The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers meet Sunday night at Lambeau Field in a Cowboys vs Packers matchup carrying extra weight because of the player who won’t suit up for either side. Micah Parsons, traded from Dallas to Green Bay, remains on the physically unable to perform list recovering from a torn ACL and meniscus suffered last season, and sources told ESPN the Packers are not anticipating his return for this game. The Packers (3-2) are chasing a third straight win, while the Cowboys (2-3) arrive off a 24-16 home loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Kickoff is set for 8:20 p.m. ET on NBC.
Cowboys Vs Packers Game Information
- Date: Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026
- Time: 8:20 p.m. ET
- Venue: Lambeau Field, Green Bay, Wisconsin
- TV: NBC
- Weather: 57 degrees, 0% chance of precipitation
Those numbers tell much of the story heading into Lambeau. Dallas moves the ball efficiently and finishes drives, but it gives the ball away far more than it takes it away. Green Bay controls the margins with a defense that forces turnovers and a pass rush that gets home.
Cowboys Outlook
Dallas enters at 2-3 after dropping two of its last three games, including the home loss to Tampa Bay on Oct. 8. The offense has carried the Cowboys, scoring 27.6 points per game, fourth-best in the league, behind quarterback Dak Prescott, who has thrown for more than 275 yards in each of his last four games. Running back Javonte Williams has six rushing touchdowns, tied for fourth in the NFL, while receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens rank among the league’s top duos.
The defense is the problem. Dallas allows a league-leading 6.4 yards per play and gives up 168 rushing yards per game, worst in the NFL, according to FOX Sports. The Cowboys have yet to intercept a pass through five games and have just five total sacks, with no individual player recording more than one.
Coach Brian Schottenheimer brought former Packers defensive coordinator Mike Pettine out of retirement this week to serve as senior assistant to defensive coordinator Christian Parker, a move detailed by Total Apex Sports’ coverage of the hire. Prescott is expected to start at quarterback.
Packers Outlook
Green Bay sits at 3-2 and has won two straight, most recently a 31-7 rout of the Chicago Bears. Quarterback Jordan Love has thrown at least two touchdown passes in all five games this season and has topped 300 passing yards three times. Christian Watson has 474 receiving yards, fifth in the NFL, and Matthew Golden has added 397 yards, ninth in the league.
The Packers defense has been the difference-maker, intercepting seven passes while allowing just six touchdown throws all season. Green Bay has racked up 14 sacks compared to Dallas’ five. Running back Josh Jacobs is listed as out for personal reasons, cornerback Keisean Nixon and receiver Skyy Moore are questionable, and defensive tackle Jordon Riley is out with an Achilles issue.
MarShawn Lloyd is expected to carry a larger rushing workload with Jacobs sidelined. Love is projected to start under center.
Key Matchup
The clearest advantage on paper belongs to the Packers pass rush against a Cowboys offensive line that has allowed takeaways to pile up on the other side of the ball all season. Green Bay’s 14 sacks and seven interceptions contrast sharply with Dallas producing just two takeaways total through five games. If Green Bay’s defense pressures Prescott the way it has pressured other quarterbacks, it could force the kind of mistakes that have plagued Dallas’ turnover differential, which sits at minus-3.
On the other side, Dallas’ porous run defense, allowing 168 yards per game on the ground, will be tested by a Packers offense trying to establish Lloyd in Jacobs’ absence. How Pettine’s addition influences the Cowboys’ run-stopping scheme in his first week on staff is one of the earliest things to watch.
Players To Watch
Micah Parsons, LB, Green Bay
Parsons won’t play in his first matchup against his former team. He recorded 12.5 sacks and led the NFL with 64 quarterback pressures for Green Bay in 2025, a season in which the Packers went 9-3-1 in his starts, but his recovery from a torn ACL and meniscus has kept him off the practice field, according to ESPN. More on his status is available in Total Apex Sports’ report on his Week 6 outlook.
Kenny Clark, DT, Dallas
Clark, acquired by the Cowboys in the Parsons trade, faces his former Packers team at Lambeau Field for the first time. Linebacker Rashan Gary, who collected 46 1/2 sacks for Green Bay from 2019 to 2025 before being traded to Dallas earlier this year, also returns to Lambeau for the first time as a visitor.
Dak Prescott, QB, Dallas
Prescott has been the engine behind Dallas’ top-five scoring offense, and his performance against a Packers secondary that has seven interceptions will test whether his recent four-game stretch of 275-plus passing yards can continue against a defense built to take the ball away.
What To Watch
Green Bay leads the all-time series 22-17-1 and has won 10 of the last 12 meetings between these teams, including playoff games. The two sides played to a 40-40 tie in their most recent matchup on Sept. 28, 2025, in Arlington. Dallas sits at 2-3 in a crowded NFC East where every team in the division lost or tied in Week 5, while Green Bay trails only Minnesota in the NFC North. A third straight win would keep the Packers within range of the division lead, while a Cowboys loss would mark their third defeat in four games amid ongoing questions about the defense and Schottenheimer’s staff, a topic Total Apex Sports examined following the loss to Tampa Bay.
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