Dallas Cowboys vs. Green Bay Packers: Predicting a winner

When the Packers have the ball

When the Packers have the ball, we will see one of the Dallas Cowboys’ worst nemesis, Aaron Rodgers. Time and time again, he has found a way to beat the Cowboys when it matters. With their running game in shambles, the Packers will once again rely on their All-Pro quarterback to get it done.

Rodgers will likely be without his best target, wide receiver Davante Adams, who is nursing a toe injury sustained in the Thursday night game. With most teams, your defensive backfield would be relishing this scenario, but where there is Rodgers, there is a way.

The Cowboys have been bullish in the secondary and boasts a very talented group of cornerbacks led by Byron Jones, Chidobe Awuzie, Anthony Brown, and Jourdan Lewis. I think a very pleasant surprise has been the play of safety Jeff Heath. There have been many plays where Heath has been a physical enforcer in the secondary of far fewer plays than last year where he’s missing noticeable assignments.

If the Cowboys are able to stifle the Packers’ struggling running game with on the front seven, they will have a chance to duplicate the success the Saints had against the Dallas offense. I give Dallas the advantage with their run defense.

The player who could be the key to this game is defensive end Robert Quinn who has been an absolute terror since returning from his two-game suspension to start the season. Featured in my earlier story during training camp about 3 reasons to be excited about the Cowboys, pay close attention to Quinn during the game and you will see him using the same move that has propelled Los Angeles Rams defensive tackle Aaron Donald to an MVP-level. According to USA Today, here’s how Donald learned the move:

"“Honestly, I copied that from Robert Quinn. I watched his film and he would do the chop-club – he always did the chop-club with the jump. He had 19 sacks one year and I just did it one game – we were playing the Seahawks and I did it and I got through. I just worked it more and more and just kind of stole the jump chop-club from Robert Quinn. Shout out to Rob.”"

If the Cowboys can put pressure on Rodgers without calling too many risky blitzes, it will put the secondary in a better position to cause some turnovers. Containing the Green Bay signal-caller is always a challenge, but the Cowboys have the pieces in place to do it. As the saying goes, you can’t stop Rodgers, you can only hope to contain him.

Prediction: Packers score no more than 20 points on the Dallas defense

Special Teams and Final Score Prediction

So far so good for the Dallas Cowboys specialists. There have been misses but nothing that has really cost the team. I expect that to continue this week. The one area of disappointment so far is the punt return game.

Wide receiver Tavon Austin, to the point in the season, has been a non-factor. He did miss a couple of games due to a concussion, but it’s time for him to break out. The coverage team has been good so far but will have to go the rest of the season without safety Kavon Frazier who suffered a season-ending pectoral injury.

This is going to be the toughest game so far for the Cowboys because Rodgers is one of the best quarterbacks in the history of the league. Whenever you have a quarterback of that stature, you have a chance to make something positive happen.

Final Score Prediction: Dallas Cowboys 27 – Green Bay Packers 20