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EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — As the Green Bay Packers earned their sixth win to stay in the playoff picture of a crowded NFC, Matt LaFleur walked toward the doors of the visiting locker room with his gaze focused straight ahead.

After 13- and seven-point outings their prior two games, the Packers had sparked their offense to the tune of a 27-20 win over the New York Giants.

So the Packers head coach and play caller headed back to the locker room with his call sheet and a pen in his right hand, receiver Romeo Doubs to his left side.

The questions about LaFleur’s job security that had trailed the Packers’ loss Monday night stayed on pause as the Packers improved to 6-3-1.

Edge rusher Micah Parsons, who strip-sacked the Giants' Jameis Winston on the game’s final play, appreciated how the close win would help secure the Packers coach. But he also admitted he wasn’t surprised that the chatter surrounding his coach’s future had come on LaFleur’s second-to-last year under contract.

[Get more Packers news: Green Bay team feed]

Parsons remembered similar questions a year ago in Dallas, as Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy coached the final year of his own deal.

“It’s the same thing I went through with Coach McCarthy,” Parsons told Yahoo Sports from his locker as he searched for a pair of socks. “Obviously you hate to hear that about obviously an incredible person, incredible coach. But I think overall it just makes the players want to just play harder for their coach. We're all in this together. The coaches got to put us in great positions, and as the players, we got to put our coaches in great positions. That’s what it's all about: coming together to play for one another and the brotherhood.”

Conversation heightened in the NFL ecosystem last week as the Packers lost a 13-7 prime-time game to the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday. And it threatened to reach another level when a Giants team six days removed from the firing of head coach Brian Daboll entered the fourth quarter with a lead, a more-talented-on-paper Packers team struggling to finish on a windy day. 

But with a touchdown drive that highlighted Jordan Love’s development capping in the final five minutes, the Packers took a lead and then their defense finished the job. They’d completed the job LaFleur hammered repeatedly all week: 1-0.

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Parsons hoped the finish reminded his teammates and fans what the Packers are capable of, the confidence in late-game complementary football fueling a run. But he questioned how likely that was in explaining why the recent criticism wasn’t a surprise. Are coaches treated that differently than players, Packers wondered?

“We have great players,” Parsons said, “but if we're not productive then it's like, ‘Why they pay him this money?’ Why did he get the extension?’ It is the same thing. It is honestly nonsense what we do. We want to nitpick and try to find every little thing to diminish people and their success.

“We should just appreciate greatness really.”

The Packers’ seven-point win fell short of their definition of greatness. But their resilience after multiple injuries that seemed to threaten their return to the win column encouraged players. After one quarter, the Packers’ outlook had looked far murkier.

After left shoulder injury required X-rays, Love returned to elevate Packers

With 3:20 to play in the first quarter, Love avoided a sack and picked up 4 yards on a scramble. But the Packers’ franchise quarterback lowered his shoulder rather than sliding at the end of the carry. So when Giants linebacker Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles went for the tackle, he hit Love’s left shoulder hard.

A visit to the blue medical tent, and then the locker room for X-ray evaluation, followed.

When running back Josh Jacobs suffered his own knee injury at the end of the same drive, concern mounted. How many hits could this Packers offense survive? All 24 of the Packers’ touchdowns through 10 weeks involved either Love’s arm or Jacobs’ legs. And this roster already was regrouping from season-ending injuries to tight end Tucker Kraft, who suffered a torn ACL two games prior, and center Elgton Jenkins, who had broken his fibula Monday.

Jacobs was ruled out with the injury.

“Especially of his magnitude, but anytime a player doesn’t finish a game you’re always concerned about the welfare of him,” LaFleur said.

Love would return the next series. 

During Love’s absence as well as afterward, the Packers showed they could score without their two workhorses.

Love was in the locker room for his X-ray when the screen flashed backup quarterback Malik Willis’ touchdown to Christian Watson, Willis holding down the fort as Love’s left shoulder was examined to the tune of a 16-yard carry and 2-of-2 passing for 6 yards and a score.

Running back Emanuel Wilson would step up in Jacobs’ absence afterward, rushing for 40 yards and his first touchdown of the season.

Love’s left shoulder continued to remind him of the defender’s “good pop,” he said after completing 13 of 24 passes for 174 yards and two scores. But he weathered the pain in his taped-up, non-throwing shoulder to make plays when the Packers needed them most.

