Maybe last week's dominant win over the Chicago Bears wasn't such a fluke, after all.
The Green Bay Packers followed up in Week 6 with a 23-13 dismantling of the Dallas Cowboys, in a game that was never as close as the final score suggests. Perhaps predictably, the Packers mostly had their way with the Cowboys' gettable secondary.
More surprisingly, their own defensive backs kept star receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens in check all night long.
Remember all the doom and gloom after that Week 3 loss to Atlanta, when the Lambeau crowd booed the Packers off the field? Now they're 4-2 and, for the second game in a row, the home team's winners far outweighed the losers.
Packers' winners and losers from Week 6 victory vs. Cowboys
Winner - receiver Matthew Golden
No. 0 could have had an even bigger game if not for a pair of frustrating drops on would-be bombs from Jordan Love. He'll definitely want to put in some extra work in practice, but even so, it was another impressive game from the young wideout: six catches for 104 yards and a touchdown. Golden also hauled in the longest completion, a 37-yarder, of the day.
Really, that's all? It felt like there were more.
No matter. It was the third time this season Golden has led the team in receiving yards, and his 13 targets were easily the most. Mmph, if he could have just come down with one of those drops. …
Winner - Packers secondary
Green Bay's defensive backs put on a collectively stellar performance. Cornerback Brandon Cisse recorded his first career interception before leaving late with a stinger, Safety Evan Williams got the party started with his second of the year. Carrington Valentine, Cisse's replacement, also had another, but it was nullified by a roughing the passer penalty.
It wasn't just the turnovers. Packers DBs frustrated Prescott and his receivers all game long, holding Dallas to just 7.6 yards per completion. Keisean Nixon continued his strong start to the season and even Valentine played well.
Nickelback Javon Bullard was his usual, sledgehammer-hitting, fiery self, and led the team with three passes defensed.
How the Packers would hold up against the Cowboys' explosive offense was a major question entering the game, but the secondary kept Prescott and company on the ropes all game.
Winner - edge rusher Barryn Sorrell
It doesn't look like much, but Sorrell quietly had a very solid game. Per Pro Football Focus, Sorrell had only six total pressures coming in, the fewest of any Packers edge rusher. Against the Cowboys he finally broke into the backfield, recording a tackle for loss and a pair of quarterback hits.
It's a game Sorrell will have to build on to keep pace with rookie Dani Dennis-Sutton and veteran Brenton Cox in Green Bay's by-committee rotation.
Winner - Matt LaFleur's approval rating
Is anyone still calling for LaFleur's job? Winning cures all ills, so there's that, but Packers fans also wanted LaFleur to keep letting it fly with Love, and he did not disappoint.
Although Love's stat line doesn't necessarily reflect it, the Packers' passing attack once again stole the show in Week 6. His deep ball is one of the best in the game, and if not for drops from Golden and even Christian Watson, he could have easily exceeded 300 passing yards for the fourth time this season.
Keep it up, Coach. Keep airing it out. Love has the talent. He has Watson. He has Golden. It will be interesting to see whether the offense continues going bombs away, at least to this degree, when Josh Jacobs potentially returns in Week 7.
Loser - running back MarShawn Lloyd
Alas, Week 5 was not the harbinger we hoped for. After showing some spark in a two-touchdown outing against the Bears, Lloyd carried eight times for just 10 yards against Dallas, and some of those came in garbage time.
Pierre Strong Jr. took over as RB1 very early, and although he didn't do much himself, it's a concerning sign for Lloyd's status on the team as Jacobs nears a potential return.
Loser - Packers penalties
Green Bay finished with 11 infractions for 96 yards. There are two ways to look at it. On the one hand, the referees were a bit liberal with the whistle later on in the game. On the other, the Packers succumbed to some sloppiness and/or poor decision-making.
One example of the non-roughing-the-passer variety: Dennis-Sutton's unsportsmanlike conduct after drawing a holding flag from the Cowboys. What should have set Dallas behind the sticks resulted in an offsetting penalties do-over.
The one that really rubbed Packers fans the wrong way was the roughing the passer penalty called on Lukas Van Ness, which nullified Valentine's interception.
That was a reaalllly light shove, but a shove nonetheless, well after Prescott released the ball. Don't give the refs a reason to make a call. Van Ness did later get home for a sack, so give him a win for that.
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