Jordan Love (10) and the Green Bay Packers tied the Dallas Cowboys Sunday, 40-40.
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Two weeks ago, the Green Bay Packers were talking about going undefeated.
Today, they’re just another mediocre team in a sea of ordinary outfits.
Green Bay and Dallas played to an extremely unfulfilling 40-40 tie in which Packers’ kicker Brandon McManus made a 34-yard field goal as time expired in OT.
McManus also made a 53-yard field goal on the final play of regulation to force overtime with the game knotted at 37.
This marked the second consecutive week the Packers had a disappointing effort as a heavy favorite.
Green Bay was an 8-point favorite in Week 3 and lost at Cleveland, 13-10. The Packers were then 6.5-point favorites against the host Cowboys.
Detroit now leads the NFC North at 3-1, while the Packers head to their bye week at 2-1-1. Minnesota and Chicago are 2-2.
Here’s the ‘Good, Bad and Ugly’ from the Packers’ tie.
THE GOOD
ROMEO DOUBS: The last time Doubs played at Dallas he had six catches for 151 yards and a touchdown in the Packers’ 48-32 Wild Card playoff win in 2023.
Doubs was even more impactful Sunday, with three touchdown passes, including a 15-yard TD with 1:45 left that gave Green Bay a 34-30 lead.
Doubs had a 2-yard TD on the Packers’ first possession and a 1-yard TD midway through the second quarter. On both TDs, Doubs made Davante Adams-like moves at the line of scrimmage, whipped his man and came free for easy touchdown throws.
Doubs then had a 15-yard TD reception with 1:45 that gave Green Bay a short-lived 34-30 lead.
Doubs finished the night with six catches for 58 yards and the three TDs.
JORDAN LOVE: Green Bay’s quarterback had one bad fumble before the end of the first half that led to a Dallas touchdown.,
Aside from that, Love was sensational.
Love completed 31 of 43 passes for 337 and three touchdowns. He also finished with a 118.1 passer rating.
JOSH JACOBS: The Packers’ standout running back had his best game of the season.
Jacobs had a pair of second half touchdowns, including a 19-yarder that gave Green Bay a 27-23 lead with 11:39 left in the fourth quarter.
On his second TD, Jacobs started up the middle, cut right, then darted back to the left spinning cornerback Trevon Diggs like a top as he raced to the endzone.
Jacobs finished the night with 22 carries for 86 yards, three receptions for 46 yards and those two touchdowns.
FAST START: Green Bay’s offensive performance at Cleveland in Week 3 left everyone a bit salty.
The Packers then started fast when they marched 69 yards in eight plays and scored when Love hit wideout Romeo Doubs with a 2-yard TD pass.
The drive included a 46-yard pass from Love to rookie first round wideout Matthew Golden and a 16-yard pass to tight end Tucker Kraft on third-and-5 from the Dallas 17.
THIS AND THAT: Brandon McManus made a 53-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime at 37-37. … Rookie wideout Matthew Golden had a 14-yard reception on fourth-and-6 in overtime to keep Green Bay alive. … Cornerback Keisean Nixon had a magnificent pass breakup on a pass for KaVontae Turpin. … Matthew Golden showed off his 4.29 speed on a 9-yard punt return, when he seemed hemmed in, then outran a couple of Cowboys to the left edge and turned the play into positive yardage. … The Packers perfectly executed a screen pass to Emanuel Wilson, and the third-year running back turned it into a 25-yard gain.
THE BAD
CLOCK MANAGEMENT: Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur’s clock management in overtime was brutal.
The Packers had a first down at the Dallas 25 with 1:15 left and another first down at the Cowboys 12 with 32 seconds left. But questionable play calling and horrendous execution meant the Packers nearly didn’t get to try a field goal.
After a second down pass to Emanuel Wilson in the right flat lost a yard to the 16, the Packers were slow getting organized as precious seconds ticked away. Love received the snap with 6 seconds left, then took a shot to the endzone that fell incomplete with just one second left.
Green Bay was remarkably close to having time expire and losing the game on that play.
