Cowboys might not recognize this Aaron Rodgers
1:44 PM CT
Todd Archer
ESPN Staff Writer
FRISCO, Texas -- For the third time since 2015, the Dallas Cowboys will play the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.
The Cowboys' 2014 season ended in bitter disappointment there in the divisional round of the playoffs. The Cowboys suffered their second-worst loss of the season there in 2015 with the offense failing to pass for more than 100 yards.
On Sunday, they get to test themselves against a team some see as one of the NFC’s best.
NFL Nation Packers reporter Rob Demovsky offers up a scouting report:
Aaron Rodgers: The Cowboys might not recognize Rodgers as the same quarterback who beat them by three touchdowns last season. On that day, Rodgers was his usual efficient self. He completed 63 percent of his passes, threw a pair of touchdowns without an interception and posted a 99.5 passer rating. This Rodgers is coming off a game in which he barely completed 50 percent of his passes (23-of-45), threw two interceptions and finished with a 65.0 rating in Sunday’s win over the Giants. Rodgers ranks last among qualified quarterbacks in completion percentage this season (56.1 percent).
Randall Cobb: At least Rodgers found a way to get Cobb going. After he had just one catch in the previous game, Cobb got into the flow of the offense and recorded his first 100-yard game with nine catches for 108 yards against the Giants. But he still doesn’t have a touchdown this season.
James Starks: If Eddie Lacy's left ankle injury remains problematic, the Packers will need much more from their veteran backup running back. Starks has just 42 yards rushing on 24 carries so far this season. This after they gave him a two-year, $6 million deal in the offseason. Lacy was on his way to a second straight 100-yard game until he dropped out in the third quarter against the Giants with 81 yards on 11 carries.
DEFENSE
Mike Daniels: He might be the best defensive lineman hardly anyone talks about, and he’s been one of the keys to the Packers’ resurgent run defense that’s holding teams to a league-best 42.8 yards rushing per game. Coordinator Dom Capers will count on Daniels to clog the middle against Ezekiel Elliott and the Cowboys’ top-ranked rushing offense.
Nick Perry: Who leads the Packers in sacks? Not Clay Matthews. Not Julius Peppers. No, it’s Perry, the former first-round pick who had been largely a disappointment in his first four seasons. But he’s finally had a run of good luck with his health, and he has 4.5 sacks through four games. That’s already a single-season career best.
Quinten Rollins and LaDarius Gunter: Anyone who expected the Packers to be in big trouble without their top two cornerbacks -- Sam Shields (concussion) and Damarious Randall (groin) -- against the Giants underestimated Rollins and Gunter. The second-year pros kept Odell Beckham Jr. largely in check and helped hold the Giants to just 199 yards passing.