Cowboys got a rare two-point play that helped lead to tie with Packers: How the bizarre scoring play happened

The Dallas Cowboys and Green Bay Packers played a wild one on Sunday night with the game ending in a 40-40 tie. It was the second-highest scoring tie in NFL history and the first tie the league has seen since 2022. 

The Packers might have been able to avoid the tie if they had been able to pull off a routine extra point in the first half, but instead, the kick turned out to be one of the most bizarre plays in the game and it ended with the Cowboys scoring a rare defensive two-point conversion. 

The craziness started in the second quarter after the Packers got a touchdown from Romeo Doubs to go up 13-0. After the score, Brandon McManus went out to kick the extra point, but the Cowboys ended up blocking it. The blocked kick then ended up in the hands of Markquese Bell, who returned it for two points to make the score 13-2. 

On the play, the Packers protection unit left a large hole on the right side and Juanyeh Thomas quickly jumped through it to block the kick. 

It was a wild play and it gave us just the 15th defensive two-point conversion in NFL history, including the playoffs. 

Before 2015, this play wouldn't have even been possible. The two-point conversion was implemented by the NFL in 1994, but for the first 20 seasons of the rule, the defense had no way of scoring two points unless it came on a safety. 

In 2015, the NFL approved a rule that gave the defense the ability to score on an extra point play. For a two-point conversion, the means the defense could return an interception or a fumble for two points. On a kicked extra point, that meant the defense could return a blocked kick, which is exactly what Bell did. 

The play caused a three-point swing that obviously ended up being pivotal: The Packers lost a point and the Cowboys gained two points. Instead of being up 14-0, the Packers lead was cut to 13-2. 

The blocked extra point also led to an interesting conversation on Green Bay's sideline. Following the game, Packers coach Matt LaFleur admitted that his team thought about going for two on a later touchdown to make up for the lost extra point. 

"It was definitely discussed," LaFleur said. "Where we were, we kept the way that the game was flowing, it seemed like there was a lot of times where there were a couple of situations where we had to kick a PAT to go up four points. So, you know, it's just like do you go for two there and chase points? You could."

In the end, the Packers decided not to chase the point and they kicked an extra point after each of their ensuing touchdowns. 

The return by Bell was the first defensive two-pointer since last January when the Houston Texans scored one on a blocked extra point in their playoff win over the Chargers. Bell's score was the 10th blocked kick returned for two points in NFL history. The other five defensive two pointers came on interceptions that were returned for a score.