Packers seek to build on their
momentum as Cowboys attempt to bounce back from ugly loss
[October 16, 2026]
By STEVE MEGARGEE
GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers are
aiming to build off their best win of the season as they prepare to
host a Dallas team attempting to bounce back from an embarrassing
loss.
The Packers (3-2) are above .500 for the first time this season
after a 31-7 blowout of the Chicago Bears. They're chasing their
third straight win in a Sunday night matchup with the Cowboys, who
fell 24-16 at home to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers on
Oct. 8.
“You’ve got to keep stacking,” Love said. “We talk about it in the
locker room all the time and team buildings. You have a game like
that, you’ve got to be able to follow it up with another great
performance.”
The Cowboys (2-3) are eager to make up for their bad performance
against Tampa Bay and fix their slumping defense. Dallas has allowed
a league-high 6.4 yards per play.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer brought longtime NFL defensive
coach Mike Pettine out of retirement this week to work as a senior
assistant to beleaguered defensive coordinator Christian Parker.
Pettine was the Packers’ defensive coordinator from 2018-20.
“We have to coach better,” Schottenheimer said. “We’ve got to play
better. I think our players will be the first ones to say there’s
things that they need to do better. There’s things I need to do
better. And so no one is sitting here pointing the fingers at
Christian Parker. But as the head coach, you have to make decisions
that you think helps you win games. And that’s in all three phases.”
These teams met last year at Arlington, Texas, and tied 40-40 in a
shootout that ended with nine straight scoring drives. It was the
most consecutive scoring drives to end a game since at least 1933.
Last year’s matchup also marked the return of Micah Parsons to AT&T
Stadium, a month after the Cowboys traded the superstar edge rusher
to the Packers. Parsons won’t be playing Sunday as he continues his
recovery from a torn ACL that ended his 2025 season, but this game
features two former Packers first-round picks coming to Lambeau
Field as visiting players for the first time.
Defensive tackle Kenny Clark earned three Pro Bowl selections in
nine seasons with the Packers before heading to Dallas in the
Parsons trade. Linebacker Rashan Gary went to Dallas in a separate
trade earlier this year after collecting 46 1/2 sacks for the
Packers from 2019-25.
“It’s going to be awesome to get to go back to Lambeau, play a game
and go up there to go get a win,” Clark said. “I’m really excited.”
Need to know
Dallas (2-3) at Green Bay (3-2).
When/where to watch: Sunday, 8:20 p.m. EDT, NBC.
Latest odds: Packers by 1.
Against the spread: Cowboys 3-2; Packers 2-3.
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Green Bay Packers' Jordan Love throws during the first half of an
NFL football game against the Chicago Bears in Green Bay, Wis.,
Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)
Last week: Cowboys lost 24-16 at home to the Tampa
Bay Buccaneers; Packers won 31-7 at home over the Chicago Bears.
Last meeting: Packers and Cowboys tied 40-40 in Arlington, Texas, on
Sept. 28, 2025.
Series record: Packers lead 22-17-1.
Matchup to watch
Cowboys passing game vs. Packers pass defense: Green Bay has seven
interceptions while allowing only six touchdown passes this season,
but the Packers haven’t faced any quarterbacks of Dak Prescott’s
caliber. Prescott has thrown for over 275 yards in each of his last
four games. Dallas has one of the NFL’s top receiving duos in CeeDee
Lamb and George Pickens.
Stats and stuff
— Cowboys RB Javonte Williams has six touchdown runs to rank fourth
in the league, behind Buffalo’s Josh Allen (eight), Baltimore’s
Derrick Henry (seven) and Detroit’s Jahmyr Gibbs (seven).
— Pickens has 1,784 yards receiving since the start of the 2025
season. The only NFL players with more during that time are
Seattle’s Jaxon Smith-Njigba (2,376) and the Los Angeles Rams’ Puka
Nacua (2,052).
— Green Bay has won 10 of its last 12 meetings with Dallas,
including regular-season and playoff matchups. Dallas’ only win
during that stretch was a 30-16 victory at Lambeau Field on Oct. 16,
2016.
— The Packers have won their last nine October games.
— Love has thrown at least two touchdown passes in each of the
Packers’ first five games. He has passed for more than 300 yards
three times this season.
— Christian Watson and Matthew Golden make Green Bay the only team
with two players ranked among the top 10 in the NFL in yards
receiving. Watson is fifth with 474 and Golden is ninth with 397.
— Packers S Xavier McKinney has three interceptions to tie
Minnesota’s Byron Murphy Jr. for the NFL lead. McKinney picked off
two passes in the Bears game.
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AP Pro Football Writer Schuyler Dixon in Frisco, Texas, contributed
to this report.
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