Instant Takeaways: Packers rally and snap five game losing streak

On a five game losing streak, the Green Bay Packers come from behind, trailing by 14 points entering the fourth quarter, to come away with a home win over the Dallas Cowboys. With the much-needed victory, the Packers improve to 4-6 on the season.

The Packers avoid losing six in a row. Here are my instant takeaways from their win.

– This was easily the best that the Packers offense has looked all season. 28 points against a defense that entered the game ranked third in points per game allowed.

-The Packers’ path to success on offense against Dallas was always going to involve a heavy dose of the run game. The Cowboys have a fierce pass rush but have struggled to defend the run. Green Bay came out of the gates running the ball and stuck with it even when they fell down by multiple scores. When you face an aggressive defensive front like the Cowboys have, to their detriment, that can open up running lanes.

– With that said, I thought the offensive line held its own against the Dallas front.

– The Cowboys were daring the Packers to throw the ball, and they still stuck with the run (again, until the game got out of hand). Dallas was crowding the line of scrimmage and playing a ton of cover-1. Teams are going to continue doing this until the Packers’ receivers can prove to be bigger downfield threats.

– When opponents are playing that aggressively, while the Packers can’t force the ball downfield for the sake of doing so, they need to take some shots to soften up the secondary. We saw them finally connect on one of those passes when Aaron Rodgers threw a beautiful ball off play-action to Christian Watson. The effectiveness of the run game helped set this play up as well by sucking in the lone safety.

– Where were you when Christian Watson had his breakout game? Watson’s speed is a difference maker for this Packers offense. Not only the big play ability he brings, but that also opens up passing opportunities for others, and when in motion, can help open up running lanes. With Watson missing time, this has been an element that the Packers offense was desperately missing. Against Dallas, he was Rodgers’ favorite target, and while there were a few miscues still, the big plays were really big. Hopefully, this will be a jumping off point for the offense.

– We saw Darnell Savage in the slot frequently against Dallas, a move that looked like it benefitted the entire secondary. Savage was playing much more confidently — although he was still beat at times by CeeDee Lamb — while Rudy Ford’s willingness as a tackler and in the run game was a welcomed sight.

– Speaking of Ford, his two interceptions led to 14 points. This has been a missing element for the Packers this season. For one, they haven’t generated many turnovers, and when they have, they’ve often failed to take advantage. Also, that interception in the end zone was a massive momentum swinger. The Packers were staring 14-0 in the face and ended up tying the game following Ford’s interception.

– When in their nickel defense, we saw Savage move back to safety with Ford, Adrian Amos move to linebacker, and Keisean Nixon play from the slot.

– While the Dallas run game has been very good this season behind the explosive Tony Pollard, the offensive line has been shaky in pass protection. However, while Prescott did utilize the quick passing game, even when he didn’t, the Packers pass rush struggled to get home.

– Green Bay didn’t have much of an answer for CeeDee Lamb, who totaled over 100 yards. Dallas was able to keep him away from Jaire Alexander for the most part, and did a really good job of moving him around. With that said, Dallas averaged barely over five yards per pass attempt.

– The Packers’ run defense was holding its own in the first half, but Dallas started to really string together some chunk runs in the third and fourth quarters. Slowing the Dallas run game was always going to be a massive challenge for Green Bay. I was actually surprised to see how often Dallas threw the ball.

– Newcomer Johnathan Abram didn’t see any defensive snaps, but he was a regular on special teams. He was called for two penalties.

-Overall, the Packers’ offense was able to move the ball relatively well but got in their own way again. There were three punts that Green Bay made from their own territory.

– For what it’s worth, it was refreshing to see the Packers’ cornerbacks challenging the Dallas receivers at the line of scrimmage, and there was even some cover-one. We also saw Alexander matched up with Lamb in overtime. With that said, there were  still some head-scratching moments when the corners were lined up well of the line of scrimmage, including before halftime on Dallas’ scoring drive and on a third and one in the fourth quarter. There are moments when things seem to be coming together, but often those moments prove to be fleeting.

– Why was Amari Rodgers still returning punts? This is a change that should have been made a while ago. Keisean Nixon took over following Rodgers’ fumble.

– What in the heck was that final drive by the Packers before overtime? Talk about playing not to lose.