Game Recap: Dallas falls to Detroit, 44-30 – Kurt Daniels, DallasCowboys.com
The Cowboys looked disinterested in one of the biggest games of the season.
There was a lot on the line in this Thursday night showdown between the Dallas Cowboys 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.
How NFL Playoff Picture Looks After Lions’ Win Over Cowboys on ‘TNF’ – Tom Dierberger, SI.com
The Cowboys chances of making the playoffs have plummeted.
Both the Cowboys and Lions desperately needed a win Thursday night in order to stay relevant in the NFC playoff picture.
The Cowboys stayed in the game with kicker Brandon Aubrey drilling three field goals of 55+ yards, and they even trimmed the deficit to three points in the fourth quarter. But Jahmyr Gibbs and the Lions’ offense couldn’t be stopped in the second half, and rolled to a 44–30 victory.
The Lions improved to 8–5 with the win. They remain in third place in the crowded NFC North, but are now just one game back of the 49ers (9–4) for the NFC’s final wild-card spot. Dallas, on the other hand, falls to 6–6–1 and will need a dramatic late-season run and some help in order to make the playoffs.
Entering the night, the Lions and Cowboys were the first two teams on the outside looking in at the playoff picture. That’s still the case following the Lions’ victory, but both teams’ chances to make the playoffs changed drastically with the Thursday Night Football result.
According to Next Gen Stats, the Lions now have a 53% chance to make the playoffs. Had they lost, that number would’ve dropped to 19%. The Cowboys’ playoff chances look rather bleak at just 9%. If Dallas pulled out a win Thursday night, Next Gen Stats would’ve given it a 39% chance to make the playoffs.
Cowboys vs. Lions recap: Dallas falls 44-30 to Detroit, playoffs in serious doubt – RJ Ochoa, Blogging the Boys
The Cowboys will likely need a full Eagles collapse to make the playoffs.
The Dallas Cowboys entered Thursday night in Detroit with a chance to win four games in a row and provide a serious boost to their building playoff hopes. That did not happen. They lost. At no point were they really close to not losing to be honest.
We should remember the positive equity that Dallas built up over their three-game winning streak and not dismiss it entirely. The Cowboys rallied and made matters impressive across this season, but it is hard to say that there is legitimate hope left after losing this game specifically. Dallas still has a chance and for all we know could get an enormous amount of help, but their already low odds took a serious hit by losing this game to this team.
The Cowboys are now 6-6-1 with a week and a half to rest and reflect over the gauntlet that they just ran. Maybe they pick up a ton of help, maybe they don’t. Either way it will surely be hard for them to look back on this game as they had a number of self-inflicted errors.
3 takeaways from Dallas Cowboys’ crushing loss to Lions in Week 14 – Randy Gurzi, SI.com
3 takeaways from the Cowboys brutal loss in week 14.
Matt Eberflus is back under fire
The Cowboys’ defense had turned things around over the past three weeks, holding their own against two Super Bowl teams in the process. On Thursday, we were reminded how many holes they have.
Their secondary struggled to slow down the passing attack, and we have to ask again if Matt Eberflus is the right man for the defensive coordinator job. The main reason for this question is the fit in the secondary.
Dallas has invested in man-cover corners such as DaRon Bland, Trevon Diggs, and rookie Shavon Revel Jr. They’ve all had issues in zone coverage, especially Revel who was beaten for a touchdown early in the second half while being caught out of position in his zone.
Revamping the entire secondary isn’t ideal, so they’re going to have to truly evaluate the fit at coordinator this offseason.
CeeDee Lamb injury update: Cowboys WR ruled out with concussion – Nick Brinkerhoff, USA Today
Get well soon, CeeDee.
The Dallas Cowboys are clinging to their playoff dreams, but might’ve lost a key piece along the way.
Trailing 27-9 in the third quarter, the Cowboys were driving and hoping to get back into the game. Dak Prescott lofted a pass up for CeeDee Lamb in the end zone, but the receiver wasn’t able to brace his fall.
Lamb was down on the field for a few extra moments before getting up. He received some help from the trainers, bracing his left arm.
He also hit his head on the turf, which proved to be the injury that forced him out. After being checked out on the sidelines, Lamb headed off to the locker room, and was quickly ruled out after that.
Here’s the latest on Lamb.
CeeDee Lamb injury update
Lamb has been ruled out with a concussion.
It initially appeared that Lamb was dealing with an arm injury, but it was his head hitting the turf that proved to be the problem.
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