McCarthy returns to Lambeau for the first time since 2018
Various Sources
DALLAS (6-2) at GREEN BAY (3-6)
WHEN: Sunday, 3:25 p.m. CST;
TV: FOX
SERIES RECORD: Packers lead 20-17
LAST MEETING: Packers beat Cowboys 34-24 on Oct. 6, 2019, at Arlington, Texas
LAST WEEK: Cowboys were off last week after beating Chicago Bears 49-29 at home on Oct. 30; Packers lost 15-9 at Detroit
COWBOYS OFFENSE: OVERALL (22), RUSH (11), PASS (25), SCORING (T14)
PACKERS OFFENSE: OVERALL (14), RUSH (14), PASS (15), SCORING (27)
COWBOYS DEFENSE: OVERALL (10), RUSH (24), PASS (4), SCORING (3)
PACKERS DEFENSE: OVERALL (6), RUSH (26), PASS (2), SCORING (15)
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Cowboys plus-6; Packers minus-5
COWBOYS-PACKERS GAME CAPSULE
Circumstances surrounding Dallas Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy's return to Lambeau Field to face his former team are quite a bit different from expected. This initially shaped up as a midseason matchup between two teams with high expectations after reaching the playoffs a year earlier. While the Cowboys (6-2) have held up their end of the bargain, the Packers (3-6) have dropped five straight games for the first time since 2008.
The Packers are dealing with multiple injuries as they attempt to spoil McCarthy's return on Sunday and boost their fading postseason hopes. "Nobody really cares about what you're going through, what the circumstances are," said McCarthy's successor, Matt LaFleur. "You're expected to win, especially here. We know we're going against a great opponent — one of the best teams in the National Football League."
McCarthy took over as Green Bay's coach in 2005 and posted a 125-77-2 record before getting fired late in the 2018 season. He led the Packers to their most recent Super Bowl title, in the 2010 season. A road near Lambeau Field is named Mike McCarthy Way. The coach got emotional this week while discussing his favorite memories from Green Bay. He noted how special this game will be for his family. But he also wants to make sure none of those factors affect his team's focus. "Trust me, I'm the last person that wants to create any type of distraction or questions for somebody else because we're at the point in the year now, starting the third quarter of the season, we know what it takes to win a football game," McCarthy said.
Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who earned two of his four MVP awards while playing for McCarthy, says he appreciates the way his former coach has shown his sentimental side in the days leading up to this matchup. "Mike's Pittsburgh toughness and grit on the outside and a big soft teddy bear on the inside," Rodgers said. "I think that's a great combination to have."
HOW TO WATCH / LISTEN
Outside linebacker Rashan Gary, who has a team-high six sacks, suffered a season-ending knee injury Sunday in a 15-9 loss at Detroit. He's one of many Packers who could be unavailable against the Cowboys. Cornerback Eric Stokes (knee/ankle) and wide receiver Romeo Doubs (ankle) also got hurt in the Lions game and aren't expected to play. Wide receiver Randall Cobb (ankle) is on injured reserve. The Packers had 17 players on Wednesday's injury report.
NO RUSH FOR ELLIOTT?
Dallas running back Ezekiel Elliott sounded less than certain he would play after missing the game before the bye with a right knee injury. The two-time rushing champ did say the plan is to play. If he does, it likely will be with a brace. Elliott missed just one game because of injury in his first six seasons. He played through a knee injury last year, limiting his effectiveness. Even before the latest injury, he was sharing the backfield more than at any point in his career. With Elliott out against the Bears, Tony Pollard matched his career highs in carries (14) and yards rushing (131) with a 54-yard touchdown in Dallas' 49-29 victory. "I would say there is urgency," Elliott said. "But I think what's important is just making sure my knee is good and ready to go. I plan to play deep into the playoffs, so the long game is definitely the priority."
POST WEEK 9 TEAM RANKINGS
Young pass-rushing star Micah Parsons faced Tom Brady in his first game as a rookie for the Cowboys last year, and again in the opener this season. Now he gets a shot at a four-time MVP in Rodgers. "He's an idol and a figure in this league that you look up to," said Parsons, who entered the week fifth in the NFL with eight sacks. "I look up to him. He's been in this league a long time and done it the right way. He's a hell of a player and no one can take that from him."
