What we learned in the Dallas Cowboys’ bounce back 20-19 win vs the Detroit Lions
It was banner day for the Dallas Cowboys, who welcomed Hall of Fame coach Jimmy Johnson into the Ring of Honor and saw receiver CeeDee Lamb and kicker Brandon Aubrey play their way into the club’s record books.
Not to be overshadowed, the Cowboys also desperately held on on for a 20-19 victory against the Detroit Lions before a packed house of incredulous fans at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
Down 20-13, the Lions drove 75 yards on 9 plays and got am 11-yard touchdown from Jared Goff to Amon-Ra St. Brown with 23 seconds left in the game.
A successful two-point pass to tackle Tyler Decker was taken off the board because of a controversial illegal touchingman down field penaltyflag.
The Lions contend that they coached officials on the play before the game and that Dan Skipper and Tyler Decker talked to the officials before the play
Decker would report as an eligible receiver. Skipper would apparently fake reporting as an eligible receiver..
Lions coach Dan Campbell was besides himself with anger after the game.
“Two players can’t report. I don’t want to talk about it,” Campbell said. “I explained everything, pregame, to a T.”
“(Skipper) reported, (Decker) didn’t, we threw it to (Decker), that was the explanation,” Campbell said.
The officials saw it differently.
Campbell went for two again. A Cowboys interception was nullified by an offside penalty against edge rusher Micah Parsons.
The Lions could have kicked an extra point to tie the game and forced overtime but Campbell went for two again.
This time the pass fell incomplete.
The ensuing onside kick was recovered by Lamb, who also caught 13 passes for a career-high 227 yards to surpass Michael Irvin’s team records for catches in a season and yards in a season.
Aubrey kicked two field goals in the second half, capped a 41-yarder in the fourth quarter, giving him 35 on the season, which is a new franchise record.
The Cowboys (11-5) also ended a two-game losing streak, while extending their home winning streak to 16 games. They are a perfect 8-0 at home in 2023.
Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said he was told that Skipper covered up Decker making him ineligible.
He was just proud of his team for hanging on to win a weird game.
“Boy, what an ebb and flow of the game,” McCarthy said. “I think it was, in some ways weird just the way it goes up and down. Guys did a nice job and we kept bouncing back.”
The Cowboys are not apologizing for a win against the Lions (11-5) that had won the NFC North for the first time in 30 years and was still in contention for home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The No. 2 seed is still up for grab for the Cowboys as the NFC East title remains in play in play for McCarthy and his team which has won 11 games for a third straight season.
They need to beat Washington in the season finale next weekend and hope the Philadelphia Eagles (11-4) lose Sunday at the Arizona.
McCarthy said he will spend Sunday watching football and rooting for an Eagles loss. Winning the division means possibly two home games for the Cowboys in the playoffs. And they clearly are their best at home.
“We’ll be ready for whatever comes our way,” McCarthy said. “But yes, we’re at 11 wins and it’s clearly what’s in front of us. With Philadelphia has two left and we have one left, so we’ll just see how it all shakes out.”
What we learned in the Dallas Cowboys 20-19 vs. the Detroit Lions
Dak Prescott comes up big in the fourth quarter, run game struggles
The inability to to run ball remains a huge issue for the Cowboys, who got ball with 5:52 left and holding a 17-13 lead.
But the team had no running game and no four-minute offense to run out the clock.
Tony Pollard had 16 carries for 49 yards in the game and continues to disappoint. He had 38 and 52 yards in losses to the Dolphins and Bills in the two previous games.
The Cowboys survived because of the play of quarterback Dak Prescott and Lamb. Prescott threw for 345 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
He came up with a signature scoring drive in the fourth quarter to put the Cowboys in the lead for the second straight week.
Down 13-10, Prescott directed a 75-yard scoring drive, capped by a 8-yard pas to Brandin Cooks. The key play on the drive was a 21-yard dime to Cooks on third down.
It was similar to last week when Prescott gave the Cowboys a 20-19 lead with a 8-yard scoring toss to Cooks.
But the defense couldn’t make it count in a 22-20 loss to the Dolphins.
Most disappointing for the Cowboys offense was their inability to run out the clock in the fourth quarter against Lions. They got the ball twice in the last five minutes and instead of winning the game on offense. They settled for a field goal and got a prayer from the officials.
Prescott was left kicking himself for an deep shot that fell incomplete on the final field goal drive when he had a shorter throw underneath that would have burned more time off the clock.
