Bill Nichols

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GREEN BAY, Wis. – Through 2 ½ quarters, the Dallas Cowboys' secondary held strong against Green Bay's quick-throw offense.

Then the roof caved in on Dallas' defenders. The Packers went 80 yards in 15 plays on a chaotic drive that included all sorts of craziness. At one point, only one starter was in Dallas' defensive backfield.

The drive ended with the Packers leading, 10-0, with 13:14 left in the game.

The crumbling of Dallas' secondary began when cornerback Mike Jenkins injured his arm trying to tackle Donald Driver after a 10-yard gain on the second play of the drive. Cornerback Terence Newman went off briefly with cramps. And safety Ken Hamlin was injured five plays after Jenkins, tackling Ryan Grant on a four-yard run.

With two guys hurting on the sideline – Newman returned – the Cowboys were bending. Then came a series of backbreakers:

Rodgers completed a 17-yard pass to tight end Donald Lee. On second-and-10 from Dallas' 16, Rodgers' pass to Driver fell incomplete. But Dallas safety Orlando Scandrick was flagged for interference, which gave Green Bay a first down at the 12.

Still, after a Rodgers incompletion and a four-yard run, the Cowboys had hopes of holding Green Bay to a field goal. But on third-and-6, Jordy Nelson beat Scandrick for a seven-yard reception. Although Green Bay lost its challenge claiming Nelson got into the end zone, Rodgers took the sneak over on the next play.

Scandrick epitomized the Cowboys' secondary in that he played well for most of the game but got flagged twice on that drive.

"We didn't play well enough to win," Scandrick said. "We were competing out there. It's not like we made mistakes for penalties. They've got a good group of receivers, and they got a lot of fortunate calls. That's just the way it goes."

The Cowboys' secondary succeeded on many counts. They avoided the big pass plays for the most part. Rodgers' longest completion was 24 yards to Driver.

But the penalties, which included Jenkins for illegal hands to the face, hurt as much as the injuries. And the Cowboys couldn't recover.

"I was pretty much in his face telling him, 'Good play,' " Jenkins said of his penalty. "But then I turned around, and it was a penalty. Most of the calls I didn't feel comfortable with. They didn't let us play. The game is getting to the point where we can't play as defensive backs."