On Sunday night, America’s game of the week had the Green Bay Packers pitted against the Dallas Cowboys in Arlington, Texas. Leading to a convincing win, Green Bay’s offense, led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers alongside running back Aaron Jones, tied the franchise record for touchdowns in a game. The final score was 34-24.
In the first quarter, the Cowboys’ opening drive was cut short after an intended pass to wide receiver Amari Cooper ended up being intercepted by cornerback Jaire Alexander. From then on, it was an uphill battle for Dallas. Following the interception, Aaron Rodgers pushed the field to about Dallas’ 18-yard line before the Cowboys’ kryptonite would rush in for a touchdown: running back Aaron Jones. Kicker, Mason Crosby then successfully converted the extra point, putting the Packers up 7-0. Upon possession, Cowboys’ quarterback, Dak Prescott answered back with a deep right pass to Amari Cooper for 46 yards, however, his drive was stopped when linebacker Za’darius Smith sacked him on third down. After the punt, Rodgers made some astonishing backyard football passes to move the Packers up the field in a short amount of time. Being successful earlier, Rodgers then handed it off to Jones who eventually got inside Dallas’ 10-yard line and later pushed his way in for a second touchdown. With the conversion of the extra point, the Packers were up 14-0 by the end of the first quarter.
Starting the second quarter, Prescott, trying to find a solution, would move the Cowboys up the field until he was met with a pick from Packers cornerback Chandon Sullivan. After a successful defensive stop from the Cowboys, their drive was stopped again by the Packers’ defense due to Prescott getting sacked. The Packers offense got to Dallas’ two-yard line before a field goal by Crosby. With haste, Prescott tried to make something out of the time left in the second quarter, but ultimately came up short as a result of the Packers’ defense causing Dallas to miss a 54-yard field goal. By the end of the first half, Green Bay would hold a 17-0 lead.
In the third quarter after a defensive stop, the Packers repeated the same successful drive; Rodgers completed a pass to receiver Geronimo Allison for 22 yards and then handed it off to Jones for a third touchdown. After the conversion of the extra point, the Packers led by 24-0. Sacked by Smith again and nearly picked in the middle of the third quarter, Prescott was stopped short at Green Bay’s 18-yard line where kicker Brett Maher converted a 36-yard field goal. As a result of a 39-yard pass interference call, Jones once again ran it in for his fourth touchdown. With the extra point good, the Packers moved up to 31-3. Late in the quarter, Prescott completed a pass of 40 yards to receiver Michael Gallup which gave the Cowboys their first touchdown of the night. Upon the conversion of the extra point, the score at the end of the third quarter came out to be 31-10.
In the fourth quarter, Prescott threw an early interception, but due to penalties on Green Bay’s end, the call was reversed and running back Ezekiel Elliot was able to rush in the end zone for two yards. After the conversion of the extra point, the Cowboys still faced a 17-31 deficit. The Cowboys’ defense then stopped the Packers drive and gave Prescott another opportunity to score. Upon possession, Prescott got intercepted for a third time, cutting the drive early once again. Adding to their score, the Packers converted a 38-yard field goal, putting them up 34-17. With eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, a pass to Cooper for 53 yards gave Dallas their third touchdown of the night, putting the score at 24-34. Looking to run the clock, Rodgers took off a valuable chunk of time for the Cowboys and eventually punted. With four minutes remaining, on a third down with 10 to go, Prescott rushed for five yards, short of the first down. Perhaps ending the Cowboys’ hopes of a comeback, a missed field goal concluded the game.
As a result of the four touchdowns scored by Jones, the Packers finished the night tying their franchise record for touchdowns in a game. Aaron Rogers ended with 22 completions out of 34 for 238 yards alongside Jones who concluded with 19 carries for 107 yards and four TDs. Prescott left the game with 27 completions out of 44 for 463 yards and Elliot finished with a rather timid 12 carries for 62 yards.
Overall, running back Aaron Jones stole the show with touchdowns that took the morale out of the Cowboys’ defense. Jones was simply the man of the night.