The Green Bay Packers are 3-1 on the young 2019 season. If most knew that would be the case prior to the start of the season, that would have been well-received.

The Packers will still sit atop the NFC North after the Detroit Lions loss to the Kansas City Chiefs, but they now face a tough stretch of games, coming off their first loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Dallas Cowboys on the road, the Lions and Oakland Raiders at home and then on the road against the Chiefs and Los Angeles Chargers.

The loss to the Eagles was a tough one and one that the Packers had chances to win despite a clunker performance by their defense. In the NFL, teams have to win their home games. Short week, injuries and everything else aside, being at home should help games like Thursday night end well for the good guys. Now the Packers will be looking to make up that loss later this season.

Twice, Green Bay had first-and-goal and got no points. They turned the ball over twice and forced none. There were no Packer sacks. Special teams were abysmal. That will get you beat.

After the first three games, where the defense was consistent and a big reason the Packers won their games, they were a virtual zero in week four. A combination of Philadelphia's game plan and the best quarterback the Packers have faced proved to be a much tougher challenge.

Now the Packers and new head coach Matt LaFleur have to regroup and head to Dallas, where the Packers have had good fortune for many years. But just as 2019 is a new era for the Packers, the same goes for old tendencies and history. This upcoming game is a very stiff challenge for a banged up team.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott is playing well and another solid run game with Zeke Elliott awaits the Green Bay run defense. It's a tall task but they have to find a way to step up and be better. A similar performance to last week's shows a glaring weakness in the Packers' defense and makes the first three games seem like a bit of fool's gold.

Offensively, the Packers could be without right tackle Bryan Bulaga and receiver Davante Adams. Those are both massive losses to overcome but that's the name of the game in any NFL season: attrition and depth. Do the Packers have enough to get by?

A win over the Cowboys makes everyone forget about last week. Another loss adds some pressure for Green Bay to step up and protect their lead atop the division. A big part of what the 2019 Packers are starts to take shape one week from today.