NFL Giants’ quarterback Jameis Winston signs young fan’s jersey in sweet moment.
NFL Giants’ quarterback Jameis Winston made a young fan’s day by stopping for a chat and signing his jersey in a sweet video captured on the sidelines.
It’s a bittersweet homecoming for Micah Parsons on Sunday night when the Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers throw down on “Sunday Night Football.”
It won’t have taken long for Parsons to make his return to “Big D.” The superstar pass rusher began his stellar and budding career with Dallas, but was traded to the Packers in the week leading up to the NFL season. So far, he’s made his presence felt – and the Cowboys defense has felt his lack of presence.
Parsons has accounted for 15 total pressures and two sacks across three games with the Packers, per Pro Football Focus, with his 91.5 overall edge rusher grade trailing only Myles Garrett (92.0) and Joey Bosa (91.8). Dallas has three sacks combined as a unit.
To that end, Dallas’ defense has been among the worst in the league through three weeks, with opposing offenses facing minimal pressure and a secondary that has struggled to defend the pass. Dallas ranks dead last in passing yards allowed entering Week 4 – something that may have been remedied a bit had they rostered an all-world talent like Parsons.
USA TODAY Sports will cover all things Cowboys vs. Packers on Sunday night below, with live updates from pregame to the final whistle.
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Facing a 3rd-and-8 situation from their own 22, the Packers were able to convert thanks to a nifty catch from Doubs over his defender and along the right sideline.
His 18-yard reception extended the Green Bay drive with a new set of downs. The Packers have the ball at their own 40-yard line with fewer than four minutes to go.
NBC reported that Jacobs sustained a cut on his right knee on the Packers’ previous offensive drive. He received treatment for the cut in the team’s locker room.
Jacobs was still on the sideline to begin Green Bay’s next drive with 4:50 to go, but he returned to action one play later.
Williams took a direct snap behind a jumbo right formation and powered through the left side of the Cowboys’ offensive line for the score.
His one-yard rush gives Dallas the lead and pushes the streak of lead changes to four straight drives.
The Cowboys lead once again, 30-27, with under five minutes remaining in the fourth quarter.
The Cowboys went for it on 4th-and-2 on their own 43-yard line. Prescott made his head coach’s decision pay off with a perfect throw over the middle to find a sliding Pickens.
Dallas’ drive continues, now in Green Bay territory, with eight minutes to play.
The veteran running back made a couple of slick cuts during his 18-yard touchdown run.
Jacobs’ second touchdown of the game gives the Packers a 27-23 lead after McManus’ PAT and extends the streak to three straight drives with a lead change.
The Cowboys will take over with 11:39 left in the game.
The Packers quarterback found a seam in the Cowboys’ defense and took advantage of the opening with his legs. His 25-yard run pushed his team back into Dallas territory early in the fourth quarter.
Dallas is in line for its second win of the season with 15 minutes left to play. The Cowboys’ 80-yard touchdown drive near the end of the third quarter seized back the lead from Green Bay, 12 plays after the Packers had taken back the lead with a touchdown drive of their own.
Green Bay will start the fourth quarter with a 2nd-and-7 play from its own 33-yard line.
The Cowboys’ tight end, whom the team extended late in the offseason, pulled in a touchdown on a bullet pass from Prescott with his team-leading fifth catch of the night.
Aubrey’s PAT made it a 23-20 Cowboys lead with 34 seconds left in the third quarter. It’s a second straight lead change in the third quarter.
Parsons went to the blue medical tent on the Packers’ sideline after he was involved in a tackle on the Cowboys’ ensuing offensive drive. NBC cameras showed him back on Green Bay’s sideline after exiting the tent, though he was still holding his lower back.
The Cowboys’ defense nearly held strong after Kraft’s overturned touchdown. A false start penalty backed the Packers up to the 6-yard line, and Dallas stopped Green Bay short on first and second down.
Jacobs eventually was able to punch the ball into the end zone for a score on third down to give his team the lead once again.
It’s 20-16 Packers after McManus’ PAT was good. The Cowboys get the ball back with seven minutes left in the third quarter.
The Packers’ tight end dove for the front-left pylon for what was initially ruled a 15-yard touchdown on the field.
After a review, the officials ruled Kraft down at the 1-yard line. His elbow went down just before the ball crossed the goal line.
It appeared that edge rusher Sam Williams managed to get to Love for the Cowboys’ second sack of the game. But his hand curled around Love’s face mask, resulting in a personal foul call that not only wiped away the sack but gave Green Bay 15 yards and a first down.
The Packers’ drive moves into Dallas territory after the penalty. They have a first down on the Cowboys’ 38-yard line with over 10 minutes left in the third quarter.
