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Week 3 Game Recap: Dallas Cowboys 27, Green Bay Packers 16
What you need to know
| Dallas Cowboys |
The Dallas Cowboys improved to 3-0 and picked up their first victory ever at Lambeau field.
QB Tony Romo made a few mistakes including a red zone interception, a Cowboys recovered red zone fumble for a large loss, and two intentional grounding calls. However, he hit WR Miles Austin for two deep plays and led the team to a convincing victory over another legitimate contender in the NFC.
RB Marion Barber and RB Felix Jones lit up the Packers defense for over 200 yards on the ground including two rushing touchdowns. Jones ran for a 60 yard touchdown dash down the left side and Barber barreled over defenders while racking up 142 yards on the ground.
WR Terrell Owens and WR Patrick Crayton were both held in check. Owens had two drops and Crayton did not reel in a single reception. The attention Owens received opened up opportunities for other Dallas players. Seldom used WR Miles Austin pulled down two deep balls and ended-up with over 100 yards receiving and a touchdown. TE Jason Witten was reliable as usual.
The Cowboys defense let up a lot of yards through the air but only allowed one touchdown which was on a one yard sneak by QB Aaron Rodgers. The Packers were forced to settle for a field goal on three occasions. Green Bay RB Ryan Grant was held to 54 yards and the Packers only converted 28% of third downs.
| Green Bay Packers |
QB Aaron Rodgers tasted the agony of defeat for the first time as a starter against the Dallas Cowboys in week three. Rodgers played well overall but was only able to get his team into the end zone once in the loss.
Rodgers did not make any mistakes and put up some gaudy yardage statistics but the team was forced to settle for a field goal three times. The lack of big scores allowed the Cowboys to jump out to a big lead in the second half and put the game away.
RB Ryan Grant was healthy but after the team fell behind he was seldom utilized. RB Brandon Jackson only carried the ball three times but looked fast and agile.
WR Greg Jennings put up another 100 yard receiving game and WR Donald Driver caught a beautiful deep pass for a 50 yard gain but like all of the Packers receiving options they were held without a score. TE Donald Lee was mostly targeted when the team was far behind and trying to catch up late in the game.
The Packers defense held WR Terrell Owens and WR Patrick Crayton in check but allowed a couple of deep bombs to reserve WR Miles Austin. They were also unable to stop the two-headed running attack of RB Marion Barber and RB Felix Jones, letting up over 200 yards and two scores on the ground.
The Packers were only four of 14 on third down conversions.
What you ought to know
| QB Tony Romo, Pass: 17 - 30 - 260 - 1 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 1 - -1 - 0 |
QB Tony Romo continued to be mistake prone despite his gaudy stats. He fumbled for a 14 yard loss in the red zone, threw a red zone interception, and was flagged for two intentional grounding plays. Romo finished with nice stats overall and is still a huge part in the effective, high powered Cowboys offense.
Romo was under pressure on his 52 yard touchdown bomb to WR Miles Austin. He stepped up to avoid pressure and let the ball go before a pair of defenders closed in on him. He also had a couple of passes dropped by WR Terrell Owens.
| RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 28 - 142 - 1, Rec: 3 - 15 - 0 (4 targets) |
RB Marion Barber continued to prove that he is an every down feature back in the NFL, although he did fumble twice and almost lost a third early in the game. His only fumble for a turnover happened along the sideline late in the fourth quarter as the team was trying to seal the victory. The Packers recovered and brought the ball downfield and scored -- but it would prove to be too little too late. He also nearly fumbled the ball earlier in the game but grabbed the ball before a defender could jump on it and had another fumble grabbed by Dallas TE Tony Curtis.
Barber ran strong and hard as usual for the duration of the game as he racked up 142 yards on the ground. He was also used frequently in goal line and goal to go situations.
| RB Felix Jones, Rush: 6 - 76 - 1, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets) |
Rookie RB Felix Jones is a great change of pace back for the Dallas Cowboys as he spelled RB Marion Barber throughout the game without reducing the scoring potential of the Cowboys offense. He ran off a beautiful 60 yard scamper down the left side for a touchdown in the second quarter.
| WR Miles Austin, Rec: 2 - 115 - 1 (3 targets) |
WR Miles Austin, only playing because WR Sam Hurd was inactive, made the most of his opportunity by hauling in two long passes including a 52 yard touchdown that clinched the win for the Cowboys. Austin looked speedy and was reliable as a deep threat for QB Tony Romo, as the top two Dallas receivers were unable to get anything going in the victory.
| WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 2 - 17 - 0 (7 targets) |
WR Terrell Owens dropped two balls that he could have caught including one on the first drive of the game for Dallas where he appeared to fall backwards as the ball was thrown. Later in the game, another well thrown ball bounced right off of his hands. The Packers did consistently provide safety help to the cornerback who was defending Owens. It won't show on the stat sheet but he was a huge factor in the game drawing extra attention and coverage opening up the defense for the other Dallas players.
