Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions recap: Cowboys embarrassed at home yet again, lose 47-9
Sunday marked Jerry Jones’ 82nd birthday. To say the day was memorable for his Dallas Cowboys would certainly be saying the least.
“The least” is seemingly what was offered by the Cowboys as they almost let the Detroit Lions score as many points as Jerry Jones has years of life. From the very beginning the Lions dominated the Cowboys with touchdowns, field goals and amazing plays happening all over the place.
It was not a game, but an exhibition for the Lions as they improved to 4-1 on the season and looked like the juggernaut we feared them to be. Unfortunately the Cowboys also looked as we envisioned, when we forecasted the consequences of an offseason’s worth of inactivity.
The Cowboys are 3-3 and now officially on their bye week. All of their goals, in a technical sense, remain possible and in front of them. But they appear lost and disconnected in seriously concerning ways.
Here is our recap of what happened on Sunday afternoon, written as it all unfolded. We have re-sorted it in chronological order so it can be read in proper sequence.
1st Quarter
The Cowboys won the toss and once again on the season chose to receive. Mike McCarthy clearly wants to set a tone early.
Across an interesting drive that began with a tipped ball that stayed with the Cowboys… Dallas was able to secure points by way of a Brandon Aubrey field goal. It marked the first lead that Dallas held in their home building this season. CeeDee Lamb had quite the catch on the drive, in case you missed it.
The good vibes did not last long though, I am afraid.
Detroit marched down the field (all 70 yards of it) in 5 plays. The drive was capped off by number 5 himself, David Montgomery, for a touchdown.
This marked the third home game for the Cowboys, out of three mind you, where the visitors scored a touchdown on their opening drive. Not great!
But the Cowboys got back to work and Jalen Tolbert picked up where he left off in Pittsburgh with a big catch on the next drive.
The drive kept moving and even featured an impressive 3rd and 6 conversion where Dak Prescott found KaVontae Turpin. But then another third down happened and it was not as great.
Looking for CeeDee Lamb in the corner of the endzone, Dak Prescott was picked off by Brian Branch.
The quarter ended with Detroit near the redzone.
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2nd Quarter
The second quarter began with Detroit very near the redzone and thankfully the Cowboys were able to keep them relatively at bay. Ultimately the Lions came away with a field goal which meant that all three teams to visit AT&T Stadium this season (the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens as the others) scored on their opening two possessions. Unlike the Saints and Ravens though, the Lions did not get touchdowns on those two possessions.
Things were short lived for the home team though as the Cowboys punted right back to Detroit following a three and out.
It was at this point that things clicked the way Detroit envisioned. Some pre-snap motion (uh oh!), a flea flicker and all sorts of eye candy led to a huge touchdown from Jared Goff to Sam LaPorta.
You would hope that the Cowboys would have rallied after falling into another deep hole at home. I regret to inform you that this was not the case. For the second possession in a row they punted following a three and out.
On the subject of trends, Detroit’s kept up. They put points on the board yet again for the fourth straight possession, although thanks to a third down sack from the Cowboys it was only another field goal instead of a touchdown.
Beyond hope this time you would think that pressure would have elevated for the Cowboys to score and it seemed that this was the case. How do we know this? After not converting a first down on the first three plays the team went for it on 4th and 2 from their own 38-yard line. Unfortunately they failed.
The Lions are a proper offense and took advantage of the opportunity that Dallas gave them. They punched in another touchdown to lengthen their streak of scoring.
KaVontae Turpin had an amazing return to give the Cowboys some sort of hope at scoring before intermission, but on the first play Dak Prescott was sacked which made things all the more difficult. It was 3rd and 19 with that hope all but gone in the blink of an eye.
On the down in question CeeDee Lamb was able to pick up eight yards which set Brandon Aubrey up for another chance. He was good from 47 yards out and that was basically the half.
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3rd Quarter
The quarter began with the Lions receiving the ball and making quick work of it once again. Just like their opening drive they traveled 70 yards across 5 plays, but this time it was Jameson Williams trotting into the endzone.
It was on the next possession that things really turned in a number of directions. All morale as low as can be for the Cowboys, Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson sacked Dak Prescott to all but end the offensive drive. Unfortunately Hutchinson appeared to get seriously injured and was even carted off. Our best thoughts are with him.
Shortly after the Hutchinson situation Dak Prescott threw an incomplete pass and what was notable about that was that he seemed to hit one of the fingers on his throwing hand on a helmet. Prescott was clearly favoring and trying to help his hand on the following plays, the entire situation felt similar to Tony Romo in 2008.
Dak powered through a bit and the Cowboys managed to score… by way of a Brandon Aubrey field goal. They seriously kicked a field goal while trailing 34-6. It was good.
The Lions kicked a field goal of their own to make the deficit 28 points once more. Prescott and the starters returned, an amazing thing to wonder whether or not it would happen midway through the third quarter, and soon enough he found Ryan Flournoy for his first career reception.
Unfortunately it resulted in a fumble. One of those days.
The quarter ended with Detroit facing a third down in the redzone.
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4th Quarter
The quarter began with the Lions pulling off another field goal. More points.
Shortly after that Dak Prescott threw an interception. He was facing the sun within AT&T Stadium, just for full irony and knife-twisting. Detroit punched it in for a touchdown shortly after.
At this point it became Cooper Rush time and while he helped engineer a somewhat successful drive, it too ended in a turnover as he threw an interception in the endzone.
Everything about the rest of the game was rather procedural and mostly about draining clock. The party was on for Detroit. Why wouldn’t it be?
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Notable Recent News
It was noted on Saturday afternoon that, despite potential to do so earlier in the week, Dallas will not be elevating DaRon Bland for Sunday’s game against Detroit.
Also it was reported on Sunday, just before kickoff, that Tyler Guyton would not start for Dallas and that Tyler Smith would start at left tackle while T.J. Bass took over left guard duties.
Injury Updates
There have been no changes since the final injury report of the week, but remember that linebacker Eric Kendricks was ruled out on it.
NFL News Relevant To The Cowboys
The San Francisco 49ers beat the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.
Up Next For The Cowboys
Following Sunday’s game the Cowboys are on their bye and it is sorely needed. Players like Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and DaRon Bland to name a few can all benefit from the added week of rest.