Poll Cowboys fans about which NFL team bothers them most outside of our NFC East rivals, and you'll get an array of answers. But the top vote-getters are probably coming down to the 49ers, Packers, and Steelers, and there's a good chance Green Bay would be ahead of them all.
Especially for younger fans, no team outside the division has caused Dallas more pain in recent history. And some of that pain is very fresh indeed, coming from Sunday night's 23-13 defeat at Lambeau Field.
With the Cowboys already struggling this season, this particular road trip never felt ideal. That icky sensation became downright nauseating as Dallas could barely function on both sides of the ball. They came out of the game in despair over the current season, and with another wound from this longtime NFC rival.
So yeah, just another trip to Green Bay.
Packers lead all-time series against Cowboys 23-17-1
Few teams have given the Cowboys more trouble. Green Bay is one of just six teams that Dallas has a losing record against all-time. And of those six, only the Baltimore Ravens and Denver Broncos have better winning percentages against the Cowboys. So it's no exaggeration to say that Green Bay is one of the great thorns in our historical side.
But this rivalry goes beyond sheer numbers. Multiple playoff runs, even chances at championships, have ended at the Packers' hands.
This started early in the series when the two met in back-to-back NFL Championship Games in 1966 and 1967. Even with Don Meredith, Bob Lilly, and other Ring of Honor members leading the way, Dallas couldn't get past Vince Lombardi, Bart Starr, and the legendary Packers teams of the 60s.
Things shifted as Dallas became "America's Team" in the 70s and Green Bay went into a post-Lombardi decline. From 1978 through the peak of Dallas 90s dynasty, the Cowboys dominated the Packers 12-2 for almost two decades. This included four playoff games, all won by Dallas.
But since then, Green Bay has had its revenge. Since 1997, the Packers are 13-4-1 against the Cowboys. They've eliminated Dallas from the playoffs in 2014, 2016, and 2023, which is pretty huge considering the Cowboys' limited number of playoff appearances over this time.
Some of the Cowboys' ugliest losses over this nearly 30-year run have come from the Packers. In 2010, the game that got Wade Phillips fired, Dallas lost 45-7 for its sixth-biggest blowout in franchise history.
The 2023 playoff loss had a final score of 48-32, but most of Dallas' points came in garbage time. Green Bay led 48-16 early in the fourth quarter, which partially led to Dan Quinn not returning.
What will Dallas' latest nightmare in Green Bay mean going forward?
Sunday's loss may not mean much compared to an ended playoff run or lost championships, but it could still have a big ripple effect for the Cowboys. It's probably too early in the season, with with the NFC East still very winnable, to cost Brian Schottenheimer his job. But it has certainly framed him as one of the league's worst head coaches and a laughing stock.
Even if Schotty keeps his job through the season, will he at least lose play-calling duties? We have seen that before in Dallas, such as when Jason Garrett relinquished that role in 2013 to focus on being the head coach. That is probably the next step here, assuming Schottenheimer isn't dismissed outright.
Whatever the fallout may be, Dallas' latest Packers-related nightmare has left a mark. It hasn't ended our 2026 season, but it certainly crushed a lot of fans' hopes and raised a lot of doubts about key figures moving forward. If nothing else, it reinforced the modern feeling that Green Bay remains one of the Cowboys' biggest roadblocks to success.
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