Dallas mustered one first down on its first possession to begin the third quarter, but Prescott’s deep pass attempt to Jalen Tolbert fell incomplete on 3rd-and-14.
The Packers take over after the punt at their own 24-yard line two and a half minutes into the second half.
The Puerto Rican singer will be the headline performer at Super Bowl 60 in February, Apple Music announced in a social media post.
The three-time Grammy winner released his latest album, “Debà Tirar Más Fotos” in January of this year.
The former Cowboy didn’t have a heavy presence in the first half of “Sunday Night Football.”
Through two quarters, Parsons had one total tackle (0 solo) and one pressure on a quarterback hit. He has yet to record his second sack of the season through three and a half games.
Dallas staged a massive comeback in the final moments of the first half. After a Packers touchdown began the second quarter, the rest of the first half was all Cowboys.
They followed up a 95-yard touchdown drive with a takeaway deep in Packers territory, and turned that into another quick score to take the lead just before halftime.
Dallas took full advantage of James Houston’s efforts to regain possession of the ball.
One play later, Prescott hit Pickens over the middle for a 15-yard touchdown pass. Suddenly, the Cowboys lead, 16-13, with nine seconds left in the half.
Dallas edge rusher James Houston got to Love on a 1st-and-15 play with just seconds left in the first half. His strip and fumble recovery gave the Cowboys the ball back on Green Bay’s 15-yard line with 13 seconds remaining in the half.
Pickens’ big catch gave Dallas a few chances to punch in the ball for their first score on offense. After a one-yard loss on a Williams run, Prescott punched it in on a quarterback draw play from two yards out.
Brandon Aubrey’s ensuing PAT cut the Cowboys’ deficit to four points.
It’s 13-9, Packers, with 41 seconds left in the first half.
The Cowboys’ wide receiver got his team down to the Packers’ 1-yard line with a leaping grab over two Green Bay defenders converging on his point next to the sideline. He was able to get both feet down as he fell to complete the catch.
Pickens has been serving as Dallas’ leading receiver with CeeDee Lamb sidelined with an ankle injury and made his mark in a big way with the sideline catch.
Dallas had another nice play overturned by a penalty. A seven-yard loss by the Packers’ offense turned into a 15-yard gain and first down when officials flagged rookie defensive end Donovan Ezeiruaku for unnecessary roughness.
Nevertheless, the Cowboys stopped Green Bay’s offense for the next three plays to force a punt, which the Packers downed at the Dallas 5-yard line. It’s the Cowboys’ ball with 5:50 left in the half.
The Packers still lead, 13-2.
Golden, the rookie first-round pick and punt returner for the Packers, opted not to call for a fair catch on his ensuing punt return. After making the catch, he spun and immediately took a big hit from Cowboys linebacker Marist Liufau.
Golden was able to hold onto the ball, but the big hit prompted some pushing and shoving between the Cowboys’ punt team and Packers’ punt coverage unit.
For a second straight drive, a big play by Dallas has been called back because of a penalty. First, it was Trevon Diggs’ interception on the Packers’ last touchdown drive.
This time it was on offense. A 23-yard Kavontae Turpin reception was erased by an illegal formation penalty on third down, and the next attempt to convert wound up short.
The Cowboys once again punt after a three-and-out drive, and the Packers take over with 8:33 left in the half
Dallas finally got on the board in the second quarter thanks to its special teams unit. Safety Juanyeh Thomas blocked McManus’ PAT, and fellow special teams safety Markquese Bell returned the blocked kick more than 75 yards for a Cowboys two-pointer.
The score is now 13-2 Packers with 10:30 left in the first half.
This time, Doubs lined up on the left side and ran a one-yard quick slant to get open before Love found him for the pair’s second touchdown connection of the game. Running back Josh Jacobs had set up the score with a 28-yard catch-and-run on the play prior.
The Packers extend their two-score lead less than five minutes into the second quarter.
Dallas had too many players on the field when Love snapped the ball on a 3rd-and-5 play. The flag overturned what would have been Diggs’ first interception of the season after he made a diving play near the sideline.
Instead, the Packers’ drive continues with another first down thanks to the penalty.
Green Bay scored on its first drive, but since then, Week 4’s edition of “Sunday Night Football” has primarily been a defensive battle.
However, the Packers were driving to end the first quarter. They have the ball at the Dallas 38-yard line to begin the second quarter.
Dallas only managed five plays and 15 yards on its second drive. The Packers’ defense came up big with one ball batted down by cornerback Keisean Nixon on a deep throw, then with strong tackling on tight end Jake Ferguson to keep him short of the first-down marker.