“It was definitely manageable, I’ll say that,” Love said in an endorsement shy of ringing. “It was just a small injury, so we’ll reevaluate it when we get back. Look at it. See what’s going on. But it’s not fun.”

Neither was the fourth quarter for the Giants.

The Giants initially defended two passes from Love well, leaving the Packers facing third-and-10 with 5:56 to play in the fourth quarter, down one point. Love ignored the misses as he’d ignored earlier drops, reminding himself what he’d told his receivers who hadn’t secured earlier passes: Next play.

Then Love dropped back, dancing in the pocket for six seconds he surveyed his options. He motioned to rookie receiver Savion Williams and fired deep.

Williams caught an airborne 33-yard pass to move the chains, the Packers advancing into the red zone with a chance to take the lead.

“Big-time catch in a crucial situation when we got to have it,” Love said. “I think it gave everybody a lot of juice — a lot of energy — to be able to go and finish that drive.”

Three plays later, the Packers faced second-and-7 from the 17 when they realized that finally they had the man coverage they wanted to cue up Watson for a jump ball. In double coverage, Watson caught the 17-yard touchdown to give the Packers what would ultimately become the go-ahead touchdown.

The Packers tacked on a 2-point conversion to go up 27-20 — a score they’d maintain through the four remaining minutes of game play.

“Honestly it was a play that we’d probably called like four times that game just to try to get the right look for it, but we weren’t getting man on it the whole game,” said Watson, who caught four of five targets for 46 yards and two touchdowns in the win. “That was the first time we got man on it so we … just went on a slot fade, Jordan gave me a chance and it was good.”

Giants’ latest late-game collapse buoys Packers

Despite a change in head coach and quarterback, the Giants blew a fourth-quarter lead for the fourth time this season. Mike Kafka oversaw a 336-yard day after his promotion from offensive coordinator to interim head coach, Jameis Winston starting his first game this season with first-round rookie Jaxson Dart on the sideline in concussion protocol.

But an offense effective enough to extend drives and dominate the time of possession with an 11-minute, 52-second advantage couldn’t hang on. Winston was steady on third and fourth down, the Giants attempting a full four plays on fourth down and converting on three. Then a five pass-deflection day caught up with Winston, the Packers defense that dropped near-interceptions for three-plus quarters securing the last.

Winston dropped back on third-and-6 with 40 seconds to go, targeting 2023 third-round receiver Jalin Hyatt on what was drawn to be a corner route. Hyatt ran toward the end zone but didn’t cross in front of the safety in line with his route’s intention. He stopped short, leaving second-year safety Evan Williams in perfect position to snag the pass instead. Winston reflected on the play diplomatically.

“I believe timing and execution is so important when you're in crucial moments,” Winston said. "When defenses see routes, you and the receiver have to be elite in timing and execution. I believe Jalin and I, our timing and execution could have been a lot better.”

The Giants would get one more offensive snap with 10 seconds to play. But Winston would not get to fire a pass attempt off before Parsons strip-sacked him. Fellow Packers defensive lineman Rashan Gary recovered the fumble.

The Packers snapped their losing streak and the Giants extended theirs to five games. A teetering Green Bay defense closed out a game its offense had kept in check.

“Sometimes they're going to pick us up in times of need,” Parsons said of the Packers’ offensive rebound. “I feel like today they picked us up a little bit more.”

With three straight division games up next, the Packers hope that offensive resurgence will quiet speculation about their coach and do more.

“It’s exactly what we needed,” Love said. “We came in with the mindset [that] ‘It’s going to be a game. Whatever it takes. We’ve got to find a way to get a win and get us back on track.’

“It came down to the end, but we stayed together, and the guys just found ways to keep making plays all the way into the fourth quarter. It’s something that’s going to help us, propel us, into next week.”

Sam Darnold had a disastrous Sunday for the Seattle Seahawks while throwing four interceptions in a high-stakes loss to the Los Angeles Rams. 

The effort tanked long-shot MVP chatter for the former first-round castoff, who'd previously revived his career for a second straight year after making his first Pro Bowl with the Minnesota Vikings in 2024. 

It also recalled another high-stakes meltdown in which Darnold committed two turnovers and took nine sacks while running an ineffective offense in last season's 27-9 playoff loss to the Rams. That in addition to the presence of 2024 first-round pick J.J. McCarthy ultimately prompted the Vikings to let Darnold walk as a free agent to Seattle.

