The Green Bay Packers opened Sunday Night Football against the Dallas Cowboys with a 7-0 lead after the first quarter at Lambeau Field on October 18, 2026, as quarterback Jordan Love found receiver Matthew Golden for a 9-yard touchdown to cap a long opening drive. The Week 6 matchup pitted the 3-2 Packers against the 2-3 Cowboys, with the game still unfolding as of Sunday night.

Green Bay's offense wasted little time setting the tone, methodically moving the ball down the field on its opening possession of the night.

Love and Golden Strike First at Lambeau

Jordan Love led a 14-play, 90-yard opening drive, ending with a 9-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Golden, to put the Packers up 7-0 over the Dallas Cowboys after the first quarter. Green Bay converted four third downs on the 14-play, 90-yard scoring drive that lasted 6:30.

Running back Pierre Strong extended a check down for a 14-yard pickup on third-and-13 and then Love fired a 9-yard touchdown to Golden on third-and-6 to put the Packers up 7-0 with 4 minutes, 43 seconds left in the first quarter. On the drive, Love was 6-of-8 for 109 yards with a TD to open the contest.

Golden's involvement went beyond the score itself. Golden had two receptions for 46 yards and a touchdown as the first quarter wound down, showing his versatility once again. The young receiver has become a bigger piece of the Green Bay passing attack as the season progresses.

Dallas Stumbles Before an Overturned Takeaway

Dallas' defense still looked porous to start Sunday night's game against Green Bay, allowing the Packers to move at will on the opening possession. On the other side of the ball, Dallas' first drive sputtered.

Winters' Would-Be Pick-Six

False start and illegal man downfield penalties pushed Dallas back into first-and-10 on its next possession and the Cowboys couldn't work out of it, as Prescott's third-and-12 pass for CeeDee Lamb fell incomplete. Green Bay was forced to punt, but Dallas quickly turned the ball back over.

Linebacker Dee Winters picked off Love with 1:40 left in the first quarter, and it was initially ruled an interception returned for a touchdown but overturned upon review. The reversal kept the Packers' lead intact heading into the second quarter rather than handing Dallas a fast equalizer.

The Box Score After One Quarter

  • Packers 7, Cowboys 0 at the end of the first quarter.
  • Love completed 6 of 8 passes for 109 yards and a touchdown on the opening drive.
  • Green Bay converted all four of its third-down attempts on the scoring possession.

Micah Parsons Watches His Revenge Game From the Sideline

One of the most anticipated storylines of the night involved a player who didn't even suit up. Absent from this matchup is star defensive end Micah Parsons, who continues his recovery from a torn ACL last season, and though he was targeting a Week 6 return against his former team, he's yet to be activated to the roster.

Parsons' situation carries extra weight given the history between these franchises. The two teams' last meeting, in September 2025, was framed around his blockbuster trade from Dallas to Green Bay and ended in a wild 40-40 draw after a last-second kick by Green Bay's Brandon McManus, in what was the second-highest-scoring tied game ever. A healthy Parsons lining up against his former team this time would have added another layer to an already heated Dallas Cowboys rivalry, but his continued absence left Green Bay to lean on its offense instead.

Where to Watch and What's Next for Green Bay

TV and Streaming Details

Sunday's game aired nationally on NBC, with Peacock carrying the streaming broadcast and NFL+ also offering coverage, consistent with the league's own promotion of the matchup. Green Bay entered the night looking to build on a blowout win over a division rival, while Dallas was trying to bounce back from a stumble against a team that had been previously winless.

Josh Jacobs' Uncertain Return

Green Bay's reliance on Pierre Strong in the passing game was also tied to another ongoing storyline: the backfield without lead back Josh Jacobs. His path back to the field has been a recurring subplot this season, as detailed in reports on Josh Jacobs' expected Week 7 return and more recent updates on Jacobs' return still lacking a firm timetable. Until he's back, Strong and the rest of Green Bay's backfield figure to keep shouldering extra work, as they did on the opening touchdown drive against Dallas.

With the first quarter in the books and the Packers holding the lead, both teams head into the rest of the night looking to build on or erase an early deficit in a NFL season in which every game carries playoff-seeding weight down the stretch.