Brevyn Spann-Ford’s four catches for 35 yards were modest figures in a 54-pass offense. They were also the clearest sign that Dallas may have another useful answer between the line of scrimmage and the deep perimeter. Jake Ferguson added two catches for 13 yards as the Cowboys lost 23-13 to Green Bay on Sunday night.
That is a small contribution from the tight ends, particularly in a game when Dak Prescott threw 54 passes and Dallas ran only 15 times. CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens combined for 29 targets, 15 catches and 143 yards. The wide receivers deserved their prominent roles.
Still, an offense carrying that much passing volume needs more than two primary receiving answers, especially after producing 13 points and falling behind 17-0 by halftime.
The answer is not as simple as ordering a target redistribution and waiting for the machinery to hum. Green Bay’s pressure, Dallas’ two interceptions, the limited running game and uneven red-zone execution all mattered. The tight ends did not single-handedly cost the Cowboys this game. Their modest involvement did show how little margin Dallas had when the offense became so dependent on its wideouts.
Spann-Ford supplied the most persuasive case for a larger place in the menu. With Green Bay leading 10-0 in the second quarter, Dallas started at its own 28. Prescott first found Javonte Williams for 9 yards, then hit Spann-Ford on second-and-1 for 13 yards to midfield.
Three Williams runs followed, gaining 5, 4 and 2 yards, before Prescott connected with Pickens for 16 yards to the Packers 23.
That possession still unraveled. A holding penalty erased Tyler Goodson’s 9-yard run, and a neutral-zone penalty moved the next snap to the Packers 28. On first-and-15, Brandon Cisse intercepted Prescott’s pass intended for Lamb. Spann-Ford’s catch helped move Dallas into promising territory; it did not make the rest of the drive immune to penalties or a bad finish.
His better sequence came on Dallas’ third-quarter touchdown drive. The Cowboys began at the Green Bay 46 and converted fourth-and-2 when Lamb caught a 17-yard pass from the Packers 38 to the 21. Williams gained 4 yards, and Spann-Ford then caught a pass for 6 yards on second-and-6 from the Packers 17.
Williams followed with runs of 8, 2 and 1 yard, the final carry producing the touchdown.
That is a sensible role for Spann-Ford to pursue: useful yardage inside the flow of a drive while the defense accounts for the outside receivers. His 13-yard reception was his longest, and he finished with five targets. Dallas could seek more of that work without turning him into the featured receiver. A useful supporting role can remain precisely that.
Ferguson’s quieter night offers less to build around. His two official receptions totaled 13 yards. A 7-yard catch in the fourth quarter was erased by an offensive holding penalty, and a later pass to him fell incomplete on first-and-10 from the Dallas 49 during the final touchdown drive.
That possession eventually leaned on Pickens, Lamb and Ryan Flournoy before Flournoy scored, leaving Ferguson outside the decisive finishing sequence.
