Cowboys hope to escape Lions’ den with their playoff lives

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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

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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Bardolf 5 months ago

Sorry folks no live broadcasting of this game tonight unless you are an Amazon subscriber. Oh I long for the days when you don't have to pay to see a freaking NFL football game! Anyway, my prediction Lions 24 to Cowboys 21. Home field advantage has to be factored in. Cowboys chance to the big dance will have to be knocking the Eagles off the division lead. Hopefully the Chargers will have enough juice to defeat the Eagles. That way (after this loss) they will be one game behind the division leader.
1. VAM 5 months ago
  
  Yeah, NFL/Goodell are greedy as hell. Slowly but surely, they are putting more games on PAID subscription channels, shaking down the loyal fans even more. Really a turn off. As far as the game, Cowboys have a lot of juice coming into it. Lions are faltering somewhat but homefield may help. Cowboys have to limit Gibbs, with his 5.8 YPC. A top 2/3 RB. IMO, Cowboys fortunes have turn around on the great addition of Pickens. The guy has been a revelation. All DP has to do is throw the ball up and he will most likely bring it down. Even on under thrown ball, which DP does on occasion, Pickens will throttle down and jump over the DB(s) to snatch it. Reminds me of another great player, Dez Bryant, b/c of his high pointing ability, catch radius and YAC. Injuries hurt Dez's HOF potential. Hard to predict tonight's game. If Lions bring their A game, I can see them winning, especially if Cowboys turn the ball over. But if Cowboys stay hot as they have been recently, they will have the edge. Again, watch out for Gibbs, especially if St Brown is out, as they may rely on the run game more. Who wants it more? In any event, good to see meaningful games.
  1. KevinBulldogs63 5 months ago
    
    Well stated by Bardoff and you. We are driven into subscribing to numerous other services such as Amazon and Netflix to see the Cowboys, The NFL used to be a Sunday ritual for fans rooting for local or regional teams. I suppose billions were not enough to extract by the NFL from the average fan. Greed does rule the day. Instead, the NFL owners, such as Jerry Jones, seek to drain our pocketbookss. They are depriving us from a Sunday, or other day's pleasure, of watching our favorite teams. Don't they factor in whether the extra money ordinary fans don't have to otherwise pay for NFL fees derived from other services has to be used for keeping the water on, insurance premiums on the house paid, heating the house during cold winters, or an X-MAS gift for their grandchild within the realm of possibily, I think not. No, Jerry, probably only thinks of heat in rare colder nights in the Caribbean when his yacht isn't quite comfortable. I was lucky to have the opportunity to fight to take down multi-national conglomerates... counting Missouri American Water as one. Someone needs to stop the NFL from depriving economically suppressed people from enjoying a brief respite from the demands upon their lives derived from watching their favorite team play on Sunday,
    1. KevinBulldogs63 5 months ago
      
      While pushing their favorite teams to venues the fans can't afford.
      1. Richard Paolinelli Post Author 5 months ago
        
        Between the cathedrals for stadiums and the high ticket prices the NFL is pricing out the fan base that helped build the league. Unless a family of four owns an oil well or some similar source of high income, its almost impossible to afford to go to a game and get a decent seat. The affordable ones are so far up in the stratosphere, you might as well stay home and watch the game on your own big screen. The last actual NFL game I went to was in Arizona in 2019. Was only going to be able to catch the first half. I spent $50 on a seat very near the top of the stadium and should have brought binoculars so I could make out the players below.