After convincing victories over two division rivals, the Green Bay Packers had reason to be flying high. But on Sunday night, the Dallas Cowboys pulled the Packers back to reality, putting together a bruising ground game and upending Green Bay 27-16.
Dallas running back, Marion “the Barbarian” Barber overpowered the Packers, using brute force to run for 142 yards and a touchdown, carrying the Cowboys to victory in front of a national audience.
Barber’s career performance overshadowed the homecoming of teammate Tony Romo, who was making his first start at Lambeau Field. Romo was raised in Burlington, WI and gradated from Burlington High School in 1998.
Romo and the Cowboys’ passing game was almost non-existent in the first half, but the Packers’ lack of offense, big plays and run defense throughout the game proved to be more costly in the end.
The Packers’ Aaron Rodgers, who had played almost flawlessly in the first two games of the season, had a mistake-filled evening in front of a record crowd at Lambeau Field.
Despite his 290 yards passing, Rodgers overthrew receivers, was sacked five times, and failed to put together any consistent drives. While he had a couple of noteworthy plays, including a 50 yard bomb to Donald Driver, Rodgers spent most of the evening trying to elude pressure. He was consistently forced out of the pocket and threw prematurely on many occasions.
The Packers set the tone for the evening early in the first-quarter when running back Ryan Grant fumbled the ball deep in Packers’ territory on the second play from scrimmage. The Cowboys recovered and were held to only a field goal, but errant and lackluster plays were to characterize the Packers offense throughout the game.
Dallas rookie running back Felix Jones gave the Cowboys their first touchdown in the second-quarter when he took a handoff up the left side of the field, dodging a Charles Woodson tackle, to go 60 yards for pay dirt.
Barber then gave the Cowboys their second touchdown of the night and a 20-9 lead in the third quarter, plowing over a weary Packer defensive line for a 2 yard score.
Tony Romo blew open the game in the fourth quarter when, on third and 20, he tossed a 52 yard touchdown pass to receiver Miles Austin to put the Cowboys up 27-9.
Rodgers eventually put together a touchdown drive when he dove 2 yards over the goal line in the fourth to bring the Packers within 11, but by then it was too little too late.
The Packers defense was able to shut down all-pro receiver Terrell Owens, who was limited to only two catches for 17 yards. But big plays from other Cowboys plagued the Packers. Especially plays from Cowboy running backs and backup receivers.
When all was said and done, the Cowboys had rushed for 217 yards and an overbearing 453 total yards.
It was the Dallas Cowboys’ (3-0) first win at Lambeau Field in franchise history, previously going 0-5. With their victory over the Pack (2-1) on Sunday, the Cowboys joined the New York Giants as the only two undefeated teams in the NFC.
Packers head coach Mike McCarthy gauged the importance of the game and gave credence to an impressive Dallas team.
“It was a big game, it was a great measuring stick for our football team,” McCarthy said. “And I’ll tell you exactly what I told them, the Dallas Cowboys are farther ahead than we are right now, and that’s the facts, and it’s Week 3. How much farther ahead, we’ll answer that question. We have worked to do.”
If the Packers can correct mistakes and shore up holes in their defense, they could very well be facing the Cowboys again come January.
What’s Next…?
Next week the Packers travel to Tampa Bay to take on a pass-oriented Buccaneers team. Tampa Bay came away victorious Sunday in Chicago, defeating the Bears 27-24 in overtime.
In that game, Bucs’ quarterback Brian Griese threw 67 pass attempts, the fifth most in NFL history. Griese was able to throw for over 400 yards, but also threw 3 costly interceptions.
Tampa Bay, coached by the ever-frightening Jon Gruden, has had a peculiar quarterback controversy brewing the past several weeks.
Going into the season, quarterback Jeff Garcia, the clear-cut starter, was benched after the season opener. As of Sunday, Garcia had been dropped to third-string on the depth-chart and Griese became the de facto starter.
Regardless of the quarterback situation, Tampa Bay has decided to be a pass-heavy team. Running back Warrick Dunn was limited to just 31 rushing yards Sunday and is beginning to show signs of aging, so the Bucs’ (2-1) are looking to the air to produce some offense.
On Sunday, the Packers had both starting safety Nick Collins and starting cornerback Al Harris leave the game due to injury. Monday afternoon, Harris’ agent reported that the cornerback might have suffered a ruptured spleen, which would sideline him for the remainder of the season. Harris is seeking a second opinion, but it is likely that he is lost for the year, a devastating blow to the Packer’s defense.
The Packers other starting safety, Atari Bigby, was injured in Week 2 and did not even suit up against the Cowboys. If the Packers cannot get any players back, they will be scrambling to fill the void left by their defensive backs.
With Harris out, inexperienced back-up Tramon Williams will be the likely candidate to replace him. As for the starting safety positions, Aaron Rouse and Charlie Peprah would be summoned to step in and start if the injuries are of a high level of severity.
On the offensive side of the ball, the Packers should be able to bounce back from their poor performance against Dallas. Tampa Bay surrendered over 400 total yards to a Bears team many would not call “offensively gifted.”
If it turns into any sort of offensive shoot-out, look for Aaron Rodgers to show much more poise than last week and for the Packers talented receivers to step up. But the recent diagnosis of the Packers’ Pro-Bowl cornerback (Harris) may make the game closer than it should be.
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