Dallas Cowboys provide update on CeeDee Lamb after scary concussion vs. Lions – Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram CeeDee Lamb had a good day after suffering a concussion in Detroit. It was far from the dream road trip for the Dallas Cowboys to the Motor City on Thursday night, as head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s squad […] Dallas Cowboys provide update on CeeDee Lamb after scary concussion vs. Lions – Nick Harris, Fort Worth Star-Telegram CeeDee Lamb had a good day after suffering a concussion in Detroit. It was far from the dream road trip for the Dallas Cowboys to the Motor City on Thursday night, as head coach Brian Schottenheimer’s squad fell 44-30 to the Detroit Lions in a pivotal matchup toward dictating the playoff bubble in the NFC. Aside from the result, a health concern for wide receiver CeeDee Lamb also came out of the game after he suffered a concussion in the third quarter. With 12:47 left in the frame, quarterback Dak Prescott gave Lamb a chance at a one-on-one ball in the end zone that he couldn’t come up with. As he was landing on the ground, his head slammed against the Ford Field turf. His left arm went numb as he laid on the turf without much movement for a few moments. He was checkout by medical staff on the field and in the injury tent before being quickly ruled out and walked to the locker room. Coming out of the locker room after the loss, Lamb nodded when asked if he was OK. “It scared me,” Cowboys owner and general manager Jerry Jones said on 105.3 The Fan on Friday morning. “It really did.” Back in the team facility on Friday, Schottenheimer was able to see Lamb whose body responded well less than 24 hours after the injury. “He had a good day,” Schottenheimer said on Friday afternoon on a conference call with local reporters. “But he has to go through all the checks and balances of all that stuff. I do think the extra couple of days should hopefully help him.” After enduring tough stretch of schedule, playoff hopeful Cowboys face harsh reality – Calvin Watkins, Dallas Morning News The Cowboys loss to the Lions puts their postseason dreams in serious jeopardy. FRISCO — It’s over now, but the ramifications of the Cowboys playing four games in 18 days have determined where their season sits. A playoff appearance, as difficult as it would have been to accomplish, is almost extinguished following a 44-30 loss to the Lions on Thursday night. The Athletic playoff predictor gives the Cowboys a 9% chance of making the postseason and a 4% chance of winning the NFC East. NFL’s Next Gen Stats playoff probabilities also have the Cowboys reaching the postseason at 9%. If Dallas had upended Detroit on Thursday, their chances would have moved to 39% with four games to play. With three days off following their Thursday night loss, the Cowboys are faced with the reality that reaching the postseason might be through a complete collapse by the Eagles to win the NFC East. In the Eagles’ next five games, the Los Angeles Chargers (8-4) and Buffalo Bills (8-4) have winning records. The defending Super Bowl champs face the 3-9 Washington Commanders twice in the last month of the season and despite the troubles on offense, it’s assumed the Eagles are in good shape. The Cowboys? Well, a win over the Lions would have been the Cowboys’ fourth consecutive heading into a weekend with momentum and bringing it closer to the Eagles (8-4). At 6-6-1, the Cowboys already have losses to Detroit, Chicago and Carolina, so making the postseason as a wild card will be difficult. They’d also lose an unlikely tiebreaker against those teams. This play shifted the momentum greatly on Thursday night. Despite a mistake-filled performance in all three phases of the game, the Cowboys nevertheless kept it close enough to give themselves a chance at the end of Week 14’s meeting with the Lions. It was also close enough for one penalty flag to dramatically- and quite maddeningly, if you ask Dak Prescott- alter everything. “That’s a game-changing call that I don’t understand,” the Cowboys quarterback would say later, knowing full well the comments could get him in trouble with the league. Dallas was on the move late in the fourth quarter and looked to be headed toward the end zone. Down by 10 points, Prescott had led the offense from their own 33 and were sitting on the Lions’ 11 in a third-and-3 situation. On the ensuing pass play to tight end Jake Ferguson, he and Lions linebacker Alex Anzalone got tangled up, and the ball sailed just past Ferguson’s outstretched arms. A flag was thrown, but the expected call against the defense never came. Instead, after a quick meeting, the officials announced offensive pass interference against Ferguson. Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer was enraged. The broadcast booth was dumbfounded. But instead of the Cowboys’ ball on the doorstep, with a fresh set of downs they could use to cut the lead to three points with just under four minutes to play, Dallas had to settle for a field goal… and hope to get the ball back for another crack at the end zone with enough time for it to matter. That didn’t happen. 10 thoughts on the Cowboys 44-30 Thursday night loss to the Lions – Dan Rodgers, Blogging The Boys Several things prevented the Cowboys from beating the Lions. The winning streak is over. It seemed like a tough ask for the Dallas Cowboys to win three straight games against the three teams with the best records last season, and sure enough, it was. The Cowboys fell to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night, 44-30, putting their playoff hopes on life support. It was a frustrating game to watch with a little goodness sprinkled in. Here are my 10 thoughts on this unfortunate loss in the Motor City. 1. Falling

