Micah Parsons and Dak Prescott both said winning was the only thing that mattered in the Green Bay pass rusher's hyped return to Dallas to face the Cowboys and their franchise quarterback.
Turns out neither star got what he wanted Sunday night.
Brandon Aubrey and Brandon McManus traded short field goals in overtime, and Parsons' only sack played a role in keeping Dallas out of the end zone in the extra period of a 40-40 tie.
Prescott and Jordan Love had three touchdown passes apiece in regulation, which included seven consecutive lead-changing TDs before McManus’ tying 53-yard field goal as time expired.
McManus kicked a 34-yarder as the clock hit 0:00 in OT, after Love's pass into the back of the end zone fell incomplete with just a second remaining.
“It’s hard to kind of wrap my head around it because I know I’d feel a hell of a lot worse if it was a loss,” Prescott said. “But I’m not satisfied. Not that I would be if we won.”
What started as the hyped return of one of the game’s elite edge pass rushers exactly a month after the Cowboys (1-2-1) traded Parsons to the Packers (2-1-1) ended up as the second dramatic duel of quarterbacks in two home games for Dallas.
The Cowboys beat the Giants 40-37 in overtime two weeks earlier when Russell Wilson was starting for New York.
The second-highest scoring tie in pro football history, behind the Raiders' 43-43 draw with the Boston Patriots in the AFL in 1964, was the first for Dallas since 1969. The Packers last tied in 2018.
It was the fifth tie with both teams scoring in OT, going back to 2013 after the rules changed to where a field goal on the first possession of overtime didn't end the game. All five such ties have been matching field goals.
“Doesn’t feel good, feels kind of weird,” Love said. “Feels weird to go through a full game and end in a tie.”
The Cowboys had a first down at the Green Bay 5 to start overtime after Prescott ran away from pressure from Parsons for a spectacular 34-yard completion to Jalen Tolbert, who came back for the throw and just barely got his feet inbounds.
The drive stalled with help from Parsons, who caught Prescott from behind for no gain and was credited with the sack. The Cowboys settled for Aubrey’s 22-yard field goal.
“I felt like I was giving them my best shot, and they gave me their best shot, and then we just came out into a draw,” Parsons said. “It was a 12-round fight, like on both sides. I think both sides could have played better.”
Love completed a 14-yard pass to Matthew Golden on fourth-and-6 and led the Packers to a first down at the Dallas 12 before that OT drive stalled as well.
The Packers were tackled inbounds on a play that started with 28 seconds left, and didn't get another snap until 6 seconds remained. They were fortunate a second remained after Love's incompletion to Golden.
“I think that just goes to the level of detail where we're not where we need to be,” Packers coach Matt LaFleur said. “The operation was just way too slow. I don’t know if our guys didn’t know we were in 2-minute or what.”
Romeo Doubs caught all three of Love's TD passes and finished with 58 yards on six catches. Josh Jacobs rushed for two touchdowns and finished with 157 total yards. Love threw for 337 yards.
Javonte Williams powered in from the 1 in the wildcat for Dallas after Prescott split wide, giving the Cowboys a 30-27 lead with 4:50 remaining. Two more TDs followed.
“No one in that locker room is happy,” said Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer, who has his first win and his first tie in four games as a head coach after a quarter-century as an NFL assistant. “No one in that locker room is fulfilled. We didn’t win. I would be remiss if I didn’t say how proud I was of them and their fight.”
Prescott threw for 319 yards and ran for a score, and George Pickens had eight catches for 134 yards and two touchdowns with No. 1 receiver CeeDee Lamb sidelined by a high ankle sprain.
Parsons' OT sack was the only one given up by a Dallas offensive line missing two starters. The banged-up Green Bay front was equally effective. The only sack of Love came on a fumble that led to the second Dallas touchdown in the final 41 seconds of the first half.
2 points the other way
The Packers were up 13-0 after Love’s second TD toss Doubs when Juanyeh Thomas blocked McManus’ PAT attempt and Markquese Bell returned it for a 2-point conversion, the first such 2-point play in Dallas franchise history. That three-point swing was still the difference before McManus' first tying kick on the final play of regulation.
Still unbeaten
The Packers still haven't lost at AT&T Stadium. They're 5-0-1 against the Cowboys under the retractable roof, which was open. It's 6-0-1 counting the Super Bowl victory over Pittsburgh to cap the 2010 season.
Injuries
Packers: DT Devonte Wyatt exited in the second quarter with a knee injury and didn’t return. ... CB Nate Hobbs was evaluated for a concussion in the second half.
Cowboys: S Malik Hooker didn’t return after pulling up lame in the middle of a play in the second quarter with a left toe injury. ... Cowboys RB Miles Sanders injured an ankle before halftime. ... LT Tyler Guyton was evaluated for a concussion.
Up next
Packers: Off next week before hosting Cincinnati on Oct. 12.
Cowboys: At the New York Jets next Sunday.