There was a lot on the line in this Thursday night showdown between the ÃÛÌÒTV and Detroit Lions. With both teams fighting for a playoff spot, the winner would find itself securely in the hunt while the loser would face an uphill battle to reach the postseason.
Unfortunately, the task just got that much tougher for the Cowboys as they fell to Lions, 44-30.
Dallas didn't do itself any favors in this one. A pair of costly turnovers, inopportune penalties, poor tackling at times and Detroit owning the field position battle for much of the first half led to a deficit that the Cowboys just couldn't overcome. Especially when they were adding three points at a time with field goals instead of scoring touchdowns.
Adding injury to insult, Dallas also saw CeeDee Lamb leave the game early in the third quarter due to a concussion. A huge loss, he had earned a game-high 121 receiving yards on six catches before being sideline.
The Cowboys knew coming into this matchup that stopping Detroit running back Jahmyr Gibbs was going to be the key to any success. But while the team's defense held him to only 43 rushing yards, Gibbs scored three touchdowns and added another 77 yards receiving. Fellow running back David Montgomery also picked up 60 yards rushing with a touchdown as well, as the Lions rushed for 109 yards overall, averaging 5 yards per carry.
Detroit quarterback Jared Goff didn't exactly put on a highlight-reel performance, but he was efficient, completing 73.5 percent of his throws for 309 yards and a 111.0 passer rating. He was also sacked only once. Jameson Williams was a thorn in the defense's side all night, totaling 96 yards receiving, with Amon-Ra St. Brown adding another 92.
On the other hand, Dak Prescott was under pressure throughout the game and was sacked five times. He finished with a season-high 376 yards, completing 66 percent of his passes for a 79.7 rating. George Pickens, who has been dynamic all season long, was mostly quiet, earning just 37 yards receiving, although with Lamb out, Ryan Flournoy posted a career-high 115 receiving yards with a touchdown.
Overall, the Cowboys narrowly out-gained the Lions, 417 yards to 408, and held the time of possession, 31:23 to 28:37. But they failed to record a takeaway and went only one of three in the red zone in taking the loss.
First Quarter
The defenses for both teams were largely in control for the first 15 minutes of the game. Detroit opened with a drive to the Cowboys' 8-yard line, but a sack by James Houston on third-and-8 forced the Lions to settle for a 38-yard field goal.
That was followed by Dallas responding with three points of its own, although Brandon Aubrey had a greater distance to cover. But he did what he's been doing all season, splitting the uprights from 57-yards out.
The Cowboys narrowly avoided a safety on their next series when on third down Prescott appeared to be sacked in the end zone by a swarm of Lions defenders. Thankfully, the ball wasn't across the goal line, so upon further review, Dallas had to punt from its own end zone.
After a 21-yard return, the Lions were set up at the Cowboys' 42, and six plays later, Gibbs went up the middle and across the goal line to give Detroit a 10-3 lead.
Second Quarter
As the second frame got underway, the Cowboys were on the move. And the offense converted four third-downs along the way, the biggest a 16-yard pass to Lamb that got Dallas into enemy territory. But the drive stalled at the Lions' 15-yard line, so after Prescott was sacked, out came Aubrey for a 42-yard field goal to narrow the deficit to four points.
With that being the 100th field goal of Aubrey's 47-game career, he tied the NFL record for the fastest in history to reach the century mark.
Disaster struck on the Cowboys' next possession, though. While fighting to pick up additional yardage, tight end Jake Ferguson had the ball punched out, which Detroit recovered near midfield. But they promptly marched backwards, thanks to a pair of penalties that found them staring at first-and-25 at their own 32.
No matter, Goff found Jameson Williams for 25 yards, and then two plays later Montgomery powered his way off right guard and raced 35 yards for the touchdown.
The Cowboys would still have time to add to their point total, and they again marched deep into the Lions' end of the field. But with just less than a minute left in the half and a fourth-and-4 at the Detroit 37-yard line, head coach Brian Schottenheimer elected to secure the points. So Aubrey's field goal this time was good from 55 yards.
However, with 45 seconds remaining on the clock, that was enough time for Goff to get his side in field goal range. Jake Bates' 47-yard kick was true as the clock hit zeros, giving the Lions a 20-9 advantage at the break.
Third Quarter
If there was any concern after the first half of play, things became significantly worse as the second half got underway. On the opening play of the third quarter, Prescott's pass to Pickens was broken up by cornerback Amik Robertson with the ball deflecting right into the arms of Lions linebacker Derrick Barnes.
Now sitting at the Dallas 14-yard line, Goff threw 2 yards to Williams and then found Isaac Teslaa in the back left corner of the end zone for the quick touchdown.
Of course, the Cowboys weren't going to go away quietly, and they responded with a nine-play, 65-yard drive to pay dirt. The offense faced a fourth-and-5 at the 9-yard line and this time decided to go for it. Prescott found Pickens at the 2, and although he fumbled, left guard Tyler Smith fell on the ball to provide a new set of downs. Javonte Williams then did the rest, using a pair of 1-yard runs to cross the goal line, the score now 27-16.
But even that ray of light was darkened by Lamb heading to the locker room during the series, out for the rest of the game.
Still, the momentum seemed to be favoring the Cowboys at this point, especially when on Detroit's next possession, Sam Williams blocked the Lions' 52-yard field goal attempt, the third of his career.
And the Cowboys kept chipping away. Despite two more penalties during the possession, the team was able to reach the Detroit 45, which allowed Aubrey to add another three points, this time from 63 yards to inch the score up to 27-19.
Fourth Quarter
That little run for the Cowboys was temporarily stunted when the Lions got the first points of the fourth quarter. A 10-play, 40-yard drive got Detroit to the Dallas 28-yard line, but while the Cowboys were able to put an end to any more progress, Bates was good on a 45-yard field goal.
Regardless, Prescott and company overcame that hiccup on their next series and needed just four plays to do it. A blown coverage by the Lions left Flournoy wide open down the right sideline, allowing for an easy pitch and catch for a 42-yard touchdown. With Prescott firing a dart to Ferguson in the end zone for the two-point conversion, Dallas was now suddenly just three points behind Detroit.
But the Lions kept coming, and the Cowboys were unable to get off the field. The big blow came when Goff completed a 29-yard pass to Jameson Williams on third-and-6 at the Detroit 45 that saw another 13 yards tacked on due to a roughing the passer penalty. That then led to a 10-yard touchdown run by Gibbs, which increased the home side's lead to 10 points.
Playing up-tempo, Prescott went to work. During a 13-play, 56-yard drive, he found Flournoy twice for a combined 30 yards, Luke Schoonmaker for 12 and Pickens for completions of 8 and 7 yards. But they again couldn't punch it in the end zone, so Aubrey tacked on three points with a 29-yard field goal.
With 3:34 left in the game, the Dallas defense desperately needed a stop. Instead, after Detroit returned the kickoff 42 yards to the Lions 49, Goff found St. Brown on the second snap of their series for a big 37-yard gain to the Cowboys' 13-yard line. Gibbs then took the handoff around the right end and strutted untouched to the end zone to seal the win, 44-30.
The loss dropped the Cowboys' record to 6-6-1, which means they will have to win their last four games, starting with the Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 14, and hope for some help in the form of those teams above them in the standings losing.
