The Green Bay Packers inspired a new level of hope in their fanbase with their dismantling of the rival Chicago Bears last week.
It was a defensively driven game complemented perfectly by an aggressive and explosive offense that saw quarterback Jordan Love produce his best game of 2026, completing 25 of 31 passes for 367 yards and two touchdowns. With each opportunity granted to the Love-led offense by Green Bay's opportunistic defense, the Packers gladly poured it on, building a 23-7 lead that ballooned to 31-7 at the start of the final period.
The Packers are riding high after their best performance of the season but know it's only one game. They're well aware that the caliber of quarterback they're facing this week in Dallas' Dak Prescott is miles above what they saw in Tyson Bagent and Case Keenum.
"He can make any throw, and he knows that he can make any throw," safety Evan Williams said of Prescott, via the Packers' official site. "Has a really live arm, and with the weapons he got, he trusts them on any opportunity.
"If they see one-on-one, Dak has no hesitation of going up and just letting them try to make a play. It puts a lot more importance and pressure on disguise, trying to show them something else, so he doesn't know he has one-on-one on the outside before the ball's snapped."
Williams was part of a secondary that played excellently in Week 5. Safety Xavier McKinney tallied two interceptions, and Green Bay forced five takeaways, tipping the scale heavily in favor of the home team.
The performance gave Packers fans legitimate reason to be optimistic, especially with linebacker Micah Parsons nearing a return. All of that can be washed away by a letdown performance, though, against a Dallas team that has every reason in the world to play angrily after falling to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers at home in Week 5.
"Especially in their division right now, their backs are to the wall a little bit," McKinney said. "Obviously coming off their last game, who they just played and how they lost the game, I know that they're going to be motivated.
"But they're not the only team motivated. We're motivated, too."
Green Bay has plenty of justification for its motivation. The rest of the NFC North is currently looking up at the 5-0 Vikings, and if any of the other members are going to make this race interesting, they'll have to find a way to keep pace with Minnesota.
That means taking care of business against a Cowboys team that relies on its high-powered offense and hopes its defense can get a stop or two.
"They prove it time and time again they're extremely high-powered," head coach Matt LaFleur said. "They can score a lot of points, they can put a lot of yards on you."
The Packers are certainly familiar with the Cowboys' offensive potency. In their last five meetings, the winning team has scored at least 31 points. Last season, the two teams tied -- with 40 points each.
That means Love will be expected to sustain the production he delivered in Week 5. And Green Bay's defense will have to do much more than just ride the buses to Lambeau Field.
