Both teams would light up the scoreboard early and often, with both quarterbacks Aaron Rodgers and Dak Prescott finishing the game with 3 touchdowns, but the game would ultimately be decided in the a fourth quarter that saw five lead changes. WR Jordy Nelson caught a touchdown pass and CB Damarious Randall returned an interception to give the Packers a lead in the middle of the fourth quarter, but the lead wouldn't not hold up against a Prescott touchdown run that had seemingly given the Cowboys the lead for good.
However, as they had left over a minute on the clock, Rodgers marched the Packers down the field and sealed the game 35-31 with a touchdown throw to WR Davante Adams. With that, we give you our PFF exclusive takeaways from the contest for each team.
Top 5 Grades:
HB Aaron Jones, 86.5 overall grade
G Jahri Evans, 85.6 overall grade
QB Aaron Rodgers, 84.9 overall grade
DI Kenny Clark, 83.1 overall grade
CB Damarious Randall, 82.7 overall grade
Performances of Note:
HB Aaron Jones, 86.5 overall grade
With Ty Montgomery on the sideline nursing broken ribs, Aaron Jones got the chance to start and impress, and for stretches of this game he took over with five broken tackles and 54 yards after contact on his way to an overall average of 6.6 yards per carry.
T Lane Taylor, 42.5 overall grade
Last week, Lane Taylor was one of the stories of the game, as the guard-become-left tackle stand-in allowed just one total pressure and otherwise held his own. This week against Dallas that caught up with him, and he struggled to contain the Cowboys defensive linemen. He allowed a sack, a hit and four hurries, and was beaten a couple more times, notably on the final drive before Aaron Rodgers broke free of the tackle attempt and escaped down the sideline.
DI Kenny Clark, 83.1 overall grade
Playing a career-high 51 snaps, Clark put together his third straight solid game against the run, as he did a fine job against all three Cowboys' interior offensive linemen. He handled multiple types of blocks and consistently re-directed running lanes while rarely getting knocked out of his gap. As a pass-rusher, Clark had one quick win for a pressure against Cowboys' center Travis Frederick, his only pressure on 22 pass-rush snaps.
CB Damarious Randall, 82.7 overall grade
After getting beaten for a touchdown to WR Dez Bryant, Randall didn't surrender a catch for the rest of the game. He was the beneficiary of the easy interception that came on a drop by WR Terrance Williams, but he made the most of it to get into the end zone. He also got his hand on a deep ball on a free play by QB Dak Prescott, ensuring that a big gain was not made on the downfield jump ball. Randall played 60 snaps on the afternoon, his highest total on the season.
Top 5 Grades:
T La'el Collins, 82.1 overall grade
T Tyron Smith, 81.4 overall grade
FB Keith Smith, 78.4 overall grade
QB Dak Prescott, 78.3 overall grade
G Jonathan Cooper, 77.9 overall grade
Performances of Note:
QB Dak Prescott, 78.3 overall grade
Prescott got off to a great start, showing great red zone accuracy on his way to three first-half touchdowns. He cooled off a bit in the second half, getting away with one forced throw that should have been intercepted, but that was offset by the unlucky pick-6 that he threw off a drop. In crunch time, Prescott had the would-be go-ahead touchdown on a zone read run, but the defense was unable to keep Aaron Rodgers out of the end zone. Overall, it was a solid effort for Prescott, who completed 6-of-13 throws for 134 yards on passes thrown at least 10 yards in the air while facing pressure on only eight of his 40 dropbacks.
T La'el Collins, 82.1 overall grade
With Prescott facing pressure on only eight of his 40 dropbacks, the entire offensive line deserves credit, but it was Collins who had the best all-around game. He allowed only one pressure and had one other loss on those 40 snaps in pass protection while also doing a solid job in the run game, with a grade of 81.0 in that department.
EDGE David Irving, 75.8 overall grade
His first game back from suspension saw David Irving notch a pair of tackles, but his grade was not quite as impressive as the numbers suggest, thanks to how some of his plays came about. One sack came because of a miscommunication on the Packers offensive line that allowed him to come unblocked right up the middle, but he was clearly a welcome addition to the Cowboys defensive front.
CB Jourdan Lewis, 74.9 overall grade
Right down to the final plays, Jourdan Lewis had an eventful game. With Rodgers and the Packers looking to score a go-ahead touchdown, they first put the ball right over his head where he broke up the pass and may have had a shot at intercepting it but for Davante Adams. However, they came right back to that matchup the next snap for the winning touchdown. Overall, Lewis allowed four catches for 38 yards on nine targets, breaking up three passes.
PFF Game Ball: Aaron Rodgers. QB
*Grades are subject to change upon review
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