Dallas lets Green Bay fix its third-down problem in 23-13 Packers win

The Packers entered Sunday night with the NFL's worst third-down conversion rate. The Cowboys gave them a first half that looked nothing like it.

Green Bay converted nine of 10 third downs before halftime, built a 17-0 lead and beat Dallas 23-13 at Lambeau Field. The Packers moved to 4-2 with their third straight win. The Cowboys dropped to 2-4, with the offense joining the defense in supplying reasons for another loss.

The opening Green Bay possession told Dallas what was coming. Jordan Love's offense traveled 90 yards in 14 plays, converting four third downs along the way. Two were third-and-13. The final one was third-and-6, which Love finished with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Golden.

Green Bay had been converting only 27.6% of its third downs entering the game, according to ESPN's final report. Against Dallas, the Packers finished 11 of 18. Their second half was less efficient, but by then the Cowboys were trying to erase a substantial deficit.

Golden caught six passes for 104 yards and a touchdown. His night also included missed chances, and Christian Watson dropped a potential touchdown in the third quarter. Dallas's deficit could have been worse. Green Bay still got enough passing production from Love, who finished with 276 yards, to overcome a ground game that never established much traction.

The Cowboys did produce their first interception of the season when Dee Winters picked off Love. What followed was the more damaging part of the night for Dallas: Prescott threw an interception to Evan Williams in the red zone, then another to Brandon Cisse after CeeDee Lamb slipped on his route.

Those possessions helped Green Bay add a field goal and Love's 1-yard touchdown sneak before halftime. Prescott finished with 258 passing yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. The Cowboys ran for just 48 yards.

Javonte Williams briefly gave Dallas a way back. His 1-yard touchdown run capped a third-quarter possession that included Lamb's fourth-down conversion, cutting the score to 17-7.

Green Bay answered with a Trey Smack field goal. When Dallas later tried to keep another drive alive near midfield, Javon Bullard broke up the fourth-down throw. The Packers converted that field position into Smack's 29-yard field goal and a 23-7 lead.

Dallas had another red-zone possession end on downs before Ryan Flournoy caught a late touchdown with 44 seconds left. A failed two-point try left the Cowboys two possessions behind, and the ensuing onside kick went out of bounds.

The Cowboys held Green Bay to six second-half points and recorded three sacks, but those improvements came after the game had already tilted heavily toward the Packers. Winning individual defensive snaps could not compensate for giving Love so many additional chances before halftime, or for an offense that ended two promising first-half possessions with interceptions.

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.