Perhaps most concerning, Sunday's effort elicited recollections of Darnold seeing "ghosts" during his dreadful stint with the New York Jets team that drafted him.

At least one Seahawks teammate wasn't hearing any of it. 

Ernest Jones: Darnold's 'our quarterback'

Linebacker Ernest Jones delivered a frank and impassioned defense of his quarterback during his news conference following Seattle's 21-19 loss. Fair warning, his choice of language is NSFW.

"If we want to try to define Sam by this game, Sam's had us in every f***ing game," Jones said. "So for him to sit there and say 'it's my fault,' no it's not. There were plays that defensively we could have made plays, opportunities where we could have got better stops. 

"It's football, man. He's our quarterback. We've got his back. If you've got anything to say, quite frankly, f*** you."

That's the kind of teammate you want not just in football, but in life. Darnold had his worst day of the season on Sunday, and Jones was there to pick him up. It speaks well of a Seahawks team that lost by just 2 points to the Rams in spite of Darnold's four interceptions. 

The Rams and Seahawks were arguably the most impressive teams in the NFC heading into Sunday's matchup. Darnold has been a big reason for Seattle's success in a season in which he'd completed 71.1% of his passes for 251.3 yards per game with 17 touchdowns and 6 interceptions prior to Sunday's four-interception day. 

Barring more performances like Sunday's, the 7-3 Seahawks project to contend for the NFC, and Darnold is on track for another Pro Bowl nod. But even amid his success, skepticism around Darnold remains. And it's fair. See last season's playoff loss to the Rams. 

Darnold has a long track record of imploding that's difficult to shake, even amid sustained success. But he's surrounded by talent — and teammates like Jones — intent on ensuring he continues that success.

Being the most valuable team doesn’t make you the most valuable bet.

Like their counterparts in other sports — the Lakers, Yankees, and Maple Leafs — the Cowboys being the most valuable franchise to own in the NFL, hasn’t made them a valuable bet. In fact, the attention these teams get usually means it’s the opposite, as they’re often given the benefit of the doubt among the betting populace, and their implied win probability gets inflated.

We’re just scratching the surface on what having pro sports franchises in the gambling capital of the world means to betting lines, but since arriving in Las Vegas, the Raiders haven’t been good enough to get any of the same excessive consideration that Dallas does.

While these are big-picture concepts, when we break down the market for Cowboys-Raiders on Monday Night Football, the macro meets the micro in assessing value against the spread.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM.

Dallas Cowboys (-3.5, 50) at Las Vegas Raiders

Since before Week 1, when the Cowboys were undervalued in the NFL’s regular-season opener with the Eagles, we’ve asserted that as long as Dak Prescott is taking the snaps for Dallas, that the Cowboys should be rated as an average NFL team (which at the time they were not). Since then, with Prescott at the helm and the Cowboys’ rating corrected, they are 3-5 against the spread.

Not proving that the Cowboys are an above-average team isn’t a result of disappointing play from Prescott, but instead the blame should be put on a defense that’s 30th in opponent’s EPA/play on dropbacks, and 31st in opponent’s EPA/play on rushing plays. The last time we saw the Cowboys, Arizona journeyman QB Jacoby Brissett was converting five third-and-longs against them … in the first half!

Amidst that Monday Night Football broadcast, Jerry Jones created some low-level buzz about a trade that he had made to help the defense, and the possibility for more to come. At the trade deadline, the Cowboys acquired Logan Wilson, and more importantly, Quinnen Williams. These additions (and consideration for coming off of a bye week) might be why the Cowboys are still rated as an above-average team by a betting market willing to make Dallas 3.5-point favorites on the road. Apparently uninterested in the fact that the new faces were key parts of defenses that are 31st (Bengals) and 23rd (Jets) in dropback EPA/play.

By comparison, the now 6-4 Jaguars recently closed -1.5 in Las Vegas, and the now 7-3 Bears (who have beaten the Cowboys convincingly) were 2.5-point underdogs at the Raiders.

