We are just days away from yet another Dallas-Green Bay showdown, and this is a crucial one for both teams in this rivalry; the struggles of the Packers’ offense and the Cowboys defense have both teams hovering around the .500 mark.
Green Bay is 3-2 and coming off a win in Lambeau against the backup quarterback-led Bears, but their offense finally showed signs of life in that one. Dallas, on the other hand, isn’t riding nearly as high.
The Cowboys dropped their last game against the then-0-4 Buccaneers in AT&T Stadium, as the defense got sliced up by a UDFA rookie QB, and the offense struggled to respond.
It wasn’t the prettiest game from the offense, but the defense is the problem in Dallas; that’s why they hired Mike Pettiene to join the staff this week. Here, I’ll give you the three biggest threats to the Cowboys defense in Week 6.
Problems 1 & 2: Christian Watson & Matthew Golden against Dallas’s Secondary
(The Packers WR Duo have combined for 50 receptions, 871 receiving yards, and 8 TDs.)
Green Bay drafted Texas Longhorns star Matthew Golden last year with the hope that he’d unlock their offense — that’s finally coming to fruition after a disappointing rookie campaign in 2025.
Christian Watson, the long-time Packers receiver, is also coming into his own. He’s managed to stay healthy, which is usually an issue for him, while also putting up numbers he never has before; at least not this consistently.
Combined, this duo is as fast, explosive, and dangerous to a weak secondary as any in football, and that spells danger for Dallas.
Daron Bland just had a pick-6 in his hands … and he dropped it.
Even with Joey Porter Jr. back this week, you cannot trust this abysmal Cowboys secondary, and especially DaRon Bland, to keep up with these speedsters in Week 6. Dallas will have to find some way to throw Jordan Love off before he can get the ball to Golden/Watson on Sunday.
The In-House Issue: Christian Parker’s Early-Season Struggles
(Parker’s Defense has no INT’s, is ranked 31st in Yards per Game, and comes in last in Rushing Yards Per Game.)
The other big-time threat for Dallas’s D comes from inside the house, and it is Christian Parker.
For all the hype that the first-time defensive coordinator got in the buildup to the season, it has been a flat-out disaster for him to this point. Putting the terrible statistics aside, we see constant miscommunication, blown coverage, and head-scratching soft zone coverage play calls.
Mike Nolan vs Matt Eberflus vs Christian Parker through their first five games as Cowboys defensive coordinator:
As much as I like him and hope for his eventual success, Parker is a problem, and I struggle to see him suddenly turning things on their head for a dominant performance against the Packers.
Maybe the Pettine addition proves valuable, or maybe he does start to inch toward figuring it out on Sunday, but there’s no denying it is a major concern for the Cowboys defense again this week.
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