Dallas vs. Green Bay Prediction: Cowboys Come to Lambeau Looking to Add to Packers' Woes

Green Bay has lost five in a row and now must face Dallas' ferocious D.

Author:
Matt Josephs (Mid Major Matt)
Publish date:
Nov 11, 2022

Heading into the season, the Packers hosting the Cowboys was supposed to be one of the best matchups all year. Instead, it could be very ugly with these squads heading in two different directions. Green Bay has won eight of the last nine against Dallas, but it will take a serious shakeup for their strong play to continue in this series.

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Green Bay (3-6) has dropped five in a row, and the latest one was an embarrassing 15-9 loss to the previously one-win Lions. Detroit featured one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL, yet Green Bay managed just 4.2 yards per carry on 25 carries. Aaron Rodgers looked awful as well, with three interceptions to just one touchdown in the contest. The signal-caller was the leading rusher with 40 yards on four carries, but that wasn't nearly enough. Green Bay's defense was fantastic, but it's hard to win when you don't even reach double-figures.

Dallas (6-2), meanwhile, is coming off its bye week following a 49-29 victory over the Bears. Tony Pollard ran for 131 yards and three touchdowns in the victory as the Cowboys were without Ezekiel Elliott, and Dak Prescott (21-of-27, 250 yds., 2 TDs) was a lot more efficient in his second game back from injury. The Bears' offense did, however, run for 240 yards, something the Cowboys needed to address in their time off.

Dallas (6-2) at Green Bay (3-6)

Kickoff: Sunday, Nov. 13 at 4:25 p.m. ET
TV: FOX
Live Stream: fuboTV (Start your free trial)
Spread: Cowboys -5
Tickets: As low as $153 on SITickets.com*

Three Things to Watch

1. Intangibles
The Packers just finished a stretch of three straight games on the road and lost all three by 10 points or fewer. Green Bay is only 2-2 at home this season and has a quick turnaround as the Packers host the Titans next week on "Thursday Night Football." The Pack has one of the latest byes in the league with another four weeks to go until getting a breather. The Cowboys are coming off of their bye and are entering a stretch of three games in 11 days. After playing Green Bay, it's another road game against an NFC North team (Minnesota) before hosting the Giants on Thanksgiving. Also, this game represents former Packers head coach (2006-18) Mike McCarthy's return to Lambeau Field. It will be interesting to see if his current team feeds off of what figures to be an emotionally charged game for him.

2. What's eating Aaron Rodgers?
The future Hall of Famer is coming off one of his worst performances, throwing three interceptions in a game for the first time since December 2017. Rodgers has not been helping himself as he continues to call out others for their mistakes after games and in the days that follow. Sure, his receiving corps is rather young and inexperienced, but Rodgers needs to shoulder more of the blame himself. Things are going to be worse with Romeo Doubs out 4-6 weeks with the dreaded high-ankle sprain while rookie Christian Watson is just having trouble staying on the field. Running back Aaron Jones also left last week's game with an ankle injury, so he's another one to monitor. Either way, it's imperative for Rodgers to get some chemistry with whoever is left in the wide receiver room, especially headed into this matchup with a Dallas defense that leads the league in sacks (33 in eight games).

3. When will they learn?
Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones continues to affirm that Ezekiel Elliott will be Dallas' lead running back despite the fact that Tony Pollard has been more effective. Zeke has had four games this season in which he's averaged less than four yards per carry and has just one run of more than 20 yards. Meanwhile, Pollard is averaging 6.2 yards per attempt and 10.1 yards per reception. Still, the message coming from the team is that the coaching staff is hesitant to overuse Pollard. That may not be an option, however, with Elliott still dealing with a knee injury that caused him to sit out the Cowboys' last game, giving him a front-row seat to Pollard running roughshod over the Bears. The bye came at a good time for Elliott, who is on track to return for this game, but that doesn't mean Dallas should just hand him the lion's share of carries. Green Bay is near the bottom of the league against the run (138.6 ypg, 26th) and has been even more generous at home (175.3 ypg), so both backs should find success on Sunday.

Final Analysis

It's hard not to think that Rodgers has a great performance hiding somewhere in that arm of his. The problem is that he's losing weapons, and his frustrations must be getting higher considering how much pressure is on him to succeed. Meanwhile, the Cowboys are coming off of their bye, are well-rested, and are a much more cohesive team right now. There's also the added incentive of helping their head coach pick up a win over his former team.