Sunday is every avid football fan’s favorite day of the week. It produces a combination of action-packed thrillers, lopsided blowouts, and heartbreaking losses. This past Sunday boasted a surplus of football games, all with different outcomes and game trends. One game in particular did not follow the typical pattern of a win or a loss, but rather a tie.
The Dallas Cowboys hosted the Green Bay Packers in an instant classic at 8:20 P.M. Eastern time. This was not any ordinary Sunday night football game, though. Sophomore Colin Patterson states, “This game was highly anticipated due to Micah Parsons’ return and it showed from the high intensity and high scoring.” The Cowboys recently traded away star defensive end Micah Parsons to the Packers. This trade angered much of Dallas as the fanbase was confused by the owner’s questionable decisions. The given reason for the trade was that owner Jerry Jones and Parsons could not come to an agreement when investing in a new contract. Parsons was returning to Dallas for the first time, and was fueled by revenge.
The scoring was opened when young receiver Romeo Doubs caught a short two yard touchdown pass from budding quarterback Jordan Love. The game would not see more points put on the board until the second quarter, when again Doubs signified his connection with Love, catching a short one yard touchdown. The game was shaping to be a blow out, making Parsons return a successful one, but the game was far from over.
After the second Doubs score, the Dallas defense came to life, blocking the extra point attempt and taking it all the way back for two points. The offense built off this momentum and scored a touchdown ten minutes later when proven Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott scrambled two yards, adding six to Dallas’ point count. As time expired in the first half, Prescott connected with now wide receiver George Pickens on a fifteen yard touchdown pass. This score put Dallas up 16-13 at halftime with endless momentum. Green Bay had not given up, though, and star running back Josh Jacobs ran one yard for a touchdown, again giving Green Bay the lead. With just under a minute left in the third quarter, tight end Jake Ferguson caught a pass from Prescott and scored an eight yard touchdown, returning the lead to Dallas. After a lopsided first quarter, the game has been back and fourth, leading into a roller coaster of a fourth quarter.
Jacobs opened the scoring up within a matter of minutes and scored on an electric eighteen yard run, switching the lead yet again. Fast forward to just under five minutes left in the fourth quarter, and emerging star running back Javonte Williams scored on a one yard run, handing Dallas the lead. With under five minutes to go, Doubs and Love flashed their connection yet again as Love hit Doubs for a fifteen yard touchdown pass, giving Green Bay the lead with under two minutes to go. Parsons’ return to Dallas’ AT&T stadium was shaping out to be perfect, until it was not. With forty three seconds to go in the game, Prescott hit Pickens on a near thirty yard touchdown pass, giving Dallas the lead, and the game appeared to be over, but that is far from the truth. Green Bay marched down the field, and kicker Brandon McManus drilled a fifty three yard field goal to tie the game up as time expired, sending it to overtime.
In overtime, both teams hit field goals, and the game ended in a tie, with both teams knotted at forty points a piece. A new NFL rule states that after both teams get possession, the game is over, no matter the score. So the game conceded in a tie, and shaped to be one of the most electric games the NFL has seen, in only week four of the season. Parsons was able to get his revenge as he sacked his friend-turned-foe quarterback Dak Prescott. Fellow sophomore scholar Graham Frank said this about Parsons’ return, “Micah Parsons dominated on defense, showcasing his personal vendetta against the cowboys; however, they were only able to walk out with a tie against America’s team.” The Packers vs Cowboys game was electric, foreshadowing an exciting rest to the NFL season.
