GREEN BAY, Wis.
It may have been a pretty night outside at Lambeau Field, but that was far from the reality for the Dallas Cowboys in a 23-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday Night Football.
With the primetime stage set, the Cowboys squandered multiple miscues from the Packers such as dropped passes, penalties and a takeaway, and Green Bay seemed to always follow them up with the timely big play to run away with the win.
While there was a lot of bad, there was actually a little good that did come out of the loss. Let’s hand out some grades to each position group.
Grades possible: A+, A, A-, B+, B, B-, C+, C, C-, F
Quarterback – F
Dak Prescott was not good on Sunday night.
He couldn’t handle the pressure from the Packers’ defense, and it cost the Cowboys multiple drives. To make matters worse, he threw two costly interceptions. While one wasn’t his fault, the other took near-guaranteed points off the board in the first half.
He finished the night 34 of 54 for 258 yards, one touchdown and the two picks. Dallas needs him to be more efficient and to handle the blitz better for the offense to get back on track.
Running Back – F
A rare double-F in the backfield, but it’s warranted after Javonte Williams and Tyler Goodson could muster just 41 yards on 13 carries and only 18 yards in the receiving game.
Granted, the offensive play-caller didn’t do much to get the run game going, but the longest run all night was for just eight yards against one of the worst rushing defenses in the NFL. The night was exacerbated by multiple dropped passes by Goodson, too.
Wide Receiver – B
While 29 targets to CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens does sound good in theory, the numbers could have been a bit better than they were. Some of that can be attributed to the ball coming out quick, but both had bright moments and low moments throughout the night.
Ryan Flournoy scored the team’s only receiving touchdown, and the unit managed to work through the night without KaVontae Turpin after he was injured on the opening kickoff.
This grade could have been better if not for the Lamb slip-and-fall that resulted in a Green Bay interception.
Tight End – B+
The Cowboys made the surprising — yet, correct — decision to start Brevyn Spann-Ford over Jake Ferguson, and they saw the benefit in both protection and in the receiving game. Ferguson still got work — the fumble on the mistimed snap can be attributed to Prescott, the quarterback said — but it looks like Dallas has its new outlook at the position moving forward with the Minnesota product leading the way.
Offensive Line – F
While Dak Prescott was only taken down for a sack one time, he was hit seven times in what became a complete protection breakdown up front all night.
The unit couldn’t protect its quarterback, it couldn’t pave the way in the run game, and it was responsible for multiple penalties, including holding, illegal man downfield, personal fouls and more.
Back-to-back weeks have now gone by with the whole starting five back for the Cowboys, but with nothing to show for it.
Defensive Line – B+
Some changes were made up front with the starting lineup and with snap count, and the Cowboys saw some benefits.
Malachi Lawrence started over Donovan Ezeiruaku and was able to generate pressure while still showing value on run-downs. Elijah Garcia got more run at defensive tackle and recorded his first sack. Quinnen Williams and Kenny Clark also tallied sacks in what was the most productive night of the season for the pass rush unit. Even Rashan Gary generated pressure in his return to Green Bay.
To add to the production, the unit gave up just 57 yards on the ground. It’s hard to give any group an A after the performance across the board, but this unit came the closest. There was a lot to build on going into future weeks.
Linebackers – B+
The Dee Winters interception gave the Dallas defense a huge spark at a point in the game where things looked to be spiraling. While the offense couldn’t take advantage of that takeaway, the play was a point of confidence for the position group nevertheless.
Even after Winters left the game with an Achilles strain, the depth of the unit played well. Jaishawn Barham recorded four tackles, Justin Barron showed some solid pass coverage, and Shemar James got in on the green-dot duties. This unit was also a big reason for the low Green Bay rushing total.
Secondary – C-
I was teetering with an F here based on how bad things were in the first half, but the unit responded a bit in the second half to help force two three-and-outs and try to help start some complementary football for its offensive side.
It really does look like the Cowboys have a good player in Joey Porter Jr., and while DaRon Bland still has some issues to work through, he looked better on Sunday. But overall, the big plays and third-and-long conversions are inexcusable. Until those can get corrected, this unit is stuck in the mud.
Special Teams – B
Losing Turpin on the first play of the game could have spelled trouble for this unit, but backup returners Jonathan Mingo and Tyler Goodson did the job Sunday night. Aside from that, there just weren’t many opportunities for the unit.