The Dallas Cowboys win streak ended at three Thursday night with the 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions. The Cowboys made it interesting by attempting yet another comeback late in the game, but Lions were just too much for them to handle in the end. Looking back at the Week 14 loss, there is a […] The Dallas Cowboys win streak ended at three Thursday night with the 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions. The Cowboys made it interesting by attempting yet another comeback late in the game, but Lions were just too much for them to handle in the end. Looking back at the Week 14 loss, there is a good mixture of positives and negatives throughout the ballgame for the Cowboys. Today, we’re going to identify one good, one bad, and one ugly thing from the unfortunate Thursday night loss to the Detroit Lions. THE GOOD – WR Ryan Flournoy With six catches for 121 yards, CeeDee Lamb was having himself quite a game until he had to exit early due to a concussion. With No. 88 sidelined, second-year WR Ryan Flournoy stepped up to pick up the slack. He caught nine passes for 115 yards and scored one touchdown. Flournoy’s offensive role has continued to expand as the season progressed and he proved why against the Lions Thursday night. He’s become a reliable/trusted target for Dak Prescott and looks to have a bright future with the Cowboys moving forward. The Lions ended up winning by 14 points Thursday night, and it’s no coincidence that’s exactly how many points the Dallas Cowboys gave up due to turnovers. First it was the Jake Ferguson fumble in the first quarter that allowed the Lions to extend their lead 17-6 off of a off of a 35-yard TD run by David Montgomery and once again in the second quarter Detroit capitalized off an interception to extend their lead even further, 27-9. It’s nearly impossible to win games in the NFL when you’re giving away points to your opponent. THE UGLY – Pass protection It doesn’t matter how talented the receiving corps is if the QB doesn’t have time to throw the ball. That was the case for the Cowboys Thursday night against the Lions. Dak Prescott was pretty much under duress all night from Detroit’s pass rush. As expected, Aidan Hutchinson got the better of Terence Steele on a number of occasions and gave Nate Thomas, who was filling in for for an injured Tyler Guyton at LT, problems as well when he rushed from that side. Prescott ended up throwing for 376 yards and one TD, but a lot of that came under duress. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

The Dallas Cowboys have perhaps the best interior offensive linemen in the game on their team in Tyler Smith, someone who is going to be around for the long-term future after receiving a contract extension from the club a few months ago. Smith has been a dream for the Cowboys from just about Day 1 […] The Dallas Cowboys have perhaps the best interior offensive linemen in the game on their team in Tyler Smith, someone who is going to be around for the long-term future after receiving a contract extension from the club a few months ago. Smith has been a dream for the Cowboys from just about Day 1 as he has gone about everything in the perfectly right way. Part of what makes him so great is his personality and what he gives his time to. We here at Blogging The Boys are particularly grateful that he offered some of his time on Friday after the Cowboys visited the Detroit Lions. You can watch our entire conversation below. Smith discussed the loss to Detroit, the team’s mentality coming out of it, his fumble recovery in the game, and so much more. It was one of the more fun interviews that I have had the fortune to be a part of and he really let his personality shine. He is quite the fan of anime as it turns out. Most importantly though, he joined us to talk about his partnership with Novartis, the Official Pharmaceutical Partner of the NFL and Dallas Cowboys as well as the Susan G. Komen Foundation. The effort here is to raise awareness around the importance of annual breast cancer screenings. Tyler devoted his cleats during the league’s My Cause My Cleats initiative to this cause and spoke about how it has impacted him personally. This season marks the launch of a new partnership between the Cowboys and Novartis, the Official Pharmaceutical Partner of the NFL, dedicated to expanding proactive health education for fans in Dallas and surrounding communities. Together, Novartis and the Dallas Cowboys are encouraging consistent annual exams, screenings, and, ultimately, empowering action around critical health conversations that affect our fans every day. Novartis partnered with Cowboys offensive lineman, Tyler Smith, during the NFL’s My Cause My Cleats campaign as he supported the Susan G. Komen Foundation. Smith amplified awareness for people living with breast cancer, particularly driving support for the Dallas Cowboys’ Star Survivors campaign. The partnership includes digital signage throughout AT&T Stadium this season, encouraging fans to make their health a priority. Our thanks to Tyler Smith for the time and our best wishes to him moving forward. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

