On Sunday, Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys will renew their Green Bay “rivalry,” if you can even call it that.
To paraphrase Philadelphia 76ers star Joel Embiid, talking about their bad blood with the Boston Celtics, it’s not a rivalry if one team always wins.
Joel did NOT hold back about what he thought of the Celtics-Sixers rivalry. pic.twitter.com/rkEsYYnZ2T
— NBC Sports Philadelphia (@NBCSPhilly) October 17, 2018
In the case of the Cowboys and Packers, that is precisely the case. Despite all the hype about these two squaring off, one side has completely and totally dominated for well over a decade now.
Now, with Micah Parsons in the Green and Gold, the battle has more eyes on it than ever.
Considering the recent history, that’s not a good thing for Dallas and its quarterback. So, as we all try to prepare for this Sunday night affair, let’s take a look at Prescott’s Packers history, if you can stomach it.
2023 Wild Card Round: Dak Prescott, Defense Crumbles At Home
As I said, the history here, at least recently, isn’t pretty; unfortunately, the best example of this came from the most recent matchup.
In Jerry’s world, seven-point favorites, a huge regular season record advantage (12-5 vs 9-8). Dallas entered poised to overcome their Green Bay demons, and instead, they completely crumbled under the pressure.
Dak Prescott tossed a couple of interceptions early, putting the game out of reach, and the defense was Swiss cheese against the Packers’ offense.
This loss really marked the end of an era for the Cowboys, and you could feel it as that game transpired. Dan Quinn skipped town, Mike McCarthy entered his contract year poised to leave, and fans really lost long-term faith.
2022 Week 10: 4th Quarter Collapse, Overtime Defeat
In the most recent regular-season matchup, the Cowboys were on the brink of snapping their losing streak and doing it in Lambeau Field.
Leading 28-14 heading into the fourth quarter, things, as you’d expect, went as badly as they possibly could. Dallas had three drives, punting twice and allowing the regulation clock to run out on the third.
In overtime, Prescott turned it over on downs, and Mason Crosby sent America’s Team as he often did.
Prescott, continuing his Packers trend, threw two interceptions in this one and completed just 27 passes on 46 attempts. Needless to say, this one hit all the criteria that matchups between these two teams seem to have.
2019 Week 5: First Half Turnovers End Chances Quickly
If you can remember this game, you know how quickly any hope left AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys ended the first half down 17-0, with Prescott throwing two interceptions, Chris Jones punting twice, and Brett “Money” Maher missing a field goal. Technically, Dallas still had a chance, but we all knew it was a wrap.
Green Bay’s largest lead here was 31-3 in the third quarter, before the Cowboys cooked up some garbage time momentum to lose 34-24.
It was, despite all the other problems the team had that day, another ugly outing from Dak Prescott against their northern foe. Three interceptions will rarely win you a game.
2017 Week 5: Second Half Disaster & Last-Second Heartbreak
Of the regular-season matchups between these two, this one was probably the most heartbreaking.
Leading with just 12 seconds to play, at home, Rodgers delivered a strike to a young Davante Adams to take a 35-31 lead. That was all she wrote.
For Prescott, it was far from his worst performance in this rivalry; only throwing one interception, while completing 25/36 passes for four total touchdowns, was not a bad outing. It just was not enough, especially in the third quarter, as Dallas got shut out.
Aaron Jones, as he often was, became the real story in this game. He dominated the Cowboys’ defense with over 130 total yards.
2016 Divisional Round: Rookie-Year Dak Prescott Can’t Topple Prime Aaron Rodgers
The start of this nearly ten-year losing streak is here. On January 17th, 2017, the Packers ended both Dak Prescott’s historic rookie season and Tony Romo’s career with a 34-31 win at the buzzer.
Dallas certainly didn’t help themselves, starting the game down 21-3, but the young Prescott battled back to tie the game at 31-31 with just 58 seconds remaining.
We all know what came next, both in the game and the ensuing decade.
This loss was a true turning point for the franchise. Instead of starting his career on a winning note, Prescott immediately started following in Romo’s footsteps; that has now stuck throughout his entire 10-year NFL career.
2016 Week 6: Lone Win In Last Decade Comes in Prescott Debut
This was a very fun win, though I’m sure some of us may barely remember it.
Coming at the peak of the Prescott-Ezekiel Elliott rookie mania, the young Cowboys stormed into Wisconsin and laid a beating down on their bitter rival.
They moved to 5-1 with this win, and went on to win another six straight. In total, they won 10 consecutive games to start the 2016 season 11-1, before finishing with a 13-3 record. Boy, do I miss that time.
Dak Prescott, both against Green Bay and in general, has not found this rookie season magic since. That doesn’t take away from his phenomenal NFL career, but it sheds light on what must come before he hangs up the cleats.
Overcoming the odds to take down the Packers this Sunday would be both long overdue and a great start toward finding that special something.
