Barring any unforeseen changes, the Green Bay Packers will not face a backup quarterback for the third straight week. On "Sunday Night Football" this week, Green Bay will host quarterback Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys.
In the past two games, the Packers have faced Jalon Daniels and Tyson Bagent, two undrafted quarterbacks tasked with filling in for their team’s injured starters.
During Week 5’s Thursday Night Football matchup, Daniels led the Buccaneers to their first win of the season, a 24-16 victory over Dallas, while Prescott struggled, completing only 57.1% of his passes for 316 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions as the Cowboys fell to 2-3 on the year.
Despite being one of the more surprising disappointments to start the 2026
season, Dallas’ roster features weapons you have to account for, particularly on offense.
“He’s (Dak) a baller,” coach Matt LaFleur said Wednesday. “Then you’ve got two wideouts, really multiple wideouts that can make big-time plays, but obviously the two stars. You got a tight end that’s a really good player, a running back that’s a really good player, just the whole collection of them. I think (Brian Schottenheimer) does a really good job as an offensive coordinator, so it’s a great challenge.”
According to LaFleur, it all starts with Prescott, whose 79.0 adjusted QBR ranks third in the NFL, while his 1,381 passing yards are the fifth-most. He also ranks in the top 10 in touchdowns thrown and completion percentage. Prescott might be coming off his worst performance of the season, but the Packers know they aren’t facing someone used to being on the sideline holding a clipboard.
“Probably just the fact that he can make any throw, and he knows he can make any throw,” safety Evan Williams said. “(Dak) has a really live arm and with the weapons he’s got, he really trusts them in any opportunity to go make a play…these past couple weeks, we haven’t had many quarterbacks that are gunslingers that are just going to put it in the air regardless. It’s an opportunity to go make some plays and put our playstyle on tape.”
What’s been working for Green Bay’s defense has been generating turnovers. Their seven interceptions through five games already match their total for all of last season.
This week is another chance to keep that takeaway train going after Prescott threw two costly picks in the loss to Tampa Bay. However, he’s only thrown three all year, and the Packers have yet to defend a wide receiver combination like CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
Lamb and Pickens have combined for 862 yards, trailing only Green Bay’s emerging duo of Christian Watson and Matthew Golden, per Ryan Wood of Packersnews.com.
The Packers aren’t that far removed from getting embarrassed in prime time by the Atlanta Falcons, a loss in which the defense showed vulnerability against wide receiver Drake London, who racked up a career-high 194 receiving yards.
While preparing to face the best quarterback they’ve seen all season and two premier wide receivers, Green Bay’s defensive leaders know how difficult Sunday night will be.
“He’s been a premier quarterback in this league for a long time,” veteran linebacker Zaire Franklin said. “He’s got complete command and control of that offense. Obviously, him and the play caller have a great relationship, so he’s got the full menu at his disposal. Then he’s got two alphas over there, CeeDee and George. Definitely got to make sure they don’t break the game, like they’re both capable of. We just got to make sure everybody’s on their job.”
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Packers know Dak Prescott and Cowboys stars pose much bigger challenge
