The Green Bay Packers' cornerback corps has skated by fairly well through five games.
Keisean Nixon has actually been a positive. Brandon Cisse has struggled at times but turned in an excellent outing against the Chicago Bears. Carrington Valentine has mostly watched from a safe distance on the sidelines.
Week 6, however, will be by far their biggest test thus far, when the Packers face Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys. Not only is Prescott multiple tiers above any quarterback Green Bay has faced, he has one of the best receiving duos in the game in CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens.
Good luck matching up with them no matter who your cornerbacks are.
The Packers' injuries have only complicated things further. Nixon was a DNP in Wednesday's practice with a groin injury, while Benjamin St-Juste sat out after aggravating his hamstring versus Chicago. This is not the game to come in undermanned in the secondary.
Packers need Keisean Nixon in Week 6 after facing easier competition early
While Nixon's availability is obviously the greater concern, St-Juste becomes valuable depth if Nixon misses the game. He's been used primarily on special teams this season, but going into the matchup with Valentine starting and scant options behind him would not be a good feeling. At all.
Kamal Hadden also exists, but he's played only seven defensive snaps and has settled into more of a slot corner role than one as a traditional boundary defender. Missing Nixon would be a serious problem. Imagine saying that a few months ago.
Whoever is out there with Cisse, will the Packers be prepared to somewhat handle Lamb and Pickens, with Prescott in the pocket? Geno Smith in Week 2 against the New York Jets might be the toughest quarterback matchup they've encountered.
The others: Kyler Murray and Carson Wentz in Week 1 vs. the Vikings; Michael Penix in Week 3 against Atlanta; Jaylon Daniels of the Buccaneers; and Tyson Bagent plus Case Keenum against the Bears in Week 5.
Of these, only Penix and Murray are designated starters, and Murray lasted all of five pass attempts against Green Bay before leaving with a concussion.
Cowboys' passing attack is a different breed of beast
Penix and Smith have actually put up good numbers. Penix's statline certainly got a boost from playing the Packers while Bijan Robinson occupied every ounce of the defense's attention. In a quarterback draft, though, none of Green Bay's opponents would be selected before pick 16.
Prescott, on the other hand, remains one of the most prolific passers in the game. Among wideout duos, only the Packers' own Christian Watson and Matthew Golden have combined for more receiving yards than Lamb and Pickens.
The Cowboys come in ranked fifth in passing yards, a statistic that feels a lot more legitimate than the Packers' top-five rank in passing yards allowed, achieved against a hodgepodge of backups.
The Cowboys make a lot of secondaries look bad. We won't judge Cisse and company too hard if they fail, especially if the rotation is missing players.
Does any of that make the matchup any less terrifying? No, it does not.
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