This game has been built up for over a month. Ever since Jerry Jones traded Micah Parsons to the Green Bay Packers, the Week 4 matchup at AT&T Stadium has been circled on everyone’s calendar. Already slated for Sunday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys decision to jettison one of the league’s premier defenders to a conference rival only raised the stakes.
By the time the game arrived though, the Cowboys couldn’t exactly worry about the narrative, as their season was on the brink. Entering the contest with a 1-2 record, Dallas had some soul searching to do. They did that, and then some, at least on the offensive side of things. Head coach Brian Schottenheimer called an amazing contest, with quarterback Dak Prescott executing the game plan with the utmost precision. Only Matt Eberflus’ defense was once again lackluster, and another back-and-forth ordeal ensued.
So much so, the game went to overtime, where both teams settled for field goals after promising drives, with the Packers kick going through with no time remaining, resulting in a 40-40 tie.
The 80 points scored was the most in an NFL tie in league history; there was a 43-43 tie in the AFL in 1964.
The Cowboys fell behind early, as the team that left Chicago with their tails tucked between their legs in Week 3 arrived at AT&T Stadium. Green Bay raced out to a two-touchdown lead with little resistance as they looked to win their sixth-straight game in the all-time series, looking for a perfect 7-0 record at the Cowboys current ballpark.
Dallas got some life when reserve safety Juanyeh Thomas blocked the extra point and fellow safety Markquese Bell raced to the opposite end zone for the two-point score. That led to an awakening of the Cowboys’ offense, primarily on the back of Prescott’s connection with George Pickens.
With CeeDee Lamb out with a high-ankle sprain, Pickens moved in to the WR1 role and it fit him like a glove. The post-draft trade acquisition had his best outing in a Cowboys uniform, catching 8 catches for 134 yards and two scores.
Prescott was just as impressive, completing 31 of 40 attempts for 319 yards and three scores. He added another score on the ground as the Cowboys scored on six of their final seven drives, with five of them being touchdowns.
Dallas had scoring drives of 54, 62, 76, 85 and 95 yards respectively. The Packers came into the game with one of the NFL’s stingiest defenses. Packers opponents scored just 44 points across their first three games and had under 900 yards of offense.
But the Cowboys were unable to pull away because Jordan Love was just as impressive. The Green Bay QB finished with 337 passing yards and his own three-TD, zero-INT stat line as well.
In overtime, the Cowboys drove down the field, but had to settle for a field goal after getting first and goal from the five. That allowed the Packers a chance to tie or win, an opportunity they almost botched. With the clock running and no timeouts, Love threw to the end zone with the pass falling incomplete with just one second remaining.
Brandon McManus came out and nailed his second field goal to tie the score at 40.
The Cowboys now sit at 1-2-1 and will travel to New York to take on the Jets next Sunday.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys, Packers execute highest-scoring tie in NFL history, 40-40
