What We Saw: Week 10

The What We Saw team recaps everything you missed from Week 10

Ben Brown
What We Saw 2 Years Ago
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Introduction
Falcons @ Panthers
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Browns @ Dolphins
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Cowboys @ Packers
Cardinals @ Rams
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Cowboys @ Packers

Final Score: Packers 31, Cowboys 28 (OT)

Writer: Justin Havelock (@HavelockJustin on Twitter)

 

Dallas Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy’s return to Green Bay was spoiled by a breakout performance by Green Bay Packers rookie wide receiver Christian Watson. The Packers finally managed to snap their five-game losing streak with an overtime win against the Cowboys but will this effort be too little, too late to salvage their season?

 

Dallas Cowboys

 

Quarterback

 

Dak Prescott: 27/46, 265 Yards, 3 TD, 2 INT | 4 Carries, 6 Yards

 

Dak Prescott struggled throughout this game but played well enough to keep the Dallas Cowboys tied or leading for most of the night, as the Cowboys trailed for only 1:34 in Week 10. Prescott leaned heavily on his chemistry with CeeDee Lamb in order to put points on the board against this Green Bay Packers defense. His arm strength was dialed up and clearly visible here as he uncorked this 35-yard touchdown pass to Lamb. Prescott also used his legs efficiently, as three of his carries led to a third or fourth down conversion.

 

 

 

The Packers’ secondary proved to be a thorn in the side of Prescott and his receivers at times, limiting this offense and creating a pair of turnovers. In the second quarter, almost immediately after Dallas recovered an Aaron Rodgers fumble, the Cowboys quarterback gave up a turnover himself. There was a clear miscommunication on the play since Dalton Schultz attempted to run the same route as CeeDee Lamb and inadvertently prevented Lamb from getting to the ball in time. While the two receivers were crossed up, Packers safety Rudy Ford said “I’ve been ready for this my whole life” and easily caught the interception.

 

 

Ford continued to ‘Play Like A Champion Today’. Less than five minutes later in the quarter, Prescott threw his second interception of the game. On the Cowboys’ next drive, the 29-year-old quarterback was once again looking for Lamb when another miscommunication caught his favourite target out of position and put the football right back into the hands of Ford.

 

 

Running Back

 

Tony Pollard: 22 Carries, 115 Yards, TD | 6 Targets, 3 Receptions, 13 Yards

Malik Davis: 5 Carries, 38 Yards

 

Ezekiel Elliott was inactive again this week with a knee injury which left the door open for Tony Pollard to secure his role as the Dallas Cowboys’ lead running back. Pollard saw a season-high 22 carries against a weak Green Bay Packers run defense that was ranked 26th in the league (138.6 rushing yards per game) and 31st at home (175.3). While his longest run of the game only went for 14-yards, he got stuffed just twice against the Packers. The 25-year-old running back consistently broke tackles, found lanes downfield, and kept moving the sticks to the tune of 5.2 Yards Per Carry. Pollard made amends for a lackluster performance in the passing game with this elusive 13-yard rushing touchdown in the third quarter.

 

 

Undrafted rookie Malik Davis had a solid night against the Packers as well. Davis rushed for 7.6 Yards Per Carry, and more importantly, showed off his explosiveness with 17- & 14-yard gains late in the third quarter. He capped off his performance with a 16-yard rush in overtime that was unfortunately called back due to an offensive holding penalty.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

CeeDee Lamb: 15 Targets, 11 Receptions, 150 Yards, 2 TD

Dalton Schultz: 8 Targets, 6 Receptions, 54 Yards, TD

Michael Gallup: 7 Targets, 4 Receptions, 35 Yards

KaVontae Turpin: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 9 Yards

Noah Brown: 3 Targets, 1 Reception, 3 Yards

Sean McKeon: 2 Targets, 1 Reception, 1 Yard, 1 Fumble (Recovered)

Peyton Hendershot: 1 Target

 

The matchup between CeeDee Lamb and Packers cornerback Jaire Alexander was one of the highlights of this game, but even Alexander proved unable to contain one of the league’s best wide receivers. Lamb was near-impossible to hold back as he spent his night beating every coverage that this secondary rolled out and breaking tackles. There were a couple of early miscues as Lamb was the intended target on both interceptions by Dak Prescott, however, we simply don’t know whether it was the quarterback or receiver that caused both plays to break down.

Lamb’s full skillset was on display during his first touchdown of the game. While the 21-yard touchdown pass was not his longest score, he comfortably brought the ball in with two defenders pressuring him before he slipped loose from both Packers and took a third into the endzone with him.

 

 

Dalton Schultz had a chance at a touchdown early in Week 10 as Prescott threw him a quick pass on his first read, but a low tackle from cornerback Rasul Douglas kept him from taking it to the house. The Cowboys tight end consistently delivered for his team, coming through with a pair of key 2nd & long plays late in the game, one on a slant route immediately after an intentional grounding penalty and then again in overtime on a curl route in a contested catch situation against Alexander. The highlight of his night came right before halftime as Schultz somehow managed to stay on his feet to walk this ball straight into the endzone.

 

 

Michael Gallup limped off of the field early in the second quarter with a knee injury but returned to the game a few plays later and tested out his knee with a smooth double move that drew a defensive holding penalty on Douglas. Not long after, Gallup caught a 23-yard strike on 3rd & 1 to keep the offense on the field to close out the first half and set up the Schultz touchdown. Two of his incompletions came on overthrown passes by Prescott and the third came in coverage by Alexander that appeared to be a missed penalty for defensive pass interference.