It was a fun few weeks of optimism. Just when you thought the Dallas Cowboys might go on an improbable run toward the postseason, they were undone on the road against the Detroit Lions. The offense put themselves in a deep hole early and were playing catch-up against one of the league’s most potent offenses. […] It was a fun few weeks of optimism. Just when you thought the Dallas Cowboys might go on an improbable run toward the postseason, they were undone on the road against the Detroit Lions. The offense put themselves in a deep hole early and were playing catch-up against one of the league’s most potent offenses. The Cowboys put themselves in a high-octane race against Jahmyr Gibbs and the Lions, and unfortunately, they got lapped. With the loss, Dallas’ chances of making the playoffs plummeted. Not saying it’s over, but the last sprinkles of sand in the hourglass are fading away on this season. Here’s what went wrong for Dallas in Detroit. Unable to force stops in the second half Numerous times the Lions were backed up on penalties only to overcome the negative yardage. For example, the Lions erased a 1st and 25 in just two plays, which ultimately led to a disappointing 35-yard rumble for a score by David Montgomery. Then, after the Cowboys drew within one score at 27-19, the Lions managed to get past a 1st-and-15 following an illegal motion penalty and a 2nd-and-22 from the Dallas 41-yard line. This was largely due to the secondary giving generous cushions, and no one rerouting receivers as they ran through zones. Dallas didn’t force a punt or get a sack on Jared Goff once in the second half. It’s a shame because the Cowboys had quality pass rushes at times, but they didn’t get to Goff. Ultimately, Dallas couldn’t close the gap because the defense couldn’t get off the field enough. Trading Field Goals for Touchdowns As amazing as Brandon Aubrey is, making field goals from 55, 57, and 63 yards respectively, it’s not ideal to ask him to kick as many long field goals as he had to last night. The Cowboys’ inability to score touchdowns versus field goals put them behind the curve against Detroit. After winning the opening coin toss and deferring until the second half, it would have greatly helped if Dallas had scored a touchdown before the break rather than settling for a field goal. A penalty by Jake Ferguson offset a D.J. Reed pass interference penalty on George Pickens that would have given the Cowboys 1st-and-goal from the two-yard line. Instead, Dallas had to settle for three points on the drive. Hypothetically, the Cowboys could have gone into the break down 17-13. However, their field goal was nullified by the Lions marching down the field with 50 seconds left in the quarter to answer with a field goal of their own before the half and take a 20-9 lead. The Cowboys trailed by ten with just under four minutes left in the regulation, but again had to settle for a field goal to make it a seven-point game. Had they been able to score a touchdown on that drive, they could have at the very least maintained a one-score deficit if they held Detroit to a field goal on the ensuing drive. As we know, Detroit added another touchdown, Jahmyr Gibbs’ third of the night, and ended the Cowboys’ comeback. Losing the turnover battle You cannot turn the ball multiple times and expect to win, especially against a team like the Detroit Lions. Things were already looking bleak after the Cowboys were trailing to open the third quarter. It immediately got worse. Dak Prescott looked to complete a short pass to George Pickens, but Lions cornerback Amik Robertson tipped the ball in the air at the catch point, where it fell into the waiting arms of Derrick Barnes. Two plays later, Jared Goff throws a touchdown to Isaac TeSlaa over the outstretched hand of Shavon Revel, who had a pretty rough game in coverage overall, and Dallas was down by 18 points in a flash. You also can’t forget about Jake Ferguson’s fumble that occurred right before David Montgomery’s touchdown. The Cowboys gifted the Lions with prime field position due to costly mistakes, and Detroit made them pay for it. The Lions scored 14 points off of takeaways. You can also throw in the coverage unit for good measure. Brandon Aubrey did a good job angling his kickoffs in the corners of the landing zone, but the special teams unit allowed 261 yards in kickoff return yardage. In all, Dallas had three turnovers to Detroit’s zero. See More: Dallas Cowboys Roster

The winning streak is over. It seemed like a tough ask for the Dallas Cowboys to win three straight games against the three teams with the best records last season, and sure enough, it was. The Cowboys fell to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night, 44-30, putting their playoff hopes on life support. It was […] The winning streak is over. It seemed like a tough ask for the Dallas Cowboys to win three straight games against the three teams with the best records last season, and sure enough, it was. The Cowboys fell to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night, 44-30, putting their playoff hopes on life support. It was a frustrating game to watch with a little goodness sprinkled in. Here are my 10 thoughts on this unfortunate loss in the Motor City. 1. Falling behind again It wouldn’t be a Cowboys game if the team didn’t dig itself a hole early. They went down 21-0 against the Eagles two weeks ago, fell down 7-0 to the Chiefs on Thanksgiving, and then trailed 27-9 early in the second half. While the team does a good job fighting back into games, this repeated habit of falling behind is not a recipe for success. If you play with fire long enough, eventually you’ll get burned, and that’s what happened to them against the Lions. 