Cowboys hope to escape Lions’ den with their playoff lives

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Football player in a blue uniform points forward during a game, surrounded by team members on the field.

It will be just over six years since the last time the Dallas Cowboys flew north to face the Detroit Lions. The last three meetings have occurred in Texas.

The Lions stomped the Cowboys at AT&T Stadium last year to snap a long losing streak to Dallas.

This year, they’ll be looking to extend their winning streak led by Dak Prescott’s steady play.

Speaking of active streaks. The Cowboys have won three straight games for the first time since a five-game win streak back in 2023.

That was also the last year they made the playoffs.

A five-game win streak this year would put Dallas in a great position to get back into the playoffs in January.

But first, they need to take advantage of a suddenly vulnerable Lions team. Especially one that is missing Amon-Ra St. Brown.

Lions WR Amon-Ra St. Brown will miss tonight's game against the Cowboys.

After a 4-1 start, the Lions are alternating wins and losses and are now 7-5 after a Thanksgiving Day loss to Green Bay.

The Cowboys have struggled on the road and come into tonight’s game with a 2-4 record on the road.

  • Who: Detroit Lions
  • Where: at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan
  • When: Tonight, 7:15 p.m. (CST)
  • How (to watch): Amazon Prime

All-Time Marks

The Cowboys are 19-13 all-time against the Lions.

Dallas had enjoyed a nice six-game win streak over the Lions before last year’s blowout loss.

Detroit does hold a 9-6 advantage when the teams meet in Michigan. However, Dallas has won three of the last four games in Detroit.

The Lions last home win in the series was a 31-30 win in 2013.

Matthew Stafford’s 1-yard plunge with 12 seconds left and David Akers point after was the winner.

Detroit Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford (9) drops back to pass in the second quarter of an NFL football game against the San Diego Chargers in Detroit, Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011. (AP Photo/Rick Osentoski)

The two teams combined for 41 points in the fourth quarter. Dallas had led 13-7 after three quarters.

The two teams share a playoff record.

The Cowboys 5-0 win over Detroit at the Cotton Bowl in 1970 remains the lowest scoring playoff game in NFL history.

It was also the first time a playoff game had been played on artificial turf.

Dallas is just 34-29 in Week 14 contests, with one bye week back in the 1990 season. They are 19-19 when playing away in this week of the schedule.

The teams have met once in Week 14, a 2007 contest won by Dallas, 28-27.

The Prediction

Detroit crushed Dallas by 38 points last year. They love to run up the score even when they aren’t motivated to do so.

The problem with this year’s team is they haven’t been playing consistently.

The Cowboys have found some magic in a three-game win streak.

Prediction: Cowboys 34, Lions 30

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Richard Paolinelli is an award-winning sports journalist with 34 years of professional newsroom experience. His newspaper career (1991–2011) includes the Gallup Independent, Modesto Bee, Gustine Press-Standard, Turlock Journal, Merced Sun-Star, Tracy Press, Patch, and San Francisco Examiner. He received the 2001 California Newspaper Publishers Association Best Sports Story award. Richard has authored two non-fiction sports books and 11 novels. At InsideTheStar.com, he has published 874 articles reaching over 728,000 readers.

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