Packers beat Cowboys 23-13, Schottenheimer under fire

The bad news started a day before kickoff. On Saturday the Cowboys said linebacker DeMarvion Overshown, questionable on Friday's report, would not even get on the plane to Green Bay.

Mike Garafolo

@MikeGarafolo

#Cowboys LB DeMarvion Overshown isn’t traveling to Green Bay and has been ruled out for tomorrow vs. the #Packers.

Dallas called up CB Derion Kendrick and S Juanyeh Thomas from the practice squad to fill the gaps, and Overshown's hamstring officially made it a downgrade to out. The other big question was Joey Porter Jr., who has been dealing with an ankle problem. He at least made the trip.

ProFootballTalk

@ProFootballTalk

Cowboys downgrade LB Demarvion Overshown (hamstring) to out; CB Joey Porter Jr., who is questionable with an ankle injury, made the trip to Green Bay. t.co/EgDxGy5YSc

Porter played, and made a stop on first down early. That was about the last thing that went right. KaVontae Turpin got hurt on the opening kickoff and never came back with a rib injury. Dee Winters limped into the blue tent in the 1st quarter with what Schottenheimer later called an Achilles strain. Meanwhile Green Bay drove down and scored on its first series, and Jordan Love's touchdown pass to Matthew Golden put the Packers ahead for good.

Then came third down, which has been this defense's problem for 2 years. Green Bay came in with the worst third-down offense in the league, and Dallas fixed that for them in about 20 minutes. The Packers were 9-for-10 on third down by halftime and went to the locker room up 17-0.

Greg Auman

@gregauman

Packers are 7-for-8 on third down so far against the Dallas defense -- 88 percent conversions. Last year, Dallas was the NFL's worst third-down defense at 47 percent. This year, entering this weekend, they were the worst third-down defense at 53 percent. Tonight: 88 percent.

The offense wasn't any better. Dallas had 189 total yards deep into the second half and finished with 303, its second-lowest total of the season. They threw it 54 times and ran it 15 for 48 yards. Then Schottenheimer threw a red flag in the 4th quarter and lost that too.

Calvin Watkins

@calvinwatkins

Brian Schottenheimer loses the challenge. He's 0-4 in his career on challenges.

Final: 23-13. The Cowboys gave up 11 third-down conversions, tied for the most by any team in a game this season, and have now scored 29 points in their last 2 games after averaging 30.5 per game through the first 4. Schottenheimer said the effort and fight were right but "mistakes are killing us." Dak Prescott said he had plays he wanted back, and he put the loss on the offense.

Calvin Watkins

@calvinwatkins

Dak Prescott: “I mean defense to me played a good enough game for us to go out there and win this and we just didn’t hold our own on offense.”

That's a quarterback falling on the sword, and for once in Dallas the defense wasn't the main problem. Which puts the heat on the guy calling the plays.

Clarence Hill Jr. stayed up into Monday morning going after Schottenheimer, saying he should have used a timeout and that the head coach has to act like one. Then he went further, and even told people they owe Mike McCarthy an apology. That one stings in Dallas.

Clarence Hill Jr

@clarencehilljr

Schottenheimer was out coached

Connor Livesay

@ConnorNFLDraft

Second consecutive week of Brian Schottenheimer getting taken to the wood shed by another defensive coordinator. If he’s not going to call good plays, the team is going to play like morons, and the game management stuff is a disaster, what the fuck are you doing?

The bigger complaint is George Pickens. Pickens and CeeDee Lamb caught only 15 of their 29 targets combined, and Prescott admitted Pickens has to get going earlier. Hill isn't buying the excuse that Pickens is drawing extra coverage.

Clarence Hill Jr

@clarencehilljr

The Cowboys have to find a way to geu George Pickens going early Dak knows it and admits it. The excuse that he’s getting extra attention is officially bs Scheme him targets He was the best player in camp, the best player in 2025 His energy is infectious. The offense can’t be great without Pickens fully involved

Green Bay looks completely different. The Packers are 4-2, and they're doing it on defense without Micah Parsons or Edgerrin Cooper. In Green Bay, the coordinator getting the credit is Jonathan Gannon, the guy Philly fans used to roast.

Matt Schneidman

@mattschneidman

Jonathan Gannon may not have been the flashiest DC hire, but it certainly looks like the right one. Without Micah Parsons and Edgerrin Cooper, Gannon has his defense playing like one of the NFL’s best. Breaking it down after Packers 23, Cowboys 13: t.co/x9ULscxm1U

Dallas comes home 2-4, without Overshown, with Turpin's ribs and Winters' Achilles to sort out, and with a head coach who said there's "one way out" of the hole. What to watch this week: whether the Pickens complaints turn into an early-script plan, and whether Schottenheimer changes anything about how he runs the game. Another flat Sunday and this gets a lot louder than one beat writer at 3 a.m.