Cowboys vs. Packers: Full Report Card Grades for Dallas

The Dallas Cowboys are 5-1 after coming away with a monumental victory on the road at Lambeau Field against the Green Bay Packers. Using their deadly rookie duo of Dak Prescott and Ezekiel Elliott, the Cowboys played smart football by running the ball with success and covering up their weaknesses. Aaron Rodgers didn't look like himself the entire night, mainly because of how well-rested Dallas was across the board on defense.

Dallas kicked off the game with a seven-play, 75-yard drive that was guided by a healthy dose of Prescott and Elliott. The drive was capped off with a one-yard touchdown reception for Cole Beasley.

Green Bay would kick a field goal in response, but after the Cowboys punted in their second offensive drive, the Packers would fumble only for the Cowboys to fumble in their next drive. Another Packers field goal made the score 7-6, until Dallas scored another field goal.

Toward the end of the half, the Cowboys looked like they were running down the clock. On 3rd-and-1, the Cowboys gave Lucky Whitehead a reverse, with Whitehead taking the ball all the way to the Packers' 26-yard line. Dallas was in business looking for a field goal at the end of the half, despite having zero timeouts. Two players later, Prescott found Brice Butler for a touchdown strike that put the score at 17-6 at the half.

In the second half, Dallas' rout of Green Bay and their dominance of Rodgers continued, even though they failed to sustain pressure on the All-Pro quarterback. After Rodgers threw an interception, Dallas tacked on three more points.

On the following possession, Rodgers led the Packers down the field. Inside of the Cowboys' 5-yard line, Rodgers fumbled to give the ball back.

The following drive, Prescott threw the first interception of his young career, which snapped his record for most passes thrown without an interception to start his career. The record was originally Tom Brady's, but Prescott became the new record-holder earlier in the game.

Despite a late garbage-time touchdown, the Cowboys manhandled Green Bay and sailed to victory in the second half. Dallas forced four turnovers and everything seemed to be clicking.

Read on for full grades and analysis from the Cowboys' fifth consecutive win of the season.

Pass Offense

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While Prescott did throw the the first interception of his career in this matchup, he was extremely impressive throughout the majority of the night. When people think of the Packers, it's the offense that comes to mind. However, Green Bay's defense is a solid one. Still, Prescott found holes with ease, completing 18 of 27 passes for 287 yards and three touchdowns.

I've always been supportive of Tony Romo, but today's performance gave more reason for the Cowboys to not only ride the hot hand, but to continue to see what they have in Prescott. Prescott continues to show the Cowboys that he is light-years beyond the player that led Mississippi State just a year ago.

Dak is skilled and he has an excellent handle of this offense. We're seeing different things on a weekly basis from him and they are all positives. Plus, Dak now owns a record. That's incredible. What's even more incredible is that he was the eighth quarterback taken in the 2016 NFL Draft, and he was originally supposed to be the team's No. 3 quarterback behind both Tony Romo and Kellen Moore. Now, he's led the Cowboys to a 5-1 record and one of the hottest teams in the league too. Let that sink in for a second.

Grade: A-

Rush Offense

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This was supposed to be the Cowboys' toughest matchup in terms of their ground game. Yes, the Cowboys have the league's best rushing offense, but did you know that the Packers had the league's best rushing defense? No, seriously, Green Bay had not allowed more than 50 yards all season to an opposing team. In fact, the Packers had only given up two rushes over 10 yards. You read that correctly.

So what did the Cowboys do? Well, they went on the road to rush 33 times for 191 yards. Elliott lead the way with 157 yards on 28 carries, while Whitehead had a 26-yard carry toward the end of the first half. While Alfred Morris only had three yards on two carries, it's worth noting that the reduced role of Morris is more about the flow of the game than his on-field performance.

With an offensive line as dominant as the Cowboys and a running back as special as Elliott, it's going to be hard for opposing defenses to stop this nasty duo. Maybe Eric Dickerson's rookie rushing record of 1,808 yards can beaten. Zeke is the man for the job.

Grade: A+

Pass Defense

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Aaron Rodgers at home? It would be a good week to forget about the Cowboys' untalented defense that doesn't have an active pass rush, right? Right? Well no, Dallas made things extremely uncomfortable for Rodgers all game. Sure the Cowboys didn't get after Rodgers like they would have hoped to, but that didn't stop Rodgers from turning the ball over four times.

If you box-score scout, Rodgers nearly eclipsed 300 yards, but this game was ugly for Green Bay's offense. For what will likely happen all season, the Cowboys' mantra is "bend don't break" and that was evident in this game. On two different occasions, the Cowboys stopped the Packers in their territory, forcing them to settle for three points.

Jordy Nelson was held to just five catches for 68 yards thanks to elite exterior performances from Brandon Carr and Morris Claiborne. On the inside, Anthony Brown excelled. It's starting to look like the Cowboys got a steal in him.

Byron Jones made multiple plays, and it's evident that free safety is the perfect place for him to utilize his athletic ability and his football intelligence. Again, Dallas isn't getting much pressure up front, but the secondary truly is "shutdown" material.

Grade: A-

Rush Defense

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Eddie Lacy carried the football 17 times for 65 yards. The rest of the Packers' rushing attack carried the football seven times for 13 yards. Green Bay became a one-dimensional team because of their inability to establish a running game. Outside of a few series in the first quarter, Green Bay looked inept in this department.

Sean Lee did Sean-Lee things, finishing with 12 tackles. Anthony Brown—yes, the rookie cornerback you read about in the previous slide—had 11 tackles, and the amazing thing about those 11 tackles is that they weren't mainly due to tackling receivers who made catches on him. Barry Church had five tackles and an interception. He's clearly benefiting from having Byron Jones next to him.

When Dallas shuts down the opposing team's running game, they make it incredibly difficult to beat them, especially when the opposing teams drive within the Cowboys' red zone. 24 attempts for 78 yards is not good. Dallas' defense looked great in this regard today.

Grade: A+

Special Teams

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Dan Bailey successfully converted on three field goals, from 44, 22 and 32 yards. Bailey also connected on three extra points. After a sore back kept him from being his usual consistent self, those issues seem to have subsided as Bailey proved today just why he is money in the bank. The old adage goes, "There are only three guarantees in life: Death, taxes and Dan Bailey making field goals."

Chris Jones had just two punts in the game, for 42 and 41 yards. Long snapper L.P. LaDouceur was his usual self, snapping each football with perfection. Lucky Whitehead had just one return in this game, a kick return that went for just 21 yards. This unit is always productive and it's not surprising. The Cowboys value this department much more than most front offices do across the league.

Grade: A+

Coaching

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For the fifth consecutive week, the Cowboys' play-calling was spectacular. The adjustments were made and the gameplan to limit this Green Bay offense from getting going was successful. While he may have his naysayers, Jason Garrett's commitment to building through the process is paying off, despite having a team that has injuries to many key players without having a ton of depth and talent at certain positions.

Regardless of what the Cowboys decide to do with Tony Romo, Dak Prescott and the quarterback position, it's extremely comforting to know that the Cowboys have a game plan on a weekly basis that can simply out-muscle and out-work opposition defenses. Dallas is 5-1, and let's not make excuses as to how they got there. Dallas is legit, and the past five weeks are full proof of that.

Feel free to reach out to me on Twitter @RyanRattyNFL. I'm always willing to talk football.