GOING OFF SCRIPT
Green Bay is scoring just 17.1 points per game to rank 27th in the NFL as the Packers struggle without departed two-time All-Pro receiver Davante Adams. Rodgers and Adams had a knack for improvising to get big gains. Rodgers was asked Wednesday if perhaps he shouldn't go off script as often now that his receivers haven't worked with him as often as Adams had. Rodgers replied, "I think we've been more by the book in this year than we have been in any year that Matt's been here. I think the struggle has been how do we make it by the book but not robotic," Rodgers said. "Because robotic, unless you have a perfect scheme that's paired up with a perfect defense for that scheme, it's not going to be open. So I think that's where the little details come in, where we're not trying to be robotic. Obviously we're trying to run the plays by the book. We're not going way outside the offense."
COWBOYS PLAYER TO WATCH
This is the first road game of the season for QB Dak Prescott, who missed five games after breaking the thumb on his throwing hand in a season-opening loss to Tampa Bay. He’s 24-18 on the road with 12 game-winning drives, second in the NFL since entering the league in 2016. Dallas was 4-1 without Prescott, but the offense struggled. Its best showing of the season came in Prescott’s second game back against the Bears before the bye.
PACKERS PLAYER TO WATCH
QB Aaron Rodgers matched a career high with three interceptions at Detroit, with two of them coming in goal-to-go situations. The four-time MVP will try to make amends Sunday as he tries to beat Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy, who coached the Packers’ during the 2010 season when Rodgers won his lone Super Bowl title.
KEY MATCHUP
Cowboys RBs Ezekiel Elliott and Tony Pollard vs. Packers run defense. Elliott practiced on a limited basis Wednesday and is hoping to play for the first time since Oct. 23 as he recovers from a knee injury. Pollard stepped in for Elliott and rushed for 131 yards and three touchdowns against the Bears. The Cowboys should feel confident they can run the ball against a Green Bay defense allowing 4.8 yards per carry to rank 24th.
KEY INJURIES
Cowboys LB Anthony Barr (hamstring) might not play in his first visit to Green Bay since signing as a free agent after spending his first eight seasons in Minnesota. Barr sustained the injury chasing speedy Chicago QB Justin Fields… Cowboys S Malik Hooker (hamstring) and rookie DE Sam Williams (knee) are expected to return after missing the Chicago game… Packers OLB Rashan Gary (knee) got injured at Detroit and will miss the rest of the season… Packers WR Randall Cobb (ankle) is on injured reserve and will miss a fourth straight game… Packers WR Romeo Doubs (ankle) and CB Eric Stokes (ankle/knee) got hurt at Detroit and aren’t expected to play Sunday… Packers LB Krys Barnes (concussion), CB Shemar Jean-Charles (ankle), WR Sammy Watkins (knee) and Rodgers also didn’t practice Wednesday… Rodgers continues to deal with an injured right thumb, though it hasn’t caused him to miss any games.
The Packers have won eight of the past nine meetings. That run includes two NFC divisional playoff victories, a 26-21 triumph at Lambeau Field in the 2014 season and a 34-32 road victory in the 2016 season. The only Dallas victory in that stretch was during the 2016 regular season, a 30-16 win at Green Bay in which Prescott threw for three touchdowns and Elliott ran for 157 yards, 2 off his career high. This is the first time Matt LaFleur and McCarthy have faced off as head coaches. McCarthy went 125-77-2 in 13 seasons as Green Bay’s coach before getting fired in 2018.