“That’s on me honestly,” Prescott said. “Other options right there. Brandon had the right route, ran the right route when it was played. They brought zero. I’ve got to do a better job on that one. That’s where we were talking about the roller coaster of emotions. That’s one where I put my team in that situation throwing that ball there. That’s one I promise you that will keep me up at night. I’ll have to flush that thought. The defense ultimately saved me. That’s probably why I was so anxious to get back on the field with 20 seconds and redeem myself and get another opportunity. That’s the point about this being a complementary win and us doing it together. That wasn’t the smartest or best play by me. Obviously, the defense helped me out.”
The Cowboys also could have used help from the running game.
“Clearly, the running game was not the highlight of our performance,” McCarthy said. “They overloaded the front We tried to get the ball the C gap. The pressure and overall defense was a challenge for us.”
Defense shows up big vs. the run, gets two interceptions
The Cowboys defense knew it was going to be challenged by the Lions run game, which ranks third in the NFL.
And try the Lions did early and often. They had 17 carries for 68 yards in the first half.
But the Cowboys were up to the challenge with four tackles for losses, led by defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence with two.
The first half was also highlighted by a diving interception from nickel back Jourdan Lewis, who jumped a wide receiver screen. It was an emotional play for Lewis, who is from Detroit and bought tickers for more than 30 family members, who are mostly Lions fans.
The Cowboys defense also stopped the Lions on fourth and goal from the 4-yard line to put an exclamation point in a first half effort that led to a 7-3 lead at halftime.
It was a lead that could have much bigger if not for two turnovers on offense.
The Lions rallied to 13-10 lead in the fourth quarter thanks to a 74-yard drive, capped by a 3-yard run from David Montgomery and a 30-yard field goal.
The defense had a chance to make a statement after Prescott tossed an 8-yard touchdown pass to Cooks, giving the Cowboys a 17-13 lead.
After the offense couldn’t move the ball and run out the clock, the defense came up big again.
Safety Donovan Wilson jumped in front of a Jared Goff pass intended for tight end Sam Porta for a diving interception with 2:05 left in the game.
Although the Cowboys gave up the final touchdown drive, they survived the attempted two-point conversion.
Parsons was happy with the win but not happy with how they closed out the game. For the second straight game, they gave up a late score in the two-minute drill after the offense took the league.
Unlike the Dolphins game, they survived the the late collapse.
“You know it’s definitely mind boggling, but you know it’s just more frustrating to be in the position to win the game like that,” Parsons said. That’s where that frustration comes from. I don’t even feel like we should have been in that position. Just how much we put into two-minute, how we pride ourselves on getting stops in the game, so there’s definitely some things I feel like we got to fix.”
The Cowboys forced two turnovers and had at least seven tackles for loss against the Lions.
“I thought the situation defenses was outstanding,” McCarthy said. “I like they way they responded, the takeaways. They kept bouncing back.”
Jalen Tolbert gets snookered again on fake punt
For the second time in four games, receiver Jalen Tolbert was snookered on a fake punt by the opposing team, resulting in a first down.
The Lions used a direct snap toe Jalen Reeve-Maybin who tossed 31-yard pass to Khalil Dorsey. Tolbert was in coverage and got burned as he was preparing for the punt return.
The Lions didn’t score on the drive as the defense forced an incomplete pass on fourth-and-goal.
But it’s an issue the Cowboys must fix with Tolbert and his awareness. The same thing happened against the Eagles three weeks ago.
In addition to the Cowboys’ record he broke, Aubrey extended his NFL streak for consecutive makes to start a career to 35 with a 51-yarder in the third quarter and a 43-yard field goal later.
CeeDee Lamb surpasses Michael Irvin but has crucial fumble
Lamb etched his name in the Cowboys record book in record fashion against the Lions. He entered game needing two receptions two tie Michael Irvin’s record for catches in a season of 111.
He tied record with a 92 yard bomb from Prescott, who scrambled away from trouble and signaled Lamb deep. The defense back fell and Lamb cruised into the end zone.
It was the second longest reception in franchise history behind a 95-yarder from Don Meredith to Bob Hayes in 1966.
Lamb would soon pass Irvin’s record for catches and season. But he was not done and also surpassed Irvin’s record of receiving yards in a season of 1,603. He came into the game needing 179 yards to tie.
Things were not all great for Lamb as he had a crucial fumble through the end zone that cost the Cowboys points. Instead of being up 14-3 halftime, the Cowboys led just 7-3. He also had a couple of drops in the third quarter.
But when it came to win and score in the fourth quarter, Lamb was a big part of the proceedings.
Lamb has 122 catches for 1,651 yards on the season.
“I mean just a big touchdown play and his yards after the catch,” McCarthy said. “He’s so dynamic with the football. I think so much about receiver play and how these guys with the route running, the connection with Dak compared to in the past. those two guys have taken it to another level. But I don’t know how many yards he had after the catch, but I know it was a bunch. And so yeah, just a complete, complete receiver.”
