Struggling Cowboys suffer letdown on offense as their defense shows signs of progress

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) — Dak Prescott and the Dallas Cowboys know they've dug themselves a hole with their slow start.

The Cowboys (2-4) believe they still have what it takes to turn things around.

“We’ve just got to go get a win," Prescott said after the Cowboys' 23-13 loss to the Green Bay Packers on Sunday night. "That’s the only way to work our way out of this hole and get momentum going and just to get the confidence and rolling on both sides of the ball, special teams included. We need some good momentum, and the only way to do it is to get a win.”

On a night when the Cowboys’ beleaguered defense finally showed signs of life, their star-studded offense let them down.

Prescott threw two interceptions on back-to-back drives to thwart scoring opportunities in the second quarter. The Cowboys were scoreless in a first half for the first time since Nov. 7, 2021, when they trailed 16-0 at the half of a 30-16 loss to Denver.

Prescott went 34 of 54 for 258 yards. His only touchdown pass – a 6-yarder to Ryan Flournoy – came with 44 seconds left in the game.

“I didn’t plan on coming to this game and throw it 54 times,” Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “That wasn’t the plan. That’s not a good recipe against this defense that’s been down against the run and pretty good against the pass. So, that wasn’t a good recipe for us. But that’s the way the game turned out.”

The Cowboys trailed 7-0 and faced second-and-8 from Green Bay’s 17 when Prescott took a big hit from Zaire Franklin. On the next play, Evan Williams intercepted Prescott's pass that was intended for CeeDee Lamb.

Dallas trailed 10-0 on its next possession and had first-and-15 from Green Bay’s 28 when Lamb fell on a route, enabling Packers rookie Brandon Cisse to make his first career interception.

“Only leaving the game with 13 points — one of the touchdowns came in trying-to-make-something-happen time, very frustrating,” Prescott said. “But we’ve got to fix it, and all the guys in that locker room are capable of it.”

Dallas’ problems on offense were particularly disappointing because its defense responded to adversity Sunday after struggling all season. The defense’s performance offered at least one reason for hope that the Cowboys can still turn things around, particularly because nobody has stood out in the NFC East so far.

The Cowboys entered this game allowing a league-high 6.4 yards per play and searching for answers after an embarrassing 24-16 home loss to the previously winless Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Dallas’ defense held a players-only meeting to discuss how to improve. The Cowboys also brought in veteran defensive assistant Mike Pettine in the days leading up to this game to help out first-year defensive coordinator Christian Parker.

Pettine was Green Bay’s defensive coordinator from 2018-20. Parker was a defensive quality control coach with the Packers from 2019-20.

Dallas’ defense responded, though it got some help when three potential touchdown passes by Green Bay’s Jordan Love were dropped — two by Matthew Golden and one from Christian Watson.

Green Bay took the lead for good with a 90-yard touchdown drive on its opening possession, but Dallas’ defense stiffened from there and produced a number of big plays.

Dee Winters got the Cowboys’ first interception of the season when he made a diving catch in front of Golden late in the first quarter. Winters then got up and weaved between multiple defenders to run over 40 yards for an apparent touchdown, but a replay review determined he was touched by Golden while still on the ground.

Quinnen Williams stopped Pierre Strong Jr. for a 1-yard loss when Green Bay had second-and-goal at the 1 in the second quarter. Malik Hooker then made an open-field tackle after Tucker Kraft caught a pass on third-and-goal, causing the Packers to settle for Trey Smack's 25-yard field goal.

Kenny Clark, who spent his first nine NFL seasons in Green Bay, got his first sack of the season in his return to Lambeau Field.

“We’re making strides, but we’re not where we want to be," cornerback DaRon Bland said of the defense's performance.

