Week 6 NFL picks: Green Bay Packers over Dallas Cowboys

The rookie-led Dallas Cowboys face their biggest test of the year as they take to the road to play the Green Bay Packers at 4:25 p.m. E.T. at Lambeau Field.

|
AP Photo/File
Green Bay Packers' Aaron Rodgers (left) warms up before an NFL football game in Green Bay, Wis. At right, Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott throws during warm ups before a game in Arlington, Texas.They’ll meet for the first time on Sunday when Dallas (4-1) visits Lambeau Field to face the Packers (3-1).

One of the biggest surprises of the 2016 season has been the upstart Dallas Cowboys, who carry a 4-1 record into Week 6 and sit atop the NFC East.

The team was written off after franchise QB Tony Romo suffered a back injury that sidelined the Pro Bowl player for six weeks. Now on the eve of his return, the Cowboys are faced with a quarterback controversy as a result of the excellent play of rookie QB Dak Prescott.

Prescott has not been spectacular by any means, but his counting stats have been impressive. The Dallas QB has thrown for 1,239 yards and four touchdowns with a 69.0 percent completion percentage. More impressive is his 86.7 QBR, which is second best in league behind only Matt Ryan. Most impressive is his rookie record 155 straight passes without throwing an interception. He’s fast approaching Tom Brady’s record of 162 straight to open the 2000-2001 season.

Prescott has not had to shoulder a big load, however because of the excellent performance of rookie RB Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott is the NFL leader in rushing yards with 546 through five games, and has the best yards per carry (5.0) among RBs with over 100 carries.

While both Elliott and Prescott have impressed, they are benefitting from having one of the best offensive lines in the NFL. According to Football Outsiders, the Cowboys front line leads the league in adjusted line yards at 4.50, a stat which takes all running back carries and assigns responsibility to the line dependent on how effective the carry was in generating yards, adjusted for down, distance, situation and opponent. The line is also fifth best in preventing stuffs at the line of scrimmage, and eight in getting Elliott to the second level where he can be most effective.

Meanwhile, the Green Bay Packers are hoping to keep pace with the 5-0 Vikings by snatching another win from a quality opponent. Green Bay has been one of the most well-balanced teams in the league so far this season, one of two teams in the NFL to rank top ten in both offensive and defensive efficiency.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers has been effective but unspectacular leading the team this year. Rodgers’ passing yards per game are down again for a fourth straight season, but the veteran QB is efficient as ever, throwing nine touchdowns to only three interceptions and ranking fourth in the league in QBR.

Defensively, the Packers are a more stout unit than they have been in the past. The defense allows only 42.8 rush yards per game, tops in the league on only 2.0 yards per carry. Their young linebacking core has exceeded all expectations so far, contributing against both the pass and the run. The standouts have been rookie Blake Martinez and second year player Jake Ryan. The two are first and second on the team in tackles and have added five tackles for a loss.

Coach Mike McCarthy acknowledged the duo's excellent play so far in a recent press conference, singling out Jake Ryan specifically. “I thought his pass coverage against Minnesota was probably one of his better performances,” McCarthy told Packers.com. “I think he’s played some really good football for us.”

This game will come down to Dallas’s ability to establish their running game early. The Cowboys need the run to take pressure off of Prescott, but Green Bay is as good as it gets at stopping their opponent’s rush attack. Look for Green Bay to play to form on Sunday, shutting down Elliott en route to a victory.

You've read  of  free articles. Subscribe to continue.
Real news can be honest, hopeful, credible, constructive.
What is the Monitor difference? Tackling the tough headlines – with humanity. Listening to sources – with respect. Seeing the story that others are missing by reporting what so often gets overlooked: the values that connect us. That’s Monitor reporting – news that changes how you see the world.

Dear Reader,

About a year ago, I happened upon this statement about the Monitor in the Harvard Business Review – under the charming heading of “do things that don’t interest you”:

“Many things that end up” being meaningful, writes social scientist Joseph Grenny, “have come from conference workshops, articles, or online videos that began as a chore and ended with an insight. My work in Kenya, for example, was heavily influenced by a Christian Science Monitor article I had forced myself to read 10 years earlier. Sometimes, we call things ‘boring’ simply because they lie outside the box we are currently in.”

If you were to come up with a punchline to a joke about the Monitor, that would probably be it. We’re seen as being global, fair, insightful, and perhaps a bit too earnest. We’re the bran muffin of journalism.

But you know what? We change lives. And I’m going to argue that we change lives precisely because we force open that too-small box that most human beings think they live in.

The Monitor is a peculiar little publication that’s hard for the world to figure out. We’re run by a church, but we’re not only for church members and we’re not about converting people. We’re known as being fair even as the world becomes as polarized as at any time since the newspaper’s founding in 1908.

We have a mission beyond circulation, we want to bridge divides. We’re about kicking down the door of thought everywhere and saying, “You are bigger and more capable than you realize. And we can prove it.”

If you’re looking for bran muffin journalism, you can subscribe to the Monitor for $15. You’ll get the Monitor Weekly magazine, the Monitor Daily email, and unlimited access to CSMonitor.com.

QR Code to Week 6 NFL picks: Green Bay Packers over Dallas Cowboys
Read this article in
https://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Society/2016/1016/Week-6-NFL-picks-Green-Bay-Packers-over-Dallas-Cowboys
QR Code to Subscription page
Start your subscription today
https://www.csmonitor.com/subscribe