NATE HOBBS: The Packers gave cornerback Nate Hobbs a four-year, $48 million contract in free agency. It’s early, but it appears to be a contract they might regret.
Hobbs was torched all night allowing TD passes to wideout George Pickens and tight end Jake Ferguson.
Green Bay general manager Brian Gutekunst has had the magic touch in free agency in recent years with players like Josh Jacobs, Xavier McKinney, ZaDarius Smith, Preston Smith and Adrian Amos. Right now, though, it looks like Gutekunst might have missed on Hobbs.
JUST PLAY FOOTBALL: A flea flicker. Wideouts turned running back. Quick snaps hoping to catch Dallas with 12 men on the field.
Green Bay used all that trickery in a game it didn’t need it.
The Packers were dominating early, but screwed around with gadget plays and deception.
Why? Because head coach Matt LaFleur likes to get too cute far too often.
If you’re playing an inferior team, those things might be necessary. Sunday was not that night.
THIS AND THAT: Right guard Sean Rhyan had a false start penalty when Green Bay had first-and-goal from the 1-yard line on its opening possession. Center Elgton Jenkins later had a false start penalty when the Packers had a first-and-goal from the 6-inch line. … Left guard Jordan Morgan, who had three penalties against Cleveland, was flagged for holding on the Packers’ second drive, which helped kill that possession. … Matthew Golden lost 7 yards when he ran backwards while trying to turn a short pass into a bigger gain. … Defensive lineman Devonte Wyatt, who was on the injury list all week with a knee injury, left the game for good in the third quarter with a knee injury. … Defensive tackle Karl Brooks had a facemask penalty against Prescott that kept alive a drive where the Cowboys took a 30-27 lead.
THE UGLY
DREADFUL DEFENSE: Green Bay’s defense was terrific the first three weeks, allowing just 14.7 points per game. On this night, the Packers were dreadful on ‘D.’
Starting from the midway point of the second quarter, Dallas scored five touchdowns and a field goal on its final seven drives. Those six drives covered 95, 15, 80, 77, 54 and 76 yards.
Dallas had 436 yards of total offense, quarterback Dak Prescott threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, and George Pickens had eight receptions for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
Just imagine if Dallas star wide receiver CeeDee Lamb (ankle) had been able to play.
END OF THE FIRST HALF DEBACLE: The end of the first half went about as poorly as you’ll ever see for Green Bay.
First, Dallas pulled within 13-9 when Dak Prescott had a 2-yard touchdown run with 41 seconds left. Green Bay could have taken that four-point lead to halftime, but the Packers were aggressive and paid the price.
The Packers had a first and 15 at their own 27 with 21 seconds left and no timeouts when Love took a shotgun snap, took a seven step drop and looked downfield. Defensive end James Houston beat left tackle Rasheed Walker, had a strip sack of Love and recovered the loose ball at Green Bay’s 15 with 15 seconds remaining.
On the next play, Prescott hit George Pickens with a 15-yard TD and Dallas surged to a 16-13 halftime lead.
LaFleur’s gamble failed miserably, and the Packers were in a 16-13 halftime hole.
SPECIAL TEAMS: The last time Green Bay’s special teams were a winning unit was under coordinator John Bonamego, who coached those units from 2003-’05.
Since then, the Packers have had 20 years of ineptitude under coordinators Mike Stock,
Shawn Slocum, Ron Zook, Shawn Mennenga, Mo Drayton and now, Rich Bisaccia.
Bisaccia, hired in 2022, was made the NFL’s highest paid special teams coordinator at a reported $2 million per year. Bisaccia then received a contract extension this past offseason.
Amazingly, Green Bay’s special teams units continue to be among the NFL’s worst.
On Sunday, Juanyeh Thomas shot a gap between tackle Brant Banks and tight end Luke Musgrave and blocked an extra point. Markquese Bell scooped up the loose ball and returned it for two points that changed the momentum of the entire game.
Those points helped spark a 16-0 Dallas run.
The Packers then gave up a 46-yard kickoff return to KaVontae Turpin on a drive where the Cowboys took a 37-34 lead.