See AP’s full NFL coverage here

Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott reacts after being hit during the first half of an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

Green Bay Packers' Lukas van Ness stopos Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott during the second half of an NFL football game in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Nam Huh)

Green Bay Packers' Evan Williams stops Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott during the second half of an NFL football game in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Mike Roemer)

Green Bay Packers' Evan Williams stops Dallas Cowboys' Dak Prescott during the second half of an NFL football game in Green Bay, Wis., Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Matt Ludtke)

Saudi Arabia says it has executed 2 Bangladeshi nationals over “indecent acts” inside a mosque in Mecca. Bangladesh said it had not been informed of the executions beforehand.

Meanwhile, Israeli police have arrested 10 suspects in connection of a wave of settler violence, including against a U.S. journalist and European diplomats in the occupied West Bank over the weekend.

Here is the latest news from the Middle East on Monday. Read our full coverage here.

Saudi Arabia has executed two Bangladeshi nationals after they were convicted of committing indecent acts in a mosque in the Muslim holy city of Mecca.

Bangladesh said it was not informed before the sentences were carried out and has sought information from Saudi Arabia.

The Bangladeshis, a man and a woman, were executed on Wednesday after their death sentences were upheld by the highest court and a royal decree authorized their executions, the Saudi Interior Ministry said.

The statement said they were executed due to “the gravity and seriousness of their actions in violating the sanctity of both time and place.” The ministry did not elaborate.

Bangladeshi foreign ministry official Shama Obaed said her ministry has sent a letter to the Saudi government seeking “detailed information.”

Saudi authorities on Saturday also executed five Saudi nationals who were convicted of terrorism-related charges, the ministry said.

The ministry said the men were charged with joining a foreign terrorist group, opening fire on security forces, possession of weapons and funding terrorist attacks inside Saudi Arabia.

Saudi Arabia is one of the world’s most prolific users of the death penalty, with 356 executions in 2025, behind only China and Iran, according to Amnesty International.

So far this year, the kingdom executed over 170 people, according to the interior ministry.

Ten suspects were arrested on Monday following a string of violent attacks by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, police said, after the attacks led to heavy international criticism against Israel.

Israeli police did not identified the suspects or their roles in the attacks, which also targeted Washington Post photographer Heidi Levine and European diplomats. The attacks came during a spike of settler violence during the annual olive harvest.

Levine was beaten Friday by a crowd of young male settlers in the village of Abu Falah, leaving her with several broken ribs and vertebrae. A day later, masked settlers attacked a group of European diplomats and others visiting the Christian village of Taybeh.

Settler violence has surged in recent years, and rights groups say that attackers are rarely arrested or punished for attacks on Palestinians.

Iranian-backed Houthi rebels struck a military camp for government forces in southern Yemen, killing at least 20 soldiers, Yemeni military officials said, in one of the deadliest attacks in the recent surge in fighting.

The rebels fired ballistic missiles on the al-Alam military camp in the southern province of Shabwa in an attack that also wounded at least two dozen troops. The casualties were primarily new recruits, one of the officials told The Associated Press.

The military officials with the internationally recognized government of Yemen spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the media.

The attack was part of a recent escalation in fighting, which began months ago as tensions spiked in the wider Iran-U.S. conflict. The escalation between the Houthis and forces of the Saudi-backed government shattered a 2022 ceasefire deal that largely stopped fighting in Yemen’s civil war.

— By Samy Magdy

An adviser to Supreme Leader Mojtaba Khamenei says Iran will respond forcefully to any renewed U.S. attack.

Conservative politician Mohammad Mokhber said Iran would strike “nine countries” if Iranian bases or “petrochemical” facilities were struck again.

“If they want to hit a base, we have to hit the bases of nine countries,” he said Monday in recorded comments posted by Tasnim, a semiofficial news agency close with the Revolutionary Guard.

The report did not name the nine countries.

Mojtaba Khamenei was named Iran’s supreme leader after his father and predecessor, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed by Israel on the first day of the war. The younger Khamenei has not been seen or heard publicly since his appointment.

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This report will be updated throughout the day as new developments emerge.

Palestinian Amal Abu Awad, 62, collects olives during the harvest in the West Bank town of Turmus Ayya, Sunday, Oct. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Leo Correa)