GAMEDAY WEATHER
STATS AND STUFF
McCarthy returns to Green Bay, where he led the Packers to the Super Bowl to finish the 2010 season. They won the title at the home of the Cowboys. McCarthy was fired during the 2018 season and hired by Dallas in 2020. Green Bay is the only team McCarthy hasn’t faced. A win would give him at least one regular-season victory against every team except Pittsburgh, the team he beat in the Super Bowl. McCarthy’s next regular-season victory will be No. 150, moving him past Bill Cowher for 23rd on the career list… The Cowboys have allowed at least 200 net passing yards just once this season. Aaron Rodgers has averaged 261 yards in 10 games against Dallas with 16 touchdowns and two interceptions. His record as a starter against the Cowboys is 7-2… Elliott has 72 touchdowns and needs one to pass tight end Jason Witten for fifth on the club’s career list… Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb needs five catches to become the fastest to reach 200 catches in franchise history (41 games)… The Packers have committed 25 penalties over their past three games… Green Bay is trying to avoid its first six-game losing streak since 1988… This is the Packers’ first home game since a 27-10 loss to the New York Jets on Oct. 16. They’ve been on the road for the past three weeks… In two career games against the Cowboys, Packers RB Aaron Jones has totaled 38 carries for 232 yards and five TDs plus eight catches for 84 yards… Packers WR Allen Lazard has five TD catches this season despite missing two games because of injury… these are the top two teams in regular-season winning percentage in NFL history (.573 for Dallas to .572 for Green Bay)… Green Bay has won five of its last seven matchups with Dallas. Among active quarterbacks with at least five starts against Dallas, only Tom Brady (7-0) and Russell Wilson (5-1) have a better record against the Cowboys than Aaron Rodgers (5-2)… the Cowboys rushed for 200 yards and four touchdowns in a Week 8 win over the Bears. It was the first time Dallas rushed for 200 yards and four scores since Week 1, 1995… in the win over Chicago, Dak Prescott became the first Cowboys quarterback in the last 30 seasons to have a pass and rush of at least 25 yards in the same game… the Packers have lost five straight games, averaging 15.8 points per game during the losing streak. It is the first time the Packers have lost five games in a row while averaging fewer than 16.0 points per game since Weeks 13 through 17 of the 1990 season… Aaron Rodgers' passer rating is at 89.0 this season after posting a 111.9 rating in 2021. The decrease of 22.9 is the largest by a Packers quarterback (min. 5 games played) since Bart Starr from 1966 to 1967 (105.0 to 64.4)… Tony Pollard rushed for 131 yards against the Bears, getting 9.4 yards per carry. It was his second career game with a rushing average above 9.0 on 10 or more carries. Only Tony Dorsett (four) has more such games in Cowboys history.
NFL INJURY REPORT (SATURDAY)
DALLAS: OUT: LB Anthony Barr (hamstring). QUESTIONABLE: RB Ezekiel Elliott (knee). GREEN BAY: OUT: LB De'Vondre Campbell (knee), WR Romeo Doubs (ankle), CB Shemar Jean-Charles (ankle), CB Eric Stokes (ankle, knee). DOUBTFUL: LB Krys Barnes (concussion). QUESTIONABLE: T David Bakhtiari (knee), WR Amari Rodgers (hamstring).
DALLAS COWBOYS ARRIVE IN GREEN BAY
PACKERS RADIO NETWORK
Thursday, November 10
Atlanta Falcons 15, Carolina Panthers 25
Sunday, November 13
Seattle Seahawks vs Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Munich), 8:30 a.m., NFLN
Minnesota Vikings at Buffalo Bills, 12:00 p.m., FOX
Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears, 12:00 p.m., FOX
Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs, 12:00 p.m., CBS
Cleveland Browns at Miami Dolphins, 12:00 p.m., CBS
Houston Texans at New York Giants, 12:00 p.m., CBS
New Orleans Saints at Pittsburgh Steelers, 12:00 p.m., FOX
Denver Broncos at Tennessee Titans, 12:00 p.m., CBS
Indianapolis Colts at Las Vegas Raiders, 3:05 p.m., CBS
Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers, 3:25 p.m., FOX
Arizona Cardinals at Los Angeles Rams, 3:25 p.m., FOX
Los Angeles Chargers at San Francisco 49ers, 7:20 p.m., NBC
Monday, November 14
Washington Commanders at Philadelphia Eagles, 7:15 p.m., ESPN