The Cowboys punted away on fourth down, and after a short return from Golden, the Packers will take over from their own 32-yard line with just over one minute left in the first quarter.
Parsons made his presence felt early on the Cowboys’ second drive, getting to quarterback Dak Prescott just a moment after he released the ball. Prescott completed his throw to Williams for four yards and a Cowboys first down.
Green Bay just managed to enter Cowboys territory on its second drive but were stopped shy of field goal range.
Packers punter Daniel Whelan booted the ball away, and Dallas returner Kavontae Turpin signaled for a fair catch at his team’s 11-yard line. The Cowboys’ second drive will start deep in their own territory with just over four minutes left in the first quarter.
The NFL announced that the performer for the 2026 Super Bowl halftime show will be revealed during the Sunday Night Football game between the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys.
Dallas ran the ball three straight times on its first possession and failed to pick up more than three yards on any play. The last play was a Javonte Williams run to the opposite side of Packers edge-rusher Micah Parsons, who did not record a stat in his first defensive drive against his former team.
The Packers completed an eight-play, 69-yard drive with a touchdown. Doubs ran a perfect goal-line fade route, and Love found him in the back-right corner of the end zone for the two-yard touchdown pass.
It’s 7-0 Packers after Brandon McManus knocked through his PAT. The Cowboys will get their first possession with just over 10 minutes left in the first quarter.
On the third play of the game, both Golden and Dontayvion Wicks broke open as they streaked down the left sideline. It was Golden, the rookie first-round pick, who ended up coming down with the catch, putting Green Bay just outside of the red zone early.
NBC will broadcast the Cowboys vs. Packers “Sunday Night Football” matchup. Mike Tirico and Cris Collinsworth will be on the call, with Melissa Stark providing updates from the sideline.
The Cowboys enter their “Sunday Night Football” matchup with the Packers at 1-2. They suffered losses in Weeks 1 and 3 to the Eagles and Bears, respectively, with their sole win being an overtime victory against the Giants in Week 2.
Lamb is expected to be sidelined for at least two games, which would keep him out until Week 6.
The Cowboys haven’t provided much clarity on the situation in the aftermath. Team owner Jerry Jones confirmed to All City DLLS’ Clarence Hill Jr. on Monday that the team expects to be without Lamb for a month. He added that placing the receiver on injured reserve (IR) is a discussion the team will have.
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport reported that the team isn’t expected to place Lamb on IR. That decision would give him a chance to return earlier than the mandated four-game absence that an IR stint carries.
Below are the full terms of the Micah Parsons trade:
Packers get:Cowboys getDLÂ Kenny Clark2026 first-round pick2027 first-round pick
Salaries for the Cowboys cheerleaders are not disclosed, but reports indicate that a veteran on the team makes around $150,000 a year after the group received a 400% increase in pay prior to the 2025 NFL season. However, they do not receive health insurance from the team.
The news of the increase was revealed by member Megan McElaney, a four-year veteran from Oceanside, California, on the Netflix series “America’s Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders.”
“Our efforts were heard and they wanted to give us a raise,” McElaney said, via the Associated Press. “And we ended up getting a 400% increase, which is like, life-changing.”
Peacock, NBC’s proprietary streaming service, will carry the “SNF” game.
Fubo will also carry Cowboys vs. Packers. Fubo has NBC, as well as CBS, Fox, ABC, NFL Network and the ESPN family of networks, meaning you can catch NFL action all season long with the streaming service. Fubo also offers a free trial.
Watch “Sunday Night Football” with Fubo (free trial)
Both teams are coming off surprising Week 3 losses: The Cowboys on the road to the Bears, and the Packers on the road to the Browns. Even with Jayden Reed out, expect the Packers to have their way with Dallas’ porous secondary –and a Parsons likely hellbent on revenge probably adds a bit more fuel to the fire, too. With CeeDee Lamb out, Prescott will have to find George Pickens early and often. That’s not going to be an easy task. The Packers win by a touchdown.
Prediction: Packers 27, Cowboys 20
CB Kamal HaddenOL Zach TomOL Aaron BanksOL Anthony BeltonDL Warren BrinsonDamone Clark (LB)Jaydon Blue (RB)Tyler Booker (G)Ajani Cornelius (OT)CeeDee Lamb (WR)Jay Toia (DT)
The Packers walk into AT&T Stadium at 2-1 on the season. They have wins against the Lions and Commanders, with the Browns gaining an upset win over them in Week 3.
Start time: 8:20 p.m. ET | 7:20 p.m. CTDate: Sunday, Sept. 28 (Week 4)
The Cowboys and Packers matchup gets underway at 8:20 p.m. ET. The Packers travel to AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas for the tilt.
