{image1}The Packers looked like the dominant defenders of their home turf once again Sunday as they beat the Dallas Cowboys, 41-20, their first victory at Lambeau Field this season.

"It feels like it's long overdue," said coach Mike Sherman. "We should expect this. We should expect to win at home. Even though we had a very worthy opponent today, in front of our crowd, and in our stadium, we expect to win.

"Our fans were phenomenal. They were there. You could hear them. You could feel them. I'm glad to send them home with this win."

The Packers were one of the most dominant teams at home for the last decade. They had a 81-13 record from the start of the Mike Holmgren era up to the last couple seasons. But, they have played only .500 football at home the last couple seasons and were 0-3 this year going into Sunday.

Much has been made the last two weeks of the Packers' turnaround since Sherman has started to call the offensive plays. But, Sherman and others emphasized, they beat the Cowboys with perhaps their best execution on offense of the season and a much-improved defense compared to earlier games.

"Trust me," Sherman said, "it isn't the plays. It's the players executing the plays."

"I think it has come down to execution in the last couple games," said quarterback Brett Favre, who completed 23 of 29 passes for 258 yards and two touchdowns. "Mike (Sherman) has done a good job of calling the plays since he took that over, but we've just been executing better."

Although Dallas ended up with 20 points, the Cowboys had only six in the first half on two field goals and had fallen behind 27-6 before scoring more.

"I thought our defense really stepped up today," Sherman said. "The Cowboys came out hard on us, but we kept them out of the end zone. If those two field goals early in the game had been touchdowns, it might have been a different game. Our offense also responded when they scored early."

Several Packers said they wanted to get a win at home for their fans. "That's for the fans," said wide receiver Javon Walker, who had eight receptions for 129 yards and a touchdown.

"They've been waiting for this all year. It's something we wanted to give them, and everything is beginning to come together."

Fullback William Henderson, a veteran who played during those dominant seasons at Lambeau, said, "We'd like to dedicate this to the fans. They deserved it. They still supported us regardless of what was going on. They never lost faith in us even though some of the media had."

Favre, who played a big part in the Packers' dominance at home, also said it was good to win at Lambeau, but cautioned against getting too high about it. "We were 0-3 so it feels good to win here again," Favre said.

"A win is a win. We still have a long ways to go. Hopefully, this is just a start. I promise you it won't get any easier from here on out."

Players of the Game

On offense, give the main honors to Favre and Ahman Green, who finished with 163 yards rushing. Green broke one run for a 90-yard touchdown and became only the second player in NFL history to have two touchdown runs longer than 90 yards. He also had a 98-yard TD run. Bo Jackson is the only other player to have two TDs over 90.

Green also set a franchise record with his 27th game over 100 yards rushing and moved past Don Hutson into third place on the Packers' all-time total yards list with 8,345 yards.

Give an honorable mention to Walker, who had several key catches during the contest.

On defense, lineman Grady Jackson gets the main honor for returning after a long injury and solidifying the defensive line. Give honorable mentions to linebacker Nick Barnett, who played much better than he had in recent weeks, and Bhawoh Jue, who filled in when safety Darren Sharper injured his knee.

Plays of the Game

Green's 90-yard scamper certainly qualifies as one big play. So does Favre's 44-yard strike to Walker early in the game. It set the tone for the Packers' offense.

"I believe the key play was that first third down play to Javon Walker," Sherman said. "He beat a good defender and made a nice catch."

Also, mark a play, which went for only six yards. Green reversed his field, and might have been caught for a loss, but Favre threw a block that sprung him for a gain.

"Do I want him to do that? No," said Sherman. "Do we practice that? No. But, to tell Brett Favre not to throw a block would be taking away something that makes him a great competitor."

Favre said he probably wouldn't listen to Sherman anyway. "I've come too far for that," he said. "I'm out to win."

Goats of the Game

Eddie George, once a great back, had only 41 yards for Dallas. Former Packer Tyrone Williams was burned on a couple long pass plays.

Another former Packer, Terry Glenn, left the game with a minor injury midway through the contest. We saw that frequently when Glenn was in Green Bay. He either has a very low threshold for pain or just doesn't have the guts to play through it.

Next week

The Packers could pull to .500 at 4-4, with a win at Washington next week. After a 1-4 start, that would be pretty good going into their bye week.

"I credit the leaders we have in our locker room," Sherman said. "It's not easy living in Green Bay, Wis., when you are 1-4. But, they have worked hard, and we have made progress. Now we have to keep it going."

Henderson pointed out, "We're in the same position now as we were last year at 3-4. We have to go out there and capitalize on a lot more opportunities. It's still a long season, and we have another huge challenge next week."