Many questions will follow the Dallas Cowboys‘ 23-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 6, but the defense showed massive growth.
Dallas’ defense had its best game of the season, allowing just 318 yards and shutting down Green Bay’s running game to 57 yards on 2.2 yards per carry. Much of that was thanks to cornerback Joey Porter Jr.’s impact in the secondary.
The biggest area for improvement, though, was the pass rush and its impact on Packers quarterback Jordan Love. One Cowboys defender harassed Love more than anyone all night.
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DallasCowboys.com beat writer Tommy Yarrish shared pass-rushing clips showing how well they pressured Love. It was all about edge rusher Rashan Gary and how he helped the Cowboys.
“Via @NextGenStats: Cowboys OLB Rashan Gary recorded nine pressures vs. Green Bay, tying his career-high in pressures in a game. Dallas’ defense pressured Jordan Love on 45.5% of his dropbacks, the fourth-highest rate he’s faced in a game in his career, and sacked him 3 times.”
Dallas’ defense pressured Jordan Love on 45.5% of his dropbacks, the fourth-highest rate he’s faced in a game in his career, and sacked him 3 times.
Gary has been picking up his production over the last three games after a rough start to the 2026 season. He got a sack in the Week 4 win over the Houston Texans.
Dallas traded for Gary from the Packers during the offseason. That was the second trade involving Green Bay over the last year, after the Cowboys sent Micah Parsons to them for multiple draft picks and defensive tackle Kenny Clark.
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Cowboys defensive coordinator Christian Parker made major strides with the defense in the Packers game. Getting three sacks on Love and nine pressures on Gary was huge for them.
Gary has struggled for much of the season, and while the sack numbers would be better, he is still making an impact. Gary’s pressure created sacks for other guys and helped the defense a lot.
This is the first time this season the unit has allowed fewer than 375 yards. The first half was rough, but the defense did enough in the second half to keep them in the game.
It was one of the rare times when the offense failed the Cowboys, and they have a ton of work to do now. They scored just 13 points, threw two interceptions, and managed only 57 rushing yards.
Dallas gets an extra day to recover from the loss and prepare for the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 7 for a Monday Night Football showdown. The Cowboys’ defense is finally on the right track, so they have to keep the momentum going against Philly.
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