Fresh off a huge win over the Kansas City Chiefs on Thanksgiving Day, the Dallas Cowboys wrap up their three-game gauntlet this Thursday as they take on the Detroit Lions. Both the Cowboys and Lions desperately need to win this game to stay in the playoff hunt, so this figures to be a very competitive matchup. With that thought in mind, today, we take a look at three players Dallas will need to step up if they want to defeat the Lions.
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1) RB Javonte Williams
Coming into their bye week back in Week 9, the Detroit Lions were riding high. Detroit had a 5-2 record, winning five of its last six games, and a defense that allowed just 21 points per game. However, since the bye week, things have looked a lot different for the team from Michigan.
As a team, they’ve posted a 2-3 record over their last five games, and much of their overall struggles fall on the failures of their defense. Detroit’s defense has given up 25 points per game over this five-game stretch, and its inability to consistently stop the run has been a big reason why it has failed to get consistent stops.
Opponents are averaging 126 rushing yards per game against the Lions since Week 9, and the unit is in the bottom half of the league in defensive rush EPA (-0.086) over this span. This week, the Lions’ run defense faces another tough test against a Cowboys team that has been very efficient in the run game this season, ranking 11th in the NFL in Rush EPA (-0.030) and Rush Success Rate (42.7%).
Despite a quiet game last week against the Chiefs, Dallas will need their lead running back, Javonte Williams, to take advantage of the Lions’ inability to stop physical runners this week. On the year, Williams ranks in the top six in the NFL in rushing yards (955), first downs rushing (50), and rushing yards per game (79.6).
Detroit’s last two opponents, the Green Bay Packers and New York Giants, used their success in the run game to open up big passing plays down the field. If Javonte Williams and Dallas’s offensive line can get a consistent push on the ground this week, it could open up a big day for the Cowboys’ offense.
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2) LBs DeMarvion Overshown and Logan Wilson
If the Cowboys’ defense is going to have success in Thursday’s matchup, their number one priority needs to be slowing down Detroit’s star running back Jahmyr Gibbs. The 23-year-old is one of the most explosive offensive players in all of football, and he has once again been one of the most productive running backs in the league this season.
Gibbs’ ability to make explosive, game-changing plays has been a big reason for Detroit’s offensive success this season. The former first-round pick leads the league with 24 explosive runs (20+ yard runs) this year, including 14 rushes of 30 or more yards and eight of 40 or more.
In the Lions’ Week 12 matchup against the New York Giants, you could make a solid argument that Gibbs was the sole reason the Lions escaped with a win. The 23-year-old had a career day, recording 219 rushing yards on just 15 carries, including a 69-yard touchdown run on the first play of overtime that helped lead to the Lions’ win.
If the Cowboys want to continue their defensive success, they’ll need to make sure they stop Gibbs from registering explosive plays. To do that, Dallas will need their top two linebackers, DeMarvion Overshown and Logan Wilson, to be at their absolute best. Overshown and Wilson have both been getting their footing the past few weeks, albeit for different reasons, but the duo will need to put their foot on the gas on Thursday and play full throttle if the Cowboys want to walk away with a win.
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