It is still early on in the 2025 season but Green Bay’s defense has taken another step under Hafley with Parsons in the lineup. Like last year, the improvement is reflected in both standard and advanced metrics.
Green Bay has the top scoring defense in the league in 2025 at just 14.7 points allowed per game – a step up from 19.9 allowed in 2024. But there’s even more improvement in each phase without a massive change in personnel outside of Parsons’ arrival.
Here’s how Green Bay’s defense has improved in multiple metrics with its league ranking in parentheses.
20242025Points allowed per game19.9 (6th)14.7 (1st)Passing defense13th7thRushing defense7th3rdSacks45 (T-8th)10 (6th)Pass rush win rate35% (26th)39% (15th)EPA/play-0.07 (5th)-0.13 (3rd)EPA/pass-0.05 (6th)-0.12 (9th)EPA/rush-0.09 (7th)-0.12 (10th)
EPA figures from SumerSports; pass rush win rate via ESPN Analytics.
Again, it’s only been three games but Parsons’ impact on the Packers defense is notable in all phases. This comes despite Parsons playing just 63% of snaps on defense so far; he’s hit at least 80% in each of his prior four seasons.
Tonight’s game kicks off at 8:20 p.m. ET which is 7:20 p.m. CT in Green Bay and Dallas.
Week 3 at Bears: 13 receptions, 14 targets, 82 yards, 0 touchdownsWeek 2 vs Giants: 9 receptions, 12 targets, 78 yards, 0 touchdownsWeek 1 at Eagles: 5 receptions, 6 targets, 23 yards, 0 touchdowns
In Week 3, with CeeDee Lamb out for most of the game, Ferguson caught 13 passes on 14 targets for 82 yards. This season, he has 27 receptions, which is the second most in the NFL and the highest for any Cowboys player in their first three games.
Here’s what the Cowboys will trot out at receiver while Lamb is sidelined:
CeeDee Lamb (injured)George PickensJalen TolbertKaVontae TurpinRyan Flournoy
Pickens figures to be Dak Prescott’s top weapon, while Tolbert slides into Lamb’s role.
Clark was the lone current asset the Cowboys acquired in the Parsons trade. The 29-year-old spent the first nine seasons of his career with the Packers, making three Pro Bowls (2019, 2021 and 2023) and racking up 417 tackles and 35 sacks across 140 games in Green Bay.
Thus far through three games with the Cowboys, Clark has totaled 10 tackles and one sack while playing 64% of Dallas’ defensive snaps. Pro Football Focus currently has him graded as the 22nd interior defender among 91 qualifiers. – Jacob Camenker
Parsons signed a four-year extension with the Packers upon being traded. Below is a look at the full details of that contract, per Spotrac.com.
Term: Four yearsTotal value: $186 millionAverage annual value (AAV): $46.5 millionGuaranteed money: $136 million
Parsons had one year left on his contract when the Packers acquired him. He is due to have just a $1.17 million base salary, but because he received the entirety of his $44 million signing bonus. – Jacob Camenker
The Packers are well-stocked at the wide receiver position. The franchise selected Matthew Golden with its first-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft and has multiple young players at the position.
Here’s how things look entering tonight’s game vs. Cowboys:
Green Bay also has wide receivers Mecole Hardman, Will Sheppard and Isaiah Neyor signed to the practice squad. –Ayrton Ostly
Parsons carrying a cap hit of just $9.97 million. That number is derived from his $1.17 million base salary and $8.8 million of his signing bonus, which was prorated over five years.
Parsons also has three “void years” – an accounting method used to defray the present-year salary cap cost of a player by prorating a signing bonus over additional years – attached to the end of his contract.
Below is a look at Parsons’ year-by-year cap hits with the Packers:
2025: $9.97 million2026: $19.24 million2027: $26.85 million2028: $42.29 million2029: $73.79 million2030 (void): $19.99 million2031 (void): $12.39 million2032 (void): $5.5 million
And here is how much Parsons will be taking home in total earnings each of his seasons under contract in Green Bay:
2025: $45.17 million2026: $40.84 million2027: $38 million2028: $41 million2029: $45 million
The star defensive end has arrived at AT&T Stadium for his first game against Dallas since being traded to Green Bay.
Much of Parsons’ nine-figure deal with the Packers is guaranteed, but there are some small incentives he can earn via his on-field performance. Below is a breakdown of those incentives, per Spotrac.com:
Annual per game active bonus: Up to $200,000 ($11,764 per game)2027-29 Pro Bowl escalator: $250,000 per year2027-29 All-Pro escalator: $250,000 per year2029 Pro Bowl incentive: $250,0002029 All-Pro incentive: $250,000
If Parsons is able to earn all of those bonuses, he will add an extra $3 million in value to his contract.
