If you’re a fan of reaction shots that find Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers looking to the sky while talking to himself, you’ve probably enjoyed the first half of Sunday’s game against the Cowboys.
Rodgers and the entire Packers offense have looked out of sync for most of the afternoon, continuing a trend of underwhelming performances from the unit that stretches back to last season. Rodgers is 15-of-22 for 135 yards and one of the longest gains of the day -- an 18-yarder to Jordy Nelson -- ended with a fumble that gave the ball back to the Cowboys. Rodgers has missed some passes and there have been a couple of drops, but the pass rush has been light enough that you’d expect much more from Green Bay through the air.
Rodgers’ last misfire of the half came when he couldn’t hit an open Randall Cobb deep down the field and the Cowboys started their drive at the three-yard line. The Packers used timeouts after first and second down, but Lucky Whitehead ran for 26 yards on third down to keep the Cowboys moving down the field. Dak Prescott then hit Terrance Williams for 42 yards and Brice Butler for a 20-yard touchdown to make the score 17-6 at halftime.
Prescott has now thrown 173 passes without an interception, giving him a record for the start of a career. That streak appeared to be in jeopardy when the ball squirted from his hands and into Packers linebacker Joe Thomas’ mitts in the first quarter, but it was ruled a fumble. That’s the only bit miscue for Prescott, who is 12-of-18 for 166 yards and two touchdowns against a Packers defense that’s short on cornerbacks.
That would make it a good time for the offense to step things back up, but it’s been a slog to this point.