2. They’re only hurting themselves Another element that reared its ugly head was turning the ball. The Cowboys had a couple of costly mistakes against the Eagles and turned the ball over on their opening drive against the Chiefs. They were fortunate enough to overcome those miscues, but their luck ran out in Detroit. The Cowboys’ offense turned the ball over three times, once on a Jake Ferguson fumble, and twice on a deflected pass that was intercepted. On the other side of the ball, the defense didn’t force a single turnover. It’s tough to win football games when you lose the turnover battle, 3 to 0. Join the conversation! Sign up for a user account and get: Fewer ads Create community posts Comment on articles, community posts Rec comments, community posts New, improved notifications system! 3. Defense didn’t have it It was great while it lasted, but the Cowboys’ defense didn’t bring the ‘A’ game to this one. At times, they made some plays, but far too often, they gave up big yardage plays to the Lions’ playmakers. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Jameson Williams, and Jahmyr Gibbs all had receiving plays over 25 yards. David Montgomery had a 35-yard rushing touchdown. Jared Goff had over 300 yards passing. At the end of the day, the Lions’ offense beat them in a multitude of ways as the Cowboys gave up over 400 yards and surrendered 44 points. 4. Losing CeeDee The Cowboys were dealt a huge blow when CeeDee Lamb exited the game early in the fourth quarter after trying to make a one-handed catch in the end zone. It didn’t look good as Lamb exhibited the fencing response with his hands after coming down hard on his head. He was taken to the medical tent and quickly ruled out of the game with a concussion. Despite exiting early, Lamb finished the game with six catches for 121 yards. Without the team’s star receiver, the Lions smothered George Pickens, keeping him in check. Ryan Flournoy stepped up and had nine catches for 115 yards, including a 42-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter. 5. They gave themselves a chance The Flournoy touchdown brought the Cowboys within three points with just under 10 minutes left in the game. And before that, Sam Williams blocked a field goal to keep it an 11-point game. The Cowboys turned around and kicked a field goal to cut it to seven on their ensuing drive. While the Lions eventually ran away late, at least there was a point in the fourth quarter when it looked like the Cowboys would have a shot, thanks to the blocked field goal and big-play touchdown from Flournoy. 6. Rough day for Fergy Things did not go so well for Cowboys’ tight end Jake Ferguson. In the second quarter, Ferguson was flagged for illegal hands to the face, negating a would-be pass interference penalty drawn by Pickens that would have set the Cowboys up 1st-and-goal. He also fumbled the ball after trying to gain extra yards on a 3rd-and-21 play. And late in the game, he was flagged for offensive pass interference, although that call looked bogus. Ferguson kept fighting, though. He made a couple of tough catches and wisely pounced on a Dak Prescott pass that was ruled a lateral, saving what could have been a disastrous play. 7. Turpin is broken It’s tough to understand what goes through the head of KaVontae Turpin when he fields punts. Whenever he should let the ball bounce, he doesn’t. When he should field it, he doesn’t. And whenever he tries to call a fair catch, apparently, he doesn’t do that either. For the second-straight game, Turpin has been flagged for an illegal fair catch. While that seems silly, he’s also just not doing much good in the return game. He didn’t elude anyone and just ran straight into the defender. Meanwhile, the Lions had some tight-end-looking fella running back kicks, and he was taking them out to the 50-yard line, setting up his offense quite nicely. That’s not supposed to be how this works. 8. Javonte hits 1,000 yards The free agent signing of Javonte Williams has worked out well for the Cowboys, as he’s been a stable fixture for the team’s rushing attack. Entering the game, he only needed 45 yards to hit the 1,000 mark for the first time in his career. Williams hit that mark exactly on his one-yard touchdown early in the third quarter. The veteran running back finished the game with 67 yards on 17 carries. He has 1,022 yards on the season and needs just 57 yards to pass Rico Dowdle’s rushing

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 […] 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

