The Packers Just Did Something They Hadn’t Done All Season, and It Started on the First Drive

Green Bay came in last in the NFL on third down, then converted nine of its first 10 against Dallas, starting with four on Matthew Golden's touchdown drive.

by Andrew Hughes

Oct 19, 2026

Matthew Golden

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect

Green Bay finally solved third down.

The fix showed up before the Sunday night crowd at Lambeau Field had settled into its seats.

The Packers walked in converting a league-worst 27.6% of their third downs, then went 4-for-4 on the opening drive of their 23-13 win over Dallas. They capped it with Jordan Love’s 9-yard touchdown pass to Matthew Golden on a third-and-6 play.

That 14-play, 90-yard march included two conversions on third-and-13. The Cowboys never found an answer all night on NBC airwaves.

Dallas entered the night with the worst third-down defense in the league, allowing conversions 52.6% of the time. Sunday Night Football only continued the carnage. Green Bay converted its first seven third downs, a team-high to start a game dating to at least 1978, according to the team’s official site.

The Packers went 9-of-10 in the first half, and the lone miss came on third-and-goal before Trey Smack’s 25-yard field goal.

Drops and a stalled run game linger

Love pointed to the basics when explaining why the offense was able to consistently convert on third downs.

“Third downs, it just comes down to being able to hold up in protection and guys make contested catches,” he said postgame.

Green Bay cooled off after halftime and finished 11-of-18, which is still a 61.1% clip from an offense that had been stuck below 30% all season.

Golden was the centerpiece. He caught six of a team-high 13 targets for 104 yards and holds a 77.2 overall grade from Pro Football Focus this season. The night could have been bigger, though. Two potential touchdown passes went off his hands, per The Associated Press, and Christian Watson dropped another, part of the reason a 17-0 halftime lead produced only six more points. The second-year receiver is still growing into the much bigger role this offense handed him, and Sunday showed both sides of that.

The running game remains the louder worry around Titletown.

Green Bay ran 26 times for 57 yards, and Love admitted “it’s not where it needs to be right now,” according to the team’s rapid reaction.

Matt LaFleur has already talked about the changes needed on that side of the ball, and the team is also monitoring Tucker Kraft and Brandon Cisse after both got banged up.

At 4-2 with three straight wins, the Packers get the Detroit Lions in Detroit next, and they would love to bring this third-down version of themselves into a division game that big.