5 reasons the Cowboys will beat the Packers in Week 10

In Week 6, the Dallas Cowboys suffered their first loss with Cooper Rush as the starting quarterback as they were defeated 26-17 by the Philadelphia Eagles. Since then, Dak Prescott returned and they started their first of four games in a row against the NFC North.

So far, they knocked off the Detroit Lions 24-6 followed by the Chicago Bears 49-29. Now, after taking a week off, they head to Green Bay to take on the Packers. Let’s look ahead to this game and see why Dallas should be able to make it three in a row against the North.

5 reasons the Cowboys will beat the Packers in Week 10

5. Dallas travels well

Maybe it’s due to the fact that they’ve never built a real home-field advantage, but Dallas has been a solid road team for quite some time. The one anomaly was in 2020 when Dak Prescott broke his ankle in Week 5 and they were 2-6 with a slew of backups starting for the majority of the year. Outside of that, they’ve done well when traveling.

This season, they’ve started out 2-1 with their lone road defeat coming against the Eagles — again with a backup starting. In 2021, they were 7-2 in nine games on the road, making them 9-3 over the past two seasons when playing outside of AT&T Stadium.

Now, with a full week to prepare, they hit the road to face the Packers at Lambeau Field. The good news for Dallas is that it will be cold, but it’s still too early for the field to be frozen — which is when Green Bay really gets an advantage against visitors.

4. McCarthy, historically good after the bye week, wants this one

Mike McCarthy is in his 16th season as an NFL head coach and he’s typically been very good after the bye week. In fact, his teams have shown vast improvements down the stretch as he was 75-52 in each game after the break while with the Packers. In Dallas, he was 7-4 after the bye in 2021 and 4-3 the prior season with Prescott out.

Having said all of that, the number that matters this week is what his record is for that first game when his team returns from the bye. McCarthy stands out there as well, with a 10-5 record while not getting a shot in 2018 due to being let go.

McCarthy’s two post-bye games for Dallas have also been wins. The most popular was against Minnesota in 2021, which was the game where Cooper Rush made his first career start. The year before that, they also beat the Vikings after the bye, that time with Andy Dalton under center.

As impressive as he’s been with the extra time, there’s also motivation at play. This will be the first time McCarthy faces his old team and he opened up about what it will mean for him.

Reporters continued to ask the head coach about his return and McCarthy got emotional when speaking about it. Clearly, he loved being a part of that city and enjoyed winning in Lambeau.

This weekend, he’ll get a chance to not only stick it to his former employers, and help bury them in 2022, but he can again taste victory in the stadium he once called home.

3. Dallas ground game will be too much for the Packers

Despite a record of 3-6, Green Bay has put together some good moments on defense. Overall, they’re sixth in the NFL in yards surrendered and second in the league in passing yards. The problem is, they’re just 15th overall in points given up.

The issue there comes down to their inability to stop the run. The Packers are 26th in stopping the run as opponents have gashed them to the tune of 1,247 yards — roughly 139 per game. This bodes well for a Dallas offense that happens to be very good on the ground.

Right now, they’re 11th in yardage with 1,052 and third in touchdowns with 10 but they’re capable of more. They showed that in their game against the Bears when Tony Pollard went off for 131 yards and three touchdowns. It was his second 100-yard game this season and he has 506 overall.

There’s also Ezekiel Elliott, who hasn’t hit the 100-yard mark yet in 2022 but has 443 yards in seven games. The two offer different styles of running, making it hard for defenses to stop the Cowboys’ attack for a full 60 minutes.

Knowing that Green Bay is strong against the pass but can’t consistently stop the run surely didn’t go unnoticed by McCarthy and offensive coordinator Kellen Moore. Look for them to establish the ground game early and use it to stay ahead of the chains and build an early lead.

2. Green Bay is hurting right now

It’s not just in the standings that Green Bay is hurting. They’re also dealing with several players who aren’t at 100 percent heading into this game.

After their loss to the Detroit Lions in Week 9, they had three players in walking boots, and all three are starters. Running back Aaron Jones, wideout Romeo Doubs, and cornerback Eric Stokes all had injuries that could affect them in Week 10 — if not keep them out completely.

Jones has been said to be likely to play but it’s rare someone goes from having their foot in a boot to playing at full speed in one week. Chances are if he does play, it will be in a minimal role.

Of course, Dallas can’t simply sit back and expect things to be easy with Jones not fully healthy. While he’s their best back and a major weapon as a receiver out of the backfield, A.J. Dillon is no slouch. The 247-pound halfback has 389 yards in nine games with 16 receptions. He might not be as dynamic as Jones but he’s a bulldozer that can be hard to tackle.

Having said all of that, the Packers aren’t playing as well as we expected this season, which is one of the reasons Dallas enters this one as the favorite. Throw in the fact that some key players are hurting and it seems even more likely that the Cowboys improve to 7-2.

1. Dak Prescott is playing better than Aaron Rodgers right now

Aaron Rodgers is a four-time MVP and entered this season after winning the award two years in a row. He’s also a Super Bowl champion and a four-time leader in passer rating. Simply put, he’s one of the absolute best to ever play the game.

With that being said, there’s no way to compare his career to Prescott’s. Rodgers has been infinitely better — but right now, that’s not the case.

Prescott missed five games with a thumb injury and had a rough start in their Week 1 loss to Tampa Bay. However, since returning to the field, he’s been solid. He completed 76 percent of his throws in their 24-6 win over Detroit (which was considered a rusty return) and 77.8 percent against the Bears in Week 8. He’s also thrown three touchdowns against one pick while running in another score in those two contests.

Rodgers, on the other hand, has completed 65 percent of his throws once since Week 3. In their loss against the Lions, he was 23-of-43 (53.5 percent) with one touchdown and three picks. Making matters worse, those interceptions were all in the red zone.

This isn’t to say that Rodgers can’t get suddenly hot, because he’s proven he can. But right now, he’s simply not playing his best football and with his teammates around him struggling, the upper hand belongs to No. 4 right now.

That’s the main reason to believe in Dallas getting the win this weekend.

Cowboys vs Packers Week 10: history, key players, projection

The Cowboys head to Lambeau Field to take on the Packers. Let's dive into the series history, key players, and a prediction for the matchup.