The much-hyped, highly anticipated return of the All-Pro pass rusher Micah Parsons to Dallas was less a vengeful storm and more a quiet fog. One sack, three tackles, and a lot of watching. It was a beautiful, chaotic mess that ended, almost poetically, in a 40-40 tie—a result that felt like a shrug after three hours of heavyweight haymakers.
1. The Real Stars Weren’t on the Program
With CeeDee Lamb sidelined, the memo in the Cowboys’ locker room must have been simple: someone needs to step up. Enter George Pickens, who played like a man possessed. His acrobatic sideline grab, snagged between two Packers defenders while somehow getting his feet down, was the kind of play that shifts momentum. It set up a Dak Prescott TD sneak and announced that Dallas wasn’t going down easy.
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2. Jordan Love and Romeo Doubs Were Cooking
But with every Dallas punch, Green Bay had an answer. And that answer was usually named Romeo Doubs. The Packers receiver was a nightmare for a Dallas secondary that looked porous all night, hauling in 3 touchdowns. Jordan Love, for his part, was surgical.
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3. The Cowboys’ Pass Rush Was a Rumor
They officially tried to sack Jordan Love 12 times. The result? One single solitary sack. Love was pressured on just one of his first 14 drop-backs, giving him all the time in the world to pick apart the secondary.
4. The Kickers Had the Final Say
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After 6 lead changes and enough offensive fireworks to last a month, it all came down to the guys who get paid to be calm. First, it was Parsons—finally—making his presence felt by chasing down Prescott in overtime to force a Brandon Aubrey field goal. A small play, but a significant one. It gave Green Bay the ball back with a sliver of hope.
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5. Matt LaFleur Nearly Coached Himself Into a Loss
With the clock bleeding out in overtime and a tie-sealing field goal practically begging to be kicked, what does Green Bay do? They let Jordan Love try to play hero, throwing for the end zone on third down. The pass fell incomplete, the clock nearly hit zero, and a collective gasp likely sucked the air out of every sports bar in Wisconsin. They got the kickoff, sure, but it was a self-inflicted wound that almost turned a hard-fought tie into a baffling defeat. LaFleur has some things to answer for this week.