Golden tops 100 yards as Packers beat Cowboys 23-13 on Sunday night

Matthew Golden caught six passes for 104 yards and a touchdown, and the Green Bay Packers turned two first-half interceptions into enough separation to beat the Dallas Cowboys 23-13 on Sunday night at Lambeau Field.

Green Bay won its third straight game to reach 4-2. Dallas fell to 2-4 after a second consecutive loss, spending the entire second half trying to recover from a 17-0 deficit.

Jordan Love threw for 276 yards, with one touchdown and one interception, and added a 1-yard rushing score just before halftime. The Packers finished 11 of 18 on third down, repeatedly extending possessions against a Dallas defense that could not get off the field early.

Golden supplied the opening touchdown on a 9-yard catch with 4:43 left in the first quarter. That capped a 14-play, 90-yard drive on which Green Bay converted four third downs, including two from third-and-13. His 37-yard reception helped move the Packers downfield even after a taunting penalty pushed them back.

Dallas had an opening when Dee Winters intercepted Love. Evan Williams erased that opportunity by picking off Dak Prescott in the red zone, and Green Bay followed with a drive ending in Trey Smack's 25-yard field goal. Brandon Cisse then intercepted Prescott after CeeDee Lamb slipped on his route. Love's sneak with 23 seconds left in the half made it 17-0.

The Cowboys finally answered after halftime. Jonathan Mingo's punt return helped give them a short field, Lamb converted a fourth-and-2, and Javonte Williams finished the possession with a 1-yard touchdown run. Dallas was within 17-7 with 9:19 left in the third quarter.

Green Bay answered with a 44-yard Smack field goal. When Dallas later tried another fourth-and-2 near midfield, Javon Bullard broke up Prescott's pass. Golden caught two passes on the ensuing possession, and Smack's third field goal, from 29 yards, stretched the lead to 23-7 with 10:06 remaining.

Prescott completed 34 of 54 passes for 258 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. Dallas managed only 48 rushing yards. A late touchdown pass to Ryan Flournoy with 44 seconds remaining reduced the margin, but the failed two-point try kept it a two-possession game.

The Packers also forced a fourth-down incompletion in the red zone before that final Dallas drive. Their offense left points behind with missed opportunities in the passing game, but the defense and Smack's three field goals kept the Cowboys from mounting a sustained comeback. Dallas also lost returner KaVontae Turpin to a rib injury on the opening kickoff; the team ruled him out for the remainder of the game.

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.