Game schedule dates, times, locations Sept. 13 N.Y. Giants 28, Cowboys 20 Sept. 20 Cowboys 37, Washington 20 Sept. 27 Baltimore 34, Cowboys 31 Oct. 4 Cowboys 34, Houston 30 Oct. 8 Tampa Bay 24, Cowboys 16 Oct. 18 Green Bay 23, Cowboys 13 Oct. 26 at Philadelphia, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Nov. 1 vs. Arizona, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 8 at Indianapolis, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 15 vs. San Francisco, 3:25 p.m., Fox Nov. 22 vs. Tennessee, 12 p.m., Fox Nov. 26 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., Fox Dec. 7 at Seattle, 7:15 p.m., ESPN, ABC Dec. 20 at L.A. Rams, 3:25 p.m., CBS Dec. 27 vs. Jacksonville, 7:20 p.m., NBC Jan. 3 vs. N.Y. Giants, 12 p.m., Fox Jan. 9 or 10 at Washington, TBA Aug. 29 North Carolina 15, TCU 10 Sept. 12 TCU 63, Grambling State 7 Sept. 19 TCU 31, Arkansas State 7 Sept. 26 Central Florida 21, TCU 13 Oct. 3 BYU 17, TCU 10 Oct. 17 TCU 17, Baylor 6 Oct. 24 vs. West Virginia, 11 a.m., ESPN2 Oct. 31 vs. Kansas, TBA Nov. 6 at Arizona, 9:15 p.m., ESPN Nov. 14 vs. Kansas State, TBA Nov. 21 vs. Utah, TBA Nov. 26 at Texas Tech, 7 p.m., ESPN Sept. 5 Indiana 52, North Texas 16 Sept. 12 North Texas 44, UNLV 6 Sept. 19 Texas State 49, North Texas 35 Sept. 26 North Texas 63, Houston Christian 14 Oct. 1 North Texas 45, Tulsa 44 (OT) Oct. 10 North Texas 50, Charlotte 10 Oct. 24 at Navy, 2:30 p.m. CBSSN Oct. 29 vs. Florida Atlantic, 6:30 p.m., ESPN or ESPN2 Nov. 7 vs. Rice, TBA Nov. 14 at UTSA, TBA Nov. 21 at Tulane, TBA Nov. 28 vs. UAB, TBA All home games at Crowley ISD Multi-Purpose Stadium Aug. 27 Central Oklahoma 59, Texas Wesleyan 7 Sept. 5 McNeese State 52, Texas Wesleyan 0 Sept. 12 Texas Wesleyan 56, Texas College 20 Sept. 26 Texas Wesleyan 41, Nelson 16 Oct. 3 Texas Wesleyan 34, Arkansas Baptist 27 Oct. 10 Louisiana Christian 42, Texas Wesleyan 27 Oct. 17 Mary Hardin-Baylor 38, Texas Wesleyan 22 Oct. 24 at Langston, 2 p.m. Oct. 31 vs. Oklahoma Panhandle State, 2 p.m. Nov. 7 at Ottawa (Arizona), 6 p.m. Nov. 14 at Wayland Baptist, 2 p.m. Preseason Oct. 9 Houston 135, Mavericks 117 (at Macao) Oct. 11 Mavericks 132, Houston 115 (at Macao) Oct. 14 New Orleans 101, Mavericks 97 Oct. 16 Atlanta 135, Mavericks 111 Regular season Oct. 21 at Houston, 7:30 p.m., ABC, KFAA, MavsTV+ Oct. 23 at Indiana, 6 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV+ Oct. 24 vs. San Antonio, 7 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV+ Oct. 26 at Miami, 6:30 p.m., KFAA, MavsTV+, NBA TV Oct. 28 vs. Oklahoma City, 8:30 p.m., ESPN, KFAA, MavsTV+ Oct. 8 Stars 4, Buffalo 0 Oct. 10 Pittsburgh 2, Stars 1 (SO) Oct. 13 Colorado 3, Stars 2 Oct. 14 Stars 3, Colorado 2 (SO) Oct. 17 Stars 4, Chicago 0 Oct. 20 vs. Boston, 7 p.m., ESPN Oct. 22 vs. Winnipeg, 7 p.m., Fox, Amazon Prime Video Oct. 25 vs. N.Y. Islanders, 5 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Oct. 27 vs. New Jersey, 7 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Oct. 29 vs. Montreal, 7 p.m., Amazon Prime Video Sept. 19 FC Dallas 0, Austin 0 Sept. 26 FC Dallas 1, LAFC 0 Oct. 10 Charlotte 3, FC Dallas 2 Oct. 14 FC Dallas 1, Seattle 0 Oct. 17 FC Dallas 2, Houston 2 Oct. 24 vs. San Jose, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV Oct. 28 vs. Columbus, 7:30 p.m., Apple TV Oct. 31 at Kansas City, 2 p.m., Apple TV Nov. 7 vs. Colorado, 6 p.m., Apple TV End of regular season Oct. 29-31 POWRi Racing Nov. 5-7 POWRi Racing Dec. 5 Team Texas: David Starr’s Racing School Dec. 12 NASCAR Racing Experience
This story was originally published October 19, 2026 at 1:04 AM.
Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Nick Harris is the Dallas Cowboys beat reporter for the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has experience working on the beat for DallasCowboys.com and previous work experience at Yahoo Sports/Rivals and 247Sports.