There were many factors when the Cowboys and Packers stood across from each other at the AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. The departure of Micah Parsons, America’s Team trailing by 1-2, and the emotional buildup of 3 decades without a trophy. Jerry Jones was on the sidelines, watching each pass, play, and drive. It ended in a 40-40 tie, the second-highest scoring tie in NFL history. After the game, the owner-GM wasn’t sad. At least his players ended the game on a draw, as he said, “I’m good with it.” This year, the NFL defined the OT rules that allowed the game to end in a tie.

NFL overtime gives both teams a possession, ending in a tie if still even, unless a kickoff team scores a safety. Only one timeout is allowed. However, Jerry Jones did not hold back when it came to his team. He open-heartedly praised the Cowboys team for giving their all and added, “I’m proud of this bunch. I thought we played well enough to win the game. I’m sick of these players, sick of these coaches, and sick of our fans that we didn’t bring home a win.”

The Cowboys’ owner was already under fire for not giving a refund to Parson for the field-level suite after he moved to the Packers. There were doubts about the abilities of America’s Team. But his team did not let him down in the game.

Brandon McManus gave double blows to Jerry Jones

The game was competitive from the very first down. Although the Packers stopped the Cowboys from scoring in the first quarter, they fought back and finished the first half with a 3-point lead, 16-13. It was clear that they would not give up.

They ended the 3rd quarter with the same lead by 23-20. After 4 drives in the 4th quarter that ended with touchdowns, the Packers were still behind by 34-37. In the end, it came down to Brandon McManus. He kicked a 53-yard kick to score the equalizer that forced the game into overtime. It was the first blow to Jerry Jones.

After the coin toss, the Cowboys got the first set of downs. They scored the field goal and got ahead by a 40-37 score. But with 4 minutes 40 seconds remaining, Jordan Love got the ball. With 6 seconds remaining, the QB made an incomplete pass to Matthew Golden. It again came down to the Packers’ kicker, who scored the OT equalizer from 34 yards.

The 6-foot-3, 201-pound kicker had already played 10 seasons in the NFL when he arrived at the Packers last year. And they have also worked diligently on him. In 11 games of the 2024 season, he scored 20 of 21 field goals (95.2% accuracy), missing only 1 of 4 goals from 40-49 yards. He completed 5 of 5 from 20-29 yards, 9 of 9 from 30-39 yards, and 3 of 3 from 50-59 yards with 100% accuracy.

But the Packers couldn’t correct the basic issue in this offseason either. In 4 games this season, McManus has scored 7 of 9 goals. The 2 goals he missed were kicked from 40-49 yards. So, while he gave double blows to Jerry Jones’ tonight, they need to find and remove those issues before they hurt them in crucial moments.