Cowboys’ Week 4 matchup against the Packers is a big test

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Are the Cowboys primed for a special playoff run in 2024?
Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) throws a pass under pressure from Green Bay Packers linebacker Preston Smith (91) during the first half of an NFL football game on Sunday, Nov. 13, 2022, in Green Bay, Wisc.

In all likelihood, the Dallas Cowboys will be 2-1 when they host the Green Bay Packers in the fourth week of the season.

If Dallas is 3-0 when this game kicks off, it means the Cowboys are rolling. Anything less than 2-1 and this game becomes a must-win for Dallas.

Unfortunately, the Cowboys will come into this game with a five-game losing streak to the Packers. The last time they beat Green Bay was in 2016 at Lambeau Field.

The first four losses were by a combined 20 points.

Three of them were by four points or fewer and one was an overtime loss at that.

We need not discuss the train wreck that was that fifth loss, the last time the teams met. The wild card debacle at AT&T Stadium that ended with a Packers’ 16-point win that wasn’t even that close.

Coming back home with a win would do wonders for Dallas’ confidence for the rest of the year.

Especially since Dallas hasn’t beaten Green Bay at home since Nov. 29, 2007.

In that game, at Texas Stadium, Tony Romo out dueled both Brett Favre and Aaron Rodgers with a four-touchdown performance in a 37-27 win.

Quarterback Dak Prescott in Dallas Cowboys uniform during an NFL game.

Since then, the Packers have won all five games inside AT&T Stadium. A sixth-straight Green Bay win, and they’ll have to rename the stadium, Lambeau Field South.

Dak Prescott Confidence Boost

The biggest beneficiary of a Week 4 win would be Dak Prescott.

Since beating Rodgers and the Packers the first time he played them in his rookie year, Prescott has dropped five in a row. He’s actually had some good numbers against Green Bay.

He just hasn’t been able to get the wins.

In 2016, in the regular season matchup, he was 18-for-27 for 247 yards, three touchdowns, and an interception.

In the 34-31 playoff loss a few weeks later, he was 24-of-38 for 32 yards and three touchdowns against one interception. The next season, in a four-point loss, he was 25-of-36 for 251 yards and the same touchdown-interception numbers.

But in the three losses this decade, he is a combined 95-of-150 for 1,131 yards. He’s thrown for eight touchdowns, but also had seven interceptions.

Jan 14, 2024; Arlington, Texas, USA; Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott (4) drops back to pass against the Green Bay Packers in the first half of the 2024 NFC wild card game at AT&T Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports

The last two put his team in a 27-0 hole in the 2024 Wild Card playoff disaster.

If he can put up the numbers, cut down on the picks, and win this game, he could be off to the races in 2025.

Historically Speaking

Green Bay holds an overall edge of 22-17 against the Cowboys all-time. Dallas, however, leads when the games are played at home, 12-10.

A win this week not only snaps both of the five-game losing streaks, overall and at home, but would serve as the first Cowboys’ win over Green Bay inside AT&T Stadium.

Dallas is 34-24 all-time in Week 4 games. They are 17-9 when they play at home.

The Cowboys have won both games against the Packers played in the fourth week of the year.

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Richard Paolinelli is an award-winning sports journalist with 34 years of professional newsroom experience. His newspaper career (1991–2011) includes the Gallup Independent, Modesto Bee, Gustine Press-Standard, Turlock Journal, Merced Sun-Star, Tracy Press, Patch, and San Francisco Examiner. He received the 2001 California Newspaper Publishers Association Best Sports Story award. Richard has authored two non-fiction sports books and 11 novels. At InsideTheStar.com, he has published 874 articles reaching over 728,000 readers.

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Edward Carmichael
Edward Carmichael
May 22, 2025 8:50 AM

a Dallas Cowboys fan, since the 70’s the last time I saw Dak Prescott go up against the Green Bay Packers the Green Bay Packers blew out the Cowboys out in the playoffs

Cowboys fan
Cowboys fan
May 24, 2025 4:34 PM

In Daks 2nd game against the packers the first in the playoffs his rookie year you said he completed 24 of 38 for only 32 yards??