The Green Bay Packers marched down the field on their opening possession on Sunday in Dallas, capping off a 12-play scoring drive with a touchdown run from Aaron Jones.
Wanting to get off to a fast start against a Dallas Cowboys offense that led the NFL in scoring, the Packers won the coin toss and chose to receive the opening kickoff.
The expected blueprint in this matchup was that we were going to see a heavy dose of Jones, and that was the case on the first drive. Jones’ first two carries didn’t go anywhere, but he totaled 25 yards on his next five rush attempts.
In the Cowboys five regular season losses, two of their opponents rushed for over 200 yards with another going for over 170 yards. Along with leaning on Jones and the run game, play-action was also a key part of the opening drive as well.
TD for @Showtyme_33 on the opening drive! 🙌#GBvsDAL | #GoPackGo
📺: FOX pic.twitter.com/qbUiLtCdF1
— Green Bay Packers (@packers) January 14, 2024
Jordan Love was a perfect 4-for-4 for 42 yards, including a 22 yard completion to Romeo Doubs. Four different plays had a reception.
It was overall a clean drive from the Packers to open up the game, but they were also aided by a pair of Cowboys’ penalties. The first was a defensive holding on the second play of the game that kept the Packers out of third-and-long. The other came in the red zone, taking the Packers out of third-and-long and into a third and manageable, which Jones scored on.
The Packers held the ball for 7:52. Winning the time of possession and limiting the Cowboys’ opportunities on offense could prove to be a key factor in this game.