead to an historic season for the 10th-year signal-caller.
Every team needs its gamer. And with Prescott, you can’t ever really count this team out from contention.
Brian Schottenheimer put his money where his mouth is
Throughout the week, Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer mentioned that changes would be coming on the defensive side of the ball after a putrid couple of weeks defending the pass, and we saw some of those changes from the start.
Diggs did not draw the start at cornerback, as DaRon Bland’s return saw Diggs get exchanged out of the starting lineup instead of slot cornerback Reddy Steward. Also, rookie linebacker Shemar James was made active for the first time in his NFL career in place of Damone Clark. Marist Liufau drew the start instead of Clark and played his most snaps of the season.
It was a big change for a defense that was in dire need of something, anything, different after a really bad couple of weeks from defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus’ group. We’ll see how many of the changes remain going into Week 5 at the New York Jets.
George Pickens is showing his value
With wide receiver CeeDee Lamb out for multiple games, this will be Pickens’ best opportunity all season to prove his value ahead of an offseason where he will be clamoring for a new contract. With his rookie deal expiring at the season’s end, the Cowboys could franchise-tag him or re-sign him to a new deal.
On Sunday, it took Pickens until roughly the five-minute mark of the second quarter to get his first reception, but the production came in a flurry afterward. In the final five minutes of that first half, Pickens hauled in five receptions for 68 yards and a touchdown in the final seconds from Prescott to give Dallas its first lead. In the final minute of regulation, a huge catch and run gave Dallas a 28-yard touchdown and the lead with 43 seconds remaining.
“With CeeDee being out, they were definitely looking at me to get the ball,” Pickens said. “It can come whenever it comes. I didn’t get it at first. But then I got the go-ball, after that, I just got to rolling.”
Pickens finished with eight receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
He’s not Lamb, but the Cowboys don’t need him to be. With his big play ability and strong hands, the Dallas offense showed that it can still move through his services while it awaits Lamb’s return.
Micah Parsons goes quiet in return
In what was hyped up as arguably the most intriguing return of a former player of the Dallas Cowboys in franchise history, Packers defensive end Micah Parsons was held relatively quiet in his first game at AT&T Stadium as an opponent exactly one month after being traded.
The Cowboys dedicated blocking help to his side throughout the night, as he failed to generate consistent pressure on Prescott. The game finished with Parsons technically getting a sack on a Prescott scramble that got back to the line of scrimmage.
Parsons briefly left the field in the third quarter and went to the medical tent with a back issue that he’s been battling since his time in training camp with Dallas. He returned and recorded just one tackle in the fourth quarter.
Coaching staff hires paying off up front
On the offensive line, the Cowboys were down two starters against the Packers as Brock Hoffman and T.J. Bass got the starts at center and right guard, respectively, because of ankle injuries to Cooper Beebe and Tyler Booker. As the Cowboys have heavily relied on the interior for running lanes through three weeks, they kept with the same game plan and continued to find success.
The Cowboys rushed for 117 yards and allowed the one Parsons sack (with no yardage lost) against a ferocious Green Bay front. With so much working against the offensive line, Dallas still found rhythm up front, something that has to be attributed to the insight and game-planning from offensive coordinator Klayton Adams and offensive line coach Conor Riley.
Both came in with a wealth of experience in creating running lanes with varied offensive line movement in their recent stops, and that has carried over in their first year with the Cowboys.
When it comes to building a coaching staff that complements what he does as a play-caller, Schottenheimer hit a home run this offseason.
This story was originally published September 28, 2025 at 11:27 PM.
