Green Bay Packers v. Dallas: 5 Burning Questions

The Green Bay Packers take on the Dallas Cowboys in week five, and these are the five burning questions that we have about this team prior to their matchup.

When we think about the NFL, there aren’t too many better matchups out there than the Green Bay Packers taking on the Dallas Cowboys. This year should be no different as each team sits at 3-1 and coincidentally, both are coming off of their first loss of the season.

Green Bay’s defense had carried them through the first three weeks but was exposed against Philadelphia, meanwhile, the Dallas offense was held in check by the New Orleans Saints’ defense on the road.

Now as we look ahead to Sunday’s game, there are five burning questions in particular about this Green Bay Packers team and depending on what the answers end up being, they will determine the outcome of this game.

Can Green Bay stop Ezekiel Elliot?

As I mentioned above, the Green Bay Packers’ defense carried them to their first three wins of the season. However, even in those victories and especially against Philadelphia, the run defense – particularly between the tackles – just hasn’t been very good as they’ve given up an average of 142.3 yards per game, which is the seventh most in the NFL.

Well, this week certainly doesn’t get any easier as they have to face Ezekiel Elliot who may be the best running back in the league and a Dallas offensive line that is one of the best units in the NFL as well. Last week, New Orleans was able to slow down Elliot and as a result, the Dallas offense struggled. This is also going to be key for the Packers.

Who will step up in the passing game?

Unfortunately for the Green Bay Packers, it appears that Davante Adams will not be playing Sunday due to his turf toe injury. That means someone else is going to have to step up, but who is going to be the one to do it?

Marquez Valdes-Scantling had a big game against Denver but otherwise, he has been limited. Geronimo Allison has two touchdowns, but not much else in terms of production. Jimmy Graham has just been unreliable and Jake Kumerow has had very limited opportunities.

With the running game struggling to get going in recent weeks, Green Bay may need to rely heavily on the passing game and one of these four need to have a big day.

Can the running game finally get going?

Speaking of the running game, the Green Bay Packers have really struggled to produce the last few weeks. As a team, they are averaging just 86.3 yards per game which is the seventh-fewest in football and Aaron Jones has averaged under two yards per carry in each of the last two weeks. Now they might be without Jamaal Williams as well.

Establishing the run is critical to the success of this offense as it helps disguise the play calls, sets up play-action, and just makes life easier for the entire for everyone involved, especially for Aaron Rodgers in the passing game.

Will they get to Dak Prescott?

A big reason for the Packers’ defensive success in the first few weeks was their ability to get after the quarterback and take advantage of the mistakes that ensued. However, that wasn’t the case at all against Philadelphia and we all saw how that turned out.

The Dallas Cowboys has a very good offensive line but they suffered a huge loss last Sunday as star left tackle Tyron Smith will be held out of Sunday’s game with an injury. In his place, it looks like Cameron Fleming will take over and in his limited pass-blocking snaps in 2018, he struggled. Hopefully, this will be another big day for Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith coming off of the edge which will lead to some sacks and mistakes by Dak Prescott.

Will this Packers team bounce back?

Perhaps the biggest question heading into this week’s game is how will this Green Bay Packers team bounce back after a difficult loss to the Eagles? Prior to their game with Philadelphia, not everything was going smoothly for the Packers but they were winning and that solves everything.

So this will be Matt LaFleur’s first bit of adversity and his first real test as the Packers head coach. Now, LaFleur has already shown that he can make week-to-week adjustments and Green Bay does have the benefit of having a few extra days to shake off that loss and prepare for Dallas which should benefit them, but it’ll be interesting to see how they respond.