The Green Bay Packers and Dallas Cowboys were putting together the game of the year in Micah Parsons' return to his old home, but fans were left unsatisfied when neither team pulled out the victory in a 40-40 tie that left many fans begging for a more cathartic ending.
Some of the blame for this result lies at the feet of Packers head coach Matt LaFleur. After holding Dallas to a field goal in overtime after a crazy Jalen Tolbert catch, Green Bay moved deep into Dallas territory, only for LaFleur and Jordan Love to completely short-circuit.
After a pass to backup running back Emanuel Wilson was stopped for a one-yard loss with less than 30 seconds on the clock, Love and LaFleur tried to hurry everyone to the line while the clock was still ticking, failing to get the snap off until four seconds were on the clock. The resulting play was an incompletion to Matthew Golden in the end zone that wasn't even close to the former Texas star. Brandon McManus eventually nailed the game-tying kick.
That whole sequence, from the play calls to the clock management, was incredibly shocking (derogatory) since it came from one of the best offensive minds in the sport. This brain fart might have big implications in the NFC North.
Packers' end-of-game play call in tie vs. Cowboys was pathetic from Matt LaFleur
It should be noted that if Love's throw did not bounce off Cowboys linebacker Jack Sanborn when he was trying to fit the ball in to Golden, there's a very good chance that time would have run out before McManus was able to kick the field goal.
Green Bay's offense put together one hell of a night in this one, as Love managed to throw for 337 yards and three touchdowns while running back Josh Jacobs found the end zone twice. All of that was for naught, however, as Green Bay fell to 2-1-1 after a very winnable game slipped through their grasp.
There are some serious issues in this Packers roster that have become evident in the last few games. Between the secondary completely melting down against a Dallas offense that didn't even have CeeDee Lamb available and an offense that has made some baffling decisions in clutch situations, the bloom is off the rose for Green Bay.
While a tie is better than a loss, Green Bay looked like the better team for most of this game and choked away multiple opportunities to put Dallas in the dirt for good. Had it not been for a bit of Sanborn-induced bad luck for the Cowboys, LaFleur may have thrown a road win right in the garbage.