Parsons is the highest-paid NFL defender in both AAV and total contract value. Here’s a look at the top 10 defenders in each category:
AAVMicah Parsons, edge, Packers: $46.5millionT.J. Watt, edge, Steelers: $41 millionMyles Garrett, edge, Browns: $40 millionDanielle Hunter, edge, Texans: $35.6 millionMaxx Crosby, edge, Raiders: $35.5 millionNick Bosa, edge, 49ers: $34 millionChris Jones, DL, Chiefs: $31.75 millionSauce Gardner, CB, Jets: $30.1 millionDerek Stingley Jr., CB, Texans: $30 millionNik Bonitto, edge, Broncos: $26.5 millionTotal contract valueMicah Parsons, edge, Packers: $186 millionNick Bosa, edge, 49ers: $170 millionMyles Garrett, edge, Browns: $160 millionChris Jones, DL, Chiefs: $158.75 millionT.J. Watt, edge, Steelers: $123 millionSauce Gardner, CB, Jets: $120.4 millionMaxx Crosby, edge, Raiders: $106.5 millionNik Bonitto, edge, Broncos: $106 millionMilton Williams, DL, Patriots: $104 millionZach Allen, DL, Broncos: $102 million
While Parsons tops defensive players in AAV and total contract value, he ranks just 12th and 15th across the two categories league-wide, behind a plethora of high-paid quarterbacks.
Clark is in the first season of a three-year, $64 million extension he signed with the Packers in 2024. Below are the full details of Clark’s contract, per Spotrac.com.
Term: 3 yearsTotal value: $64 millionAverage annual value (AAV): $21.33 millionGuaranteed money: $17.5 million
While Clark’s deal runs through the 2027 NFL season, the Cowboys are not on the hook for any guarantees until the veteran’s $11 million roster bonus for 2026 hits on the third day of the new league year in March.
As such, Clark’s pact with Dallas is more of a year-to-year variety, as the team can get out of it with ease after each season.
Below is a full look at what Dallas will owe Clark yearly over the course of his contract:
2025: $2.3 million2026: $21.5 million2027: $20 million
By comparison, the Packers gave Parsons a four-year, $186 million contract extension to make him the NFL’s highest-paid defensive player in AAV. He is due $120 million in guarantees, which is nearly three times what Dallas will pay Clark over the remainder of his deal.
The Cowboys will not have a tribute video for Parsons on Sunday night.
“It’s not appropriate,” Jones told All City DLLS’ Clarence Hill Jr. on Sept. 22.
Jones hasn’t hid his displeasure with how the negotiations played out, routinely taking aim at Parsons’ agent, David Mulugheta, throughout the process – especially during an appearance on Michael Irvin’s YouTube channel in August.
“When we wanted to send the [contract] details to the agent, the agent told us to stick it up our ass,” Jones said. “Micah and I talked and then we were gonna send it over to the agent. We had our agreements on term, amount, guarantees, everything.”
Hafley spent the first decade of his coaching career at the college level with stops at Worcester Polytechnic, Albany, Pittsburgh and Rutgers. Though he played wide receiver in college for the Siena Saints, Hafley’s spent the majority of his coaching career on defense. He was either a defensive assistant or defensive backs coach in that first decade.
He followed former Rutgers coach Greg Schiano to the NFL in 2012 with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He coached defensive backs for the franchise in 2012 and 2013.
When Schiano was fired after the 2013 season, Hafley went to Cleveland for two seasons before a three-year stint in San Francisco. His year with Ohio State in 2019 led to his hiring at Boston College in 2020, where he spent four season and went 22-26 with one Bowl game victory.
Green Bay hired Hafley in 2024 and saw immediate improvement by both standard and advanced statistics. Green Bay went from one of the four worst run defenses in 2023 to a top-10 unit in 2024. By expected points added (EPA) per play, the Packers went from 23rd in 2023 to fifth in 2024, according to SumerSports.
Like Macdonald’s success with Baltimore in 2023, Hafley will likely get head coaching interest for the 2026 hiring cycle.
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Mike Tirico will handle play-by-play duties during the game, with Cris Collinsworth providing color commentary and Melissa Stark reporting from the sidelines.
NBC’s weekly “Football Night in America” pregame show will begin at 7 p.m. ET and feature insight from a panel of analysts, including Maria Taylor, Jason Garrett, Chris Simms, Mike Florio, Devin McCourty, Tony Dungy, and more.Â