Packers vs Cowboys history: five things to know before Sunday

The Cowboys come to Lambeau Field on Sunday night, and this is a series built on big games. The Packers lead it 22-17-1. The last meeting, on September 28, 2025, in Dallas, ended in a 40-40 tie after overtime, a few weeks after the Cowboys traded Micah Parsons to Green Bay.

The Cowboys show up all over my book, the All-Time Best Green Bay Packers Trivia Quiz Book, and a few of these stories are questions in it. Here are five things worth knowing before kickoff.

The 1966 title game ended at the goal line

The Packers and Cowboys met for the NFL championship on January 1, 1967, at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas, with a spot in the first Super Bowl on the line. Green Bay led 34-27 late, but Don Meredith drove the Cowboys inside the Packers’ 2-yard line. A false start pushed Dallas back, and on fourth down linebacker Dave Robinson charged into the backfield and wrapped up Meredith. His wobbly throw was intercepted by safety Tom Brown, and the Packers won 34-27.

The Ice Bowl was won on a quarterback sneak

A year later the two teams met again for the title, this time at Lambeau Field on December 31, 1967, in some of the coldest weather the NFL has ever played in. Dallas led 17-14 late in the fourth quarter. On third-and-goal with 16 seconds left and no timeouts, Bart Starr went to the sideline, told Vince Lombardi he could get in, and was told to run it. He kept the ball behind a block by guard Jerry Kramer and scored. The Packers won 21-17 and went on to Super Bowl II.

Dallas ended three straight Packers seasons in the 1990s

The tables turned once Brett Favre arrived. The Cowboys beat the Packers in the playoffs in Dallas three seasons in a row: 27-17 on January 16, 1994, 35-9 on January 8, 1995, and 38-27 on January 14, 1996. Dallas won the Super Bowl after the 1993 season. During Favre’s years in Green Bay, the Cowboys went 9-0 against the Packers at home.

Jared Cook’s sideline catch won the 2016 playoff game

The Packers went back to Dallas for a divisional playoff game on January 15, 2017. With the score tied at 31 in the final seconds, Aaron Rodgers faced third-and-20 and threw to tight end Jared Cook along the sideline for 36 yards. Mason Crosby then made a 51-yard field goal, his second kick of 50 or more yards in the last two minutes, and the Packers won 34-31.

Jordan Love made history as a seventh seed

On January 14, 2024, the seventh-seeded Packers visited the second-seeded Cowboys in the wild-card round. It was Jordan Love’s first playoff start, and Green Bay led 48-16 in the fourth quarter before winning 48-32. The Packers became the first seventh seed to beat a second seed since the playoffs grew to 14 teams, and they snapped the Cowboys’ 16-game home winning streak.

That’s the story behind Sunday’s matchup. You can find every Packers vs Cowboys game on the team page, and the site’s trivia quizzes are at the trivia hub.

My Packers trivia book has more Cowboys questions, like who coached Dallas in the Ice Bowl and what nickname the Ice Bowl gave the Lambeau Field turf. Every answer comes with the story behind it, in paperback and Kindle on Amazon.