Owens was the target of WR Patrick Crayton's pass.
| WR Patrick Crayton, Pass: 0 - 1 - 0 - 0 TD / 0 INT (2 targets) |
WR Patrick Crayton was held without a catch in the victory and his play was overshadowed by the big game of WR Miles Austin. Crayton also attempted a pass but it was incomplete.
| WR Sam Hurd |
WR Sam Hurd was inactive for this game.
| TE Jason Witten, Rec: 7 - 67 - 0 (9 targets) |
TE Jason Witten continues to be QB Tony Romo's most reliable target.
| TE Tony Curtis, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (1 targets) |
TE Tony Curtis was playing fullback for the Cowboys in some situations in week three. He also recovered a fumble by RB Marion Barber.
| PK Nick Folk 2 - 2 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 9 points |
PK Nick Folk was perfect for the day on field goal and extra point attempts.
| DAL Rush Defense |
The Cowboys rush defense held the Packers running game largely in check. The Packers were forced to abandon the run for most of the second half as they fell behind by a wide margin.
The only rushing touchdown was a quarterback sneak from the one yard line by QB Aaron Rodgers.
| DAL Pass Defense |
The Cowboys were able to get consistent pressure on QB Aaron Rodgers. The young quarterback was forced to scramble out of the pocket regularly and had numerous passes deflected before they hit their targets.
Despite the pressure, the Packers were able to put up a lot of yards in the air but the Cowboys buckled down when necessary and limited the Packers to zero touchdowns through the air.
DB Adam Jones forced a fumble, recovered it, and returned it for a nice gain on the second play of the game. He also had an interception bounce of his hands late in the game.
DL Jay Ratliff was impressive on his sack of QB Aaron Rodgers as he bowled right over OL Tony Moll and wrapped up Rodgers for a loss.
| QB Aaron Rodgers, Pass: 22 - 39 - 290 - 0 TD / 0 INT, Rush: 5 - 10 - 1 |
QB Aaron Rodgers suffered the first loss of his young career. He did not force the ball or make any major mistakes. They were simply unable to punch the ball into the end zone when close. They also had trouble converting third downs.
His deep pass to WR Donald Driver was a thing of beauty as he hit a wide open Driver in mid-stride for a 50 yard gain. He also appears to have a strong rapport with WR Greg Jennings and frequently went to TE Donald Lee when they were trying for some quick scores late in the contest.
| RB Ryan Grant, Rush: 13 - 54 - 0 |
RB Ryan Grant was healthy enough to take on the bulk of the carries for the Packers. The team fell behind relatively early and they were forced to take it to the air and abandoned the running attack. On his first carry of the game, he fumbled the ball and Dallas recovered, which setup a field goal.
Grant only had one carry on a goal to go situation, carrying the ball from the eight yard line. He did not score.
| RB Brandon Jackson, Rush: 3 - 20 - 0, Rec: 1 - 16 - 0 (3 targets) |
RB Brandon Jackson was the second running option for the Packers in the loss as RB Ryan Grant was healthy enough to take the bulk of the load. On his limited carries, Jackson looked quick and capable and made a nice juke move to avoid a tackle on one play. He also had a nice gain on his only reception. All of Jackson's carries came in succession in the third quarter.
| WR Greg Jennings, Rec: 8 - 115 - 0 (10 targets) |
WR Greg Jennings continues to perform as the top wide receiver for the Packers. Jennings had another 100 yard receiving game but like all of the Packers receivers he was held without a score.
| WR Donald Driver, Rec: 4 - 76 - 0 (7 targets) |
WR Donald Driver was a reliable target for QB Aaron Rodgers. He showed that he is still a top notch receiver, catching a 50 yard pass in mid stride and then making an acrobatic jump over a diving tackler to add a few extra yards to the play.
| WR Jordy Nelson, Rec: 4 - 42 - 0 (9 targets) |
Rookie WR Jordy Nelson looked hesitant at times including one play where he pulled up on his route to avoid a big hit. He also did not appear to drop back far enough to take a lateral from WR Donald Driver which resulted in the play being called back due to an illegal forward pass penalty. QB Aaron Rodgers continued to target the young receiver repeatedly in the fourth quarter.
| WR James Jones (2 targets) |
WR James Jones was held without a catch in the loss.
| TE Donald Lee, Rec: 5 - 41 - 0 (5 targets) |
TE Donald Lee had a solid game receiving for the Packers but was not able to get into the end zone. Three of his receptions came in the final quarter as Green Bay was attempting to mount a large comeback.
| PK Mason Crosby 3 - 3 FG, 1 - 1 XP, 10 points |
PK Mason Crosby did not miss a field goal or extra point attempt in the loss.
| GB Rush Defense |
The Green Bay run defense had a lot of trouble trying to stop the Cowboys running game as RB Marion Barber and RB Felix Jones ran for over 200 yards combined on the ground.
LB Brandon Chillar apparently had the wind knocked out of him in the third quarter and he missed a few downs but later returned.
| GB Pass Defense |
The beat up Green Bay secondary was exploited on two occasions by WR Miles Austin, however they were able to keep WR Terrell Owens and WR Patrick Crayton in check. TE Jason Witten had a big game receiving over the middle for the Cowboys.
DB Al Harris and DB Nick Collins were both injured during the game and missed time. CB Charles Woodson was slowing getting after one tackle and the team was also playing without DB Atari Bigby who was inactive for the match up.
