Stars, studs and duds from Packers’ 31-28 win over Cowboys in Week 10
The Green Bay Packers got a sublime performance from quarterback Aaron Rodgers, a dominant effort from Aaron Jones in the run game and a breakout performance from both Christian Watson and Rudy Ford to come back and stun the Dallas Cowboys with a 31-28 win in overtime on Sunday at Lambeau Field.
Here are the stars, studs and duds from the Packers’ win over the Cowboys in Week 10:
Stars
Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones (33)
WR Christian Watson: The Cowboys couldn’t handle his speed. The rookie consistently ran away from cornerbacks to create big plays in big spots. Two of his four catches came on third down, another arrived on fourth down (down 14 points) and the final catch tied the game in the red zone. He did lose one deep ball and dropped two others, but scoring three touchdowns is a good way to erase some mistakes. Watson, with his vertical speed, changed the entire outlook of the offense, especially in terms of the play-action passing game. He destroyed single-high coverage. Will Watson’s speed change how defenses line up against the Packers over the final two months? Explosive plays are huge.
RB Aaron Jones: His 24 carries on Sunday represented the second-most of his NFL career. And for the second time in three games, Jones rushed at least 20 times and produced at least 135 rushing yards. He’s explosive, dynamic and creative. Several times, he made something happen when the blocking wasn’t there, including on one run in the second half where he spun out of a mess of bodies at the line of scrimmage and darted for a run of 20+ yards. At this point, it’s moderately surprising that Jones’ longest run of 2022 is just 36 yards; he seems well overdue for breaking a big one.
Studs
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
S Rudy Ford: Turnovers are game-changing plays, and Ford produced a pair of interceptions, including one in the end zone preventing points early on. The Packers turned his takeaways into 14 points. Ford did miss a tackle at the goal line resulting in a touchdown, but that was the only knock on the performance. He was excellent in coverage and aggressive playing downhill against the run. The former Jaguar is big and fast, and his ascendence in Joe Barry’s defense allowed the Packers to use Darnell Savage in the slot for 48 snaps.
QB Aaron Rodgers: He threw only 20 passes, but this was an MVP-type performance from No. 12. He was pinpoint accurate, excellent from clean pockets and deadly off play-action. He did take a bad sack and lose a fumble, but the rest of the performance was subline. Drops robbed him of more yards. He completed six of 10 passes thrown over 10 yards, including three over 20 yards. The 38-year-old quarterback led the Packers back from down 14 points in the fourth quarter, likely would have won the game in regulation with a more aggressive approach and then marched his team down the field in overtime to win it. Matt LaFleur called this Rodgers’ best game of 2022, and it’s hard to argue against him.
Duds
Dan Powers/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin
PR Amari Rodgers: For the fifth time in 10 games, Rodgers fumbled as a returner. This one was recovered by the Cowboys and created a game-turning moment against the Packers early in the second half. He was replaced as the primary punt returner by Keisean Nixon, and it’ll be surprising if Rodgers returns another punt for the Packers in 2022. It was coaching malpractice by Rich Bisaccia to have him returning punts after his recurring ball security issues this year.
CB Jaire Alexander: This is a bit harsh, but Alexander did allow eight catches into his coverage, including a 35-yard touchdown to CeeDee Lamb, a big catch to Dalton Schultz and a third-down conversion to Michael Gallup, and he probably should have been flagged for defensive pass interference on third down in overtime.