The Cowboys do it every year, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Playing three games in 12 days is difficult regardless of who you face, and even more so when you’re facing three of the most lethal offenses in the league. That’s what Thursday night in Detroit felt like: a Cowboys team that simply […] The Cowboys do it every year, but it doesn’t make it any easier. Playing three games in 12 days is difficult regardless of who you face, and even more so when you’re facing three of the most lethal offenses in the league. That’s what Thursday night in Detroit felt like: a Cowboys team that simply ran out of gas. The defense, especially, looked to be lacking any of the magic they’d displayed in their previous three games. They forced a punt at the 8:28 minute mark in the second quarter, and Lions punter Jack Fox took the rest of the night off as the Lions prevailed 44-30. This game unfolded the way many Cowboys games have lately, at least early on. Slow starts on both sides of the ball led to an early hole for Dallas. Three promising drives in the first half ended in a field goal, and then another ended early thanks to a Jake Ferguson fumble. Between that and a Lions offense that’s seen a resurgence in production since head coach Dan Campbell took over play-calling, the Cowboys found themselves trailing 20-9 at halftime. Of course, the Cowboys don’t flinch anymore in these situations. They’ve overcome worse, after all. But the first play of the third quarter – a routine slant to George Pickens that the defense popped up into the air and into the hands of a defender – was followed up with a Lions touchdown two plays later, making it 27-9. Just like when the Eagles went up 21-0, this one felt over in that moment. In many ways, it was, but that didn’t keep the Cowboys from fighting. Dak Prescott hit a big play to CeeDee Lamb – who was injured a few plays later, not returning in the game with a concussion – before finding Pickens for a fourth-down conversion inside the 10-yard line. Javonte Williams rumbled in for a touchdown while crossing 1,000 rushing yards in the process. Another long Lions drive ended with a blocked field goal, and that led to a successful kick from Brandon Aubrey not much later. Detroit responded with a field goal of their own, but Prescott found Ryan Flournoy for a 42-yard touchdown and then hit Ferguson on the two-point try. Suddenly, it was a three point game with just under 10 minutes left in the game. Then, the bottom fell out. The Lions scored another touchdown in just five plays, helped out by a 29-yard catch-and-run by Jameson Williams that saw an additional 13 yards tacked on for roughing the passer. The Cowboys moved the ball down the field fairly fast, and it looked as if they were about to get first-and-goal thanks to a pass interference penalty. Well, pass interference was called, but in a move that befuddled even the on-air rules analyst Terry McAulay, referee Shawn Hochuli tagged Ferguson for offensive pass interference. Instead of first down inside the five, the Cowboys settled for a field goal. That still made it a one-score game, trimming the Lions’ lead to 37-30. But a 42-yard kickoff return and a 37-yard catch-and-run for Amon-Ra St. Brown – who finished the game with 92 yards on six catches after barely managing to avoid the inactive list with an injury – helped the Lions score another touchdown. In the end, the final score looks like as much of a runaway as it was early in the third quarter. Anyone who watched the game knows the Cowboys played with the same level of fight they have in the past three games, but at a certain point a team digs itself too deep of a hole to climb out. That’s what happened Thursday, and it puts their playoff hopes on life support. The road the rest of the way gets a little easier, with just one opponent currently holding a winning record, but the Cowboys need even more help than they did 24 hours ago. Still, the fact that the Cowboys continue to fight suggests that they’re not ready to give up on the season just yet, no matter how bleak things look. If this season has shown us anything, it’s that these Cowboys are never out of it until the final whistle blows.

The Dallas Cowboys lost on Thursday night to the Detroit Lions. Losing in general is difficult to take, but doing so when your playoff lives are on the line makes it especially frustrating. For all intents and purposes the Cowboys held a 23% chance of reaching the playoffs before Thursday night’s game. In losing their […] The Dallas Cowboys lost on Thursday night to the Detroit Lions. Losing in general is difficult to take, but doing so when your playoff lives are on the line makes it especially frustrating. For all intents and purposes the Cowboys held a 23% chance of reaching the playoffs before Thursday night’s game. In losing their odds dropped to 9% which means you can use the gif from Dumb and Dumber to talk about it. The New York Times playoff simulator gives the Cowboys a 41% chance of reaching the playoffs if they win out (Vikings, Chargers, at Commanders, and at Giants). Even winning out is below 50% which is why Thursday night was so critical. Within that world the Cowboys would obviously need a ton of help. The TL;DR is that they would need the San Francisco 49ers, Green Bay Packers, and now Detroit Lions to all collapse and fall beneath them in the NFC Wild Card standings. To be clear only two of them need to do so as Dallas is currently the second team out, but again that underscores how tough this all is now. An argument can be (and has been) made that the most probable (not that it is probable) path in as as the NFC East winner. In addition to winning out the Cowboys would need the Eagles to lose at least three of their remaining games (at Chargers, Raiders, at Commanders, at Bills, Commanders). Have crazier things happened? Of course. But we were already asking for crazy before the loss to Detroit. Now we are asking for CRAZY. See More: Dallas Cowboys Playoffs