The Green Bay Packers had to settle for a 34-yard field goal as time expired to tie the Dallas Cowboys 40-40 on Sunday Night Football, the second-highest-scoring tie game in NFL history.
The Packers took advantage of the weak Dallas defense right away. On their first third down of the night, Green Bay quarterback Jordan Love connected with rookie wideout Matthew Golden for a 46-yard pickup, the longest play of his young career. A few downs later, Romeo Doubs caught a two-yard touchdown pass in the end zone for a 7-0 advantage.
Following an exchange of punts, the Cowboys took over on offense deep in their own territory. They had the chance to pick up a first down on a 3rd and 5, but Green Bay’s defense held firm for a stop to force a 4th and 1, which led to Dallas’ second punt of the evening.
Near the start of the second quarter, a Jordan Love interception was canceled out by a too-many-men-on-the-field penalty on the Cowboys, which gave the Packers a fresh set of downs at Dallas’ 33. From there, Jordan Love threw a backwards pass to running back Josh Jacobs, who took the ball 28 yards to the Dallas one yard line. On the next play, Love found Romeo Doubs for his second touchdown of the night. Unfortunately, the Packers’ point-after attempt was blocked and returned for a defensive two-point play to make the score 13-2.
Penalties hurt both teams in this one. The Packers and Cowboys combined for 18 infractions for 148 penalty yards in this game. An illegal formation flag on a 3rd and 7 negated a 23-yard reception by Dallas wideout KaVontae Turpin, which led to the Cowboys’ third punt of the game.
Dallas’ offense finally got something going late in the second quarter. Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott completed a miraculous toe-tapping catch to wide receiver George Pickens for 28 yards to get the ball to Green Bay’s one yard line. Two plays later, Prescott scrambled into the end zone for a two-yard TD to make it 13-9 with less than a minute left in the first half. That was the first touchdown the Packers’ defense has allowed outside of the fourth quarter this season.
The Packers got the ball back with 41 seconds left before the break. However, disaster struck as Jordan Love was stripped of the football, which was recovered by the Cowboys on Green Bay’s 15 yard line. One play later, George Pickens caught a touchdown to give Dallas their first lead of the game, 16-13, which is how things stood at halftime. He had eight catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
The ‘Boys looked like they were going to have another good drive to start the third quarter after running back Javonte Williams picked up five and eight yards on back-to-back runs. However, a false start penalty killed the momentum on that series, which led to a punt.
A third-down stop by Dallas’ defense was nullified by a facemask penalty, giving the Packers a new set of downs in Cowboys territory. On the very next play, running Josh Jacobs recorded a 19-yard carry, his longest run of the night. Once they got down to the one yard line, Jacobs walked into the end zone untouched for his third touchdown of the season to put Green Bay ahead 20-16.
The Cowboys had no issue responding to that score. They put together an 80-yard drive that burned a little over 6:30 off the clock that ended with a touchdown by tight end Jake Ferguson to reclaim the lead 23-20 heading into the final frame. That was Ferguson’s first TD reception in 23 games.
The Packers answered back, thanks in part to a 25-yard run by Jordan Love, who was 31 for 43 with 337 passing yards, three TDs, and 28 rushing yards on the evening. That eventually led to an 18-yard touchdown run by Josh Jacobs to give Green Bay a 27-23 advantage with 11:39 to go in the fourth quarter.
Once again, the Cowboys clapped back. A fourth-down conversion by George Pickens got Dallas to Green Bay’s 45. A few plays later, a facemask penalty got the ‘Boys to Green Bay’s 22. After getting into the red zone, Dallas pounded the ball into the end zone from a yard out for a 30-27 lead with 4:48 left in the game.
The Packers got the ball back with a chance to tie things up or even take the lead. On a 3rd and 8, Jordan Love completed an 18-yard pass to Romeo Doubs to keep the drive alive. From there, a facemask penalty by Dallas and a 14-yard run by Josh Jacobs got the Packers into the red zone with two minutes remaining in the game.
With a 3rd and 10 at Dallas’ 15, Romeo Doubs caught his third touchdown reception of the night to give the Packers a 34-30 lead with 1:45 left in the fourth quarter. Doubs finished the game with five catches for 52 yards and three TDs.
Dallas used a good kick return to get the ball near midfield. In just 1:02, the Cowboys moved the ball 54 yards and scored a touchdown to retake the lead 37-34. That was Dak Prescott’s fourth total touchdown of the evening.
Green Bay got another possession just 35 ticks left on the clock. Jordan Love completed a 25-yard pass to Josh Jacobs to get the ball near midfield. The Packers then picked up another 14 yards, allowing them to attempt a 53-yard field goal. Brandon McManus made that kick with ease to force overtime.
The Packers had no answer for George Pickens in OT. He caught two passes for 26 yards on the first series of overtime, which eventually set up a 34-yard reception by Jalen Tolbert. That led to a 3rd and goal from Green Bay’s three yard line. However, the Packers’ defense withstood the test and held the Cowboys to a field goal and a 40-37 deficit.
With a 4th and 6 on their own side of the field, Jordan Love connected with Matthew Golden for a fresh set of downs. Green Bay eventually made it down to Dallas’ 15 yard line, and attempted a pass into the end zone with time waning. The throw was batted down for an incompletion with one second left on the clock. With three points basically guaranteed, Green Bay elected to kick a field goal rather than go for the win, resulting in a 40-40 tie.
*Author’s note: all information and statistics are tracked in real time and are provided by the game’s broadcaster, NFL.com, and ESPN.com*
