GREEN BAY, Wisc. – The Cowboys didn't win any of the three phases Sunday night. When that happens, teams usually don't get the victory. And this one was no exception. The Cowboys lost by a final score of 23-13, but there were some moments from start to finish that led to this outcome.
Here are a handful of plays that might have changed the outcome:
Green Bay's first third-down conversion – OK, so you can't convert four third-and-long situations on the same drive if you don't get the first one. So let's go with the very first third-down the Packers converted to open the game. The Cowboys chose to take the ball after winning the toss but had to punt and pinned Green Bay back at its 10-yard line. On third-and-5 from their own 15, the Packers moved the chains with a 15-yard pass to Savion Williams. Without that, the Cowboys get the ball back in good field position, but the Packers continued that theme the rest of the drive and converted three more third downs, including two third-and-13 completions and then a third-and-6 for the touchdown.
Winters getting grazed – Remember when Dee Winters not only intercepted the first pass of the season for the Cowboys defense, but he also got up and scored? How big would that play have been had the officials not come back on a review to see the Packers' receiver actually touching Winters as he was going to the ground. Dallas still got the interception but certainly didn't get the 41-yard touchdown return. The Cowboys took over and eventually got the ball inside the red zone, but Dak Prescott threw an interception on third down, negating any chance of points.
Flournoy's holding penalty – The Cowboys were driving late in the second quarter, trailing 10-0 but looking for points before the half to perhaps change the momentum. But after a 9-yard run by Tyler Goodson to the Packers' 14, a flag was thrown on Ryan Flournoy for holding. The spot foul pushed the ball back to the 33, and two plays later Prescott threw his second interception after CeeDee Lamb slipped to the ground running his route. Once again, the Cowboys missed a golden chance to score. In fact, Green Bay took advantage and marched down the field for a touchdown to pad its lead.
Porter's PI and spot– Before halftime, the Packers led 10-0 and had another third-and-8 when quarterback Jordan Love went for a deep shot down the right sideline to Bo Melton, who was covered by Joey Porter Jr. On the play, Porter had shoved Melton out of bounds, and then Melton came back on the field of play to catch the ball, but Porter cleanly swatted that away for an incomplete pass. And then the referee decided to throw his flag, but not just at the end of the play. He then picked it back up and threw the flag even further back down the sideline, where Melton had gone out of bounds. So it seemed as if the penalty could be either illegal touching for coming back in bounds or maybe illegal contact on Porter way back up the field. Instead, the call was pass interference, and the ball was awarded to the Packers at the end of the play, resulting in a 37-yard penalty. Either way, whether the ref threw the flag way later or called the wrong penalty, it didn't work out for the Cowboys. And a few plays later, the Packers scored and took a 17-0 lead.
Revel's penalty on the punt – The Cowboys trailed 20-7 and had the Packers pinned back at their 4-yard line, forcing a punt later in the third quarter. This was a chance for Dallas to get great field position and perhaps drive down for a score to cut this to a one-possession game. But during the punt, Shavon Revel was flagged for an unnecessary holding call, which pushed the ball 10 yards back from the end of the play. So instead of a possession starting at midfield, it was back to the Cowboys' 31. From the Packers' 4 to there, it was a 65-yard difference in field position and turned into a 19-yard penalty. The Cowboys only got back to the 50 and turned the ball over on downs.
