The "Sunday Night Football" shootout never materialized, and the Green Bay Packers cruised to a 23-13 win over the Dallas Cowboys in primetime at Lambeau Field in Week 6. Matt LaFleur's team scored on their opening possession, led 17-0 at the half and held at least a 10-point lead for every second of the second half. The Packers have now won three straight games after a 1-2 start.
Here's what went right, what went wrong and what it means for the Packers moving forward:
What went right
-- The Packers put Dak Prescott under pressure on 22 of his dropbacks, per PFF, and the veteran quarterback averaged only 4.8 yards per attempt and 7.6 yards per completion. His average depth of target was under 7.0 yards, suggesting the Packers consistently had players covered
down the field. Jonathan Gannon pushed the right buttons. Putting six or seven defenders up near the line of scrimmage and threatening (or sending) the blitz flummoxed Prescott over and over again.
-- Jordan Love helped the Packers convert nine of their first 10 opportunities in the first half, leading to three scoring drives and a 17-0 lead at the half. Love was on fire early, throwing for 109 passing yards on the opening drive, and he both threw a touchdown pass and ran in a touchdown during the first half. The Packers finished with 12 third or fourth down conversions.
-- CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens were targeted 29 times. They finished with 143 receiving yards, but the two averaged 4.9 yards per target and 1.44 yards per route run, and only one of the 15 catches gained over 20 yards. Dak Prescott's passer rating when targeting Lamb and Pickens was 37.0. Keisean Nixon, Brandon Cisse and Carrington Valentine were excellent.
-- Golden had drops, but he also caught six passes for 104 yards and a score. He is open all the time. The drops prevented Golden from having a career-best night in primetime.
-- The Packers intercepted Prescott twice in their own territory and produced a pair of fourth down stops in the fourth quarter. The Cowboys had plenty of chances to score more than 13 points, but Green Bay consistently got stops in big spots. Evan Williams made a terrific play on his first half interception. Dallas had only seven points until garbage time.
-- Rookie kicker Trey Smack rebounded, making all five of his kicks -- including a 44-yard field goal -- after missing three kicks last week. It was a breezy night inside Lambeau Field, but Smack had no issues. He appears to be a resilient young specialist.
-- Strong had a drop in the fourth quarter on what likely would have been a third down conversion, but he was otherwise excellent as the passing game running back. He caught five passes and turned a couple of checkdowns into first downs. He is a slippery player out of the backfield and a capable replacement for Chris Brooks.
-- Despite having only four defensive linemen available, the Packers allowed only 48 rushing yards and 3.2 yards per run. Going up big early forced the Cowboys into a one-dimensional offense.
-- Savion Williams got involved early and often, handling six total touches and gaining 41 yards. His best play was a well-run in-breaker against Caleb Downs for a 15-yard catch on third down. Matt LaFleur put Williams in the slot on over 50 percent of his snaps.
What went wrong
-- The Packers dropped three different would-be touchdown passes from Jordan Love. Matthew Golden dropped a pair, including one deep ball that was uncontested. Christian Watson had a drop in the end zone on an extended play, although the ball was deflected slightly before it got to Watson. All three throws were close to perfect from Love. Golden had three total drops, and Pierre Strong Jr. and MarShawn Lloyd also had drops. Also, Tucker Kraft didn't get two feet down in bounds on what should have been an easy completion. That's seven missed opportunities in the passing game.
-- The run game is still a mess. The Packers called 24 designed runs and averaged only 2.2 yards per carry, and running backs Pierre Strong Jr., MarShawn Lloyd and Kaleb Johnson carried 20 times for only 36 yards. There is just no running room, and the running backs aren't nearly good enough to create more on their own. Can Josh Jacobs fix this?
-- The offensive line gave up too much pressure. In fact, Jordan Love was under pressure on 45.5 percent of his dropbacks, per Next Gen Stats, and the Cowboys produced three sacks and eight hits. In their return to Lambeau Field, Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark were disruptive, creating 13 total pressures.
-- Love threw a pick on a pre-determined throw in the first half, and it could have swung the game had the return for a touchdown not been overturned. He almost threw a pick in the second half, too.
-- It was a penalty-filled night for both teams, and the Packers were responsible for 11 of the 22 accepted penalties. Matthew Golden and Dani Dennis-Sutton were both flagged for taunting, three different offensive linemen had penalties, and Lukas Van Ness and Ty'Ron Hopper both had penalties negating defensive stops late. Six different defensive players had penalties, and the Cowboys gained four first downs via penalty. Were some questionable? Absolutely. But penalties have been a recurring problem all season.
-- The offense didn't exert dominance over a bad defense, averaging only 4.5 yards per play and producing a success rate of 31.4 percent. The Packers had multiple opportunities to put the game away with points and couldn't find the dagger.
What it means
The Packers have won three straight games and survived an early season rough patch. Matt LaFleur's team were headed down a dark path through three games, and even the win in Tampa Bay was ugly. But the Packers blew the doors off the Bears last week and were in complete control for most of the game on Sunday night, suggesting this team is headed in the right direction. The encouraging part? The Packers are winning despite the lingering drops and penalties and getting nothing from the run game. More encouraging? Jonathan Gannon's defense looked legit against an elite veteran quarterback. The Packers are 4-2 and will return Josh Jacobs and Micah Parsons over the next month. Credit to LaFleur's team for overcoming adversity and charting a different path after a slow, disappointing start to the season.
What's next
After back-to-back home games, the Packers will head to Detroit to play the Lions at Ford Field on Sunday afternoon in Week 7. The Lions are coming off a bye in Week 6 and sit at 3-2 overall, with wins over the New Orleans Saints, New York Jets and Arizona Cardinals and losses to the Buffalo Bills and Carolina Panthers. This is a big division game for both teams. Last season, the Packers swept the Lions, including a 31-24 win on Thanksgiving Day at Ford Field. In the Jordan Love era, the Packers are 2-1 at Ford Field.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Breaking down Packers' 23-13 win over Cowboys: What went right, wrong