Las Vegas just played an ugly primetime game of its own, where the Broncos’ highly-rated defense shut down the Raiders’ offense, particularly Brock Bowers. Going from a road game against a defense that features the “No Fly Zone” to a home game against a team that allows teams to take off as frequently as the runways at nearby McCarron Airport, is a stark contrast. Yet, because the Raiders’ offense didn’t move the ball last week, they’re still rated alongside teams like the Browns and Bengals.

This will only be the fourth game where the Raiders’ offense will be able to deploy Bowers at full health — the key to the two-tight-end (12-personnel) sets that their offense was designed for by Chip Kelly.

In Bowers’ return to the lineup two games ago against the Jags – and facing a comparable-but-still-better defense than Dallas – Geno Smith had his best game since a Week 1 win at New England (the only other game that Bowers started healthy), throwing for 284 yards and four touchdowns. Add in a looser defense for Ashton Jeanty to run against, and the Raiders’ offense should be made to look as good as they have all season.

That gives us permission to take the points with Las Vegas, and a much better defensive unit, in what should be a close game.

Pick: Raiders +3.5

Player props

Dak Prescott longest pass completion under 36.5 yards (-118)

With the scheduling quirk of back-to-back Monday nighters for the Cowboys, we can be self-referential to a winning bet from two weeks ago:

“…the reason this line is so high is because of the Cowboys’ duo of CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens. They’re intimidating, but they’ve combined for four long receptions in 12 combined games played this season.”

Those numbers are up to four in 14 games, after the Cowboys weren’t able to connect deep down the field against Arizona. While the Raiders have allowed a few long passes this season, other deep-ball offenses like the Patriots, Bears and Colts weren’t able to go over the top of Patrick Graham’s sneaky-decent, pass-defense unit.

Ashton Jeanty over 61.5 rushing yards (-115)

Most everyone can picture the Cowboys’ pass defense getting gashed, but we referenced above that the run defense is just as poor. Jeanty’s shown the contact-balance that made him a first-round pick in April, but he hasn’t gotten a chance to explode against a vulnerable front … yet. Even in an uphill battle on the ground two Thursday ago, the Raiders stuck with the run in Denver, giving Jeanty 19 carries.

Being an underdog suggests the Raiders aren’t as likely to be able to lean on the running game in the fourth quarter, but, like two weeks ago, if we think the underdog can beat the favored Cowboys, we should be pricing in some extra rushing yards late. Just like the Cardinals had when two running backs combined for 23 carries and 106 yards rushing.

Brock Bowers over 6.5 receptions (-120)

If it were so easy to stop Bowers, everyone would do it. The Broncos have the top pass defense in the NFL, and, well, the Cowboys don’t.

Star tight end Tre McBride only had five catches in Dallas, but the Cardinals threw it his direction nine times, and didn’t need to push the ball through the air in the fourth quarter. Even with tempered optimism for the Raiders’ chances, a two-score lead and no need to throw in the fourth quarter seems unfathomable for Las Vegas.

In the aforementioned comparable matchup — Week 9 versus Jacksonville — Smith threw it to Bowers 13 times, and he caught 12 balls. It was reminiscent of his rookie season where he caught seven or more passes eight times.

Anytime touchdown

Jake Ferguson (+220)

While a high total suggests that there should be more than a few touchdowns in this game, it also artificially drops the odds for many of the most likely scorers, making them less valuable than our projections.

For the Cowboys, though, any time Ferguson is priced at better than 2-to-1, we’re compelled to take it.

Coming off a bye, the usual dings and knocks a tight end has to deal with midway through the season should be healed up, and Ferguson can go back to being Prescott’s favorite red zone target. Two Monday nights’ ago, we backed him to score but he dropped a pair of looks inside the 5-yard-line. With rest helping focus, we expect Ferguson to haul in any scoring chance he has, returning him back to the player that had six touchdowns in four straight games before getting dinged up in Week 8.

Tre Tucker (+220)

With the trade of Jakobi Meyers, and the 12-personnel that the Raiders run so much on offense, Tucker played every snap for the first time in his career last week in Denver.

Since a three-touchdown game in Week 3, Tucker’s caught 21 of the 27 targets sent his way from Geno Smith, but without a touchdown to show for it. There’s no secondary that will help you snap a production drought like the Cowboys. Smith and Tucker have enough chemistry that one should find the other open in the end zone amidst an oft-confused Dallas secondary.

You can find more valuable betting analysis from Yahoo Sports betting contributor, Matt Russell, at THE WINDOW.