In an exciting Thursday Night Football game, the Detroit Lions beat the Dallas Cowboys 44-30, which was a big blow to Dallas’s chances of making the NFC playoffs. The Cowboys lost their last three games, dropping to 6-6 and now sitting in 10th place, 2.5 games behind the San Francisco 49ers for the last wild-card spot. Jahmyr Gibbs, a running back for the Lions, stole the show with three rushing touchdowns. David Montgomery added another one in Detroit’s red-zone mastery.
Dak Prescott, the quarterback for the Dallas Cowboys, threw for 376 yards but also threw two important interceptions, bringing his season total to eight and lowering his chances of winning the MVP award. The first pick stopped Dallas’ first drive of the second half, giving Detroit a touchdown and a 27-9 lead. The second pick stopped a late rally. Jared Goff fought back well, throwing for 309 yards for the Lions, who improved to 8-5 and were only one game behind San Francisco.
Two officiating calls made people angry online: a non-call on Prescott apparently being tackled in his end zone during the first quarter, which would have avoided a safety, and a fourth-quarter offensive pass interference flag on tight end Jake Ferguson in the red zone, even though people said Lions’ Alex Anzalone started the contact. These times made fans even more angry about Dallas’ mistakes at the end of the game. According to analytics, the loss lowers the Cowboys’ chances of making the playoffs to about 8%.
Detroit’s win puts them in a strong position to win the No. 7 seed, just one game behind the 49ers (9-4). Dallas, on the other hand, is at No. 10 and has a long way to go. The Cowboys haven’t won a Super Bowl in 30 straight seasons, which makes their fading push for the playoffs even more important. Dan Campbell, the head coach of the Lions, is now looking for a wild-card surge.