Did you know that there’s a rookie even older than the oft-memed Chicago Bears wide receiver Velus Jones Jr.?  Introducing 26-year-old rookie wide receiver KaVontae Turpin. Turpin had spent most of the season in a special teams role for the Cowboys but picked up his first career reception this week on the final play of regulation.

Noah Brown nearly saw his first target of the game turn into a one-handed interception by Packers safety Darnell Savage. Brown’s lone catch came on a low pass from Prescott that forced him to dive for the ball and prevented him from picking up any yards after the catch. Inside the two-minute warning of the fourth quarter, his final target of the night was easily knocked down by linebacker Quay Walker.

Veteran tight end Sean McKeon caught a short screen pass early in the game and rookie tight end Peyton Hendershot saw a target to his feet on 3rd & 9 with Prescott throwing under pressure. Both would need to see quite a few more targets to become relevant in this offense.

 

Green Bay Packers

 

Quarterback

 

Aaron Rodgers: 14/20, 224 Yards, 3 TD | 2 Carries, 4 Yards, Fumble (Lost)

 

Regular readers of What We Saw will know that the issues with Aaron Rodgers have been frustratingly similar throughout most of this season, but in Week 10 we were finally able to see Rodgers being closer to his old self than he has been in 2022.

The Green Bay Packers leaned heavily on their running game this week which opened up the offense and allowed their quarterback to focus on being more efficient in the passing game. The shift in offense paid off as Rodgers’ three passing touchdowns were actually a season-high and his newfound chemistry with rookie wide receiver Christian Watson saw him once again able to throw a vintage Rodgers deep ball. Watson and Rodgers connected on a 58-yard catch-and-run that was not only Watson’s first career receiving touchdown but the longest pass of the season for the quarterback (his previous season-high of 55 yards was set back in Week 2 against the Chicago Bears).

 

 

Turnovers were still an issue for the 38-year-old quarterback as the Cowboys were able to recover the football on a strip sack in the second quarter. There was likely not too much Rodgers could have done though since the Cowboys’ defense tugged on his injured thumb as they pried the ball loose.

 

Running Back

 

Aaron Jones: 24 Carries, 138 Yards, TD | 2 Targets, 2 Receptions, 18 Yards | Fumble (Recovered)

AJ Dillon: 13 Carries, 65 Yards

 

Aaron Jones fans rejoice! Jones did a lot more than show that there were no signs of any lingering concerns over the ankle injury he sustained last week. He actually set a season-high in carries coming off of the injury and posted his second-highest rushing total of the season. Head coach Matt LaFleur’s willingness to commit to the running game was a real difference-maker for this offense and helped the Packers secure the win. The first seven plays of the night for the Packers were all run plays which foreshadowed the team’s return to a run-heavy game script with Jones once again serving as the lead back. Jones repaid his head coach’s trust by showing off his explosiveness with a pair of 17 and 23-yard rushes, as well as this 12-yard touchdown.

 

 

LaFleur finally appeared to move on from AJ Dillon as the team’s top running back and shifted him back to a change-of-pace role. This was likely the better fit for Dillon as he only rushed for more than eight yards once in this game and didn’t see any receiving work this week. His biggest play of the game actually came on a block as he protected Rodgers from a potential sack on the first touchdown to Christian Watson.

 

Wide Receiver/Tight End

 

Christian Watson: 8 Targets, 4 Receptions, 107 Yards, 3 TD

Sammy Watkins: 3 Targets, 3 Receptions, 47 Yards

Allen Lazard: 4 Targets, 3 Receptions, 45 Yards

Robert Tonyan: 1 Target, 1 Reception, 8 Yards

Marcedes Lewis: 1 Target, 1 Reception, -1 Yard

 

Rookie wide receiver Christian Watson made his presence known across the NFL this week as he scored the first three receiving touchdowns of his career against the Cowboys. Watson continued to battle through injury concerns during the game as he left briefly with an ankle injury after it appeared that he had rolled his ankle in the third quarter and then later on his second touchdown of the night his pinky finger seemed to be pulled back at quite the painful angle. Both times Watson managed to avoid the blue tent however and came back into the game after being checked out on the sideline.

 

 

 

Sammy Watkins did not receive a target until early in the second half when Rodgers hit him square in the numbers on a curl route. Later in the third quarter, Watkins slipped as he caught the ball but managed to hold onto it for a crucial first down. All three of his receptions would have been for a first down if Watkins hadn’t decided to run backward on a fourth quarter catch that instead created a 2nd & 1 inside the red zone.

The Cowboys’ secondary almost entirely suppressed Allen Lazard in Week 10. He posted zero receiving yards through the first three quarters thanks to a catch in the second quarter that went for no gain. After an incompletion where Rodgers and Lazard were uncharacteristically out of sync, they recaptured their timing with a quick pitch to Lazard that played to his ability to generate yards after the catch. The pair then connected again in overtime for a 36-yard catch-and-run on 3rd & 2 that put the Packers well inside of field goal range for the win.

Robert Tonyan was invisible for most of the night after he recorded a reception in the first quarter. He only re-appeared later in the half to catch a checkdown pass that would have gone for a loss if the play hadn’t been negated on a defensive holding penalty. Fellow tight end Marcedes Lewis also lost yardage on a dump-off after Rodgers dropped back in order to go deep and found himself under pressure from the Cowboys’ pass rush.

Series Navigation
Introduction
Falcons @ Panthers
Seahawks @ Buccaneers
Vikings @ Bills
Lions @ Bears
Jaguars @ Chiefs
Browns @ Dolphins
Texans @ Giants
Saints @ Steelers
Broncos @ Titans
Colts @ Raiders
Cowboys @ Packers
Cardinals @ Rams
Chargers @ 49ers

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