The Detroit Lions nearly escaped Dallas with a last-second comeback victory, but a penalty on the 2-point conversion led to a 20-19 loss to the Cowboys.
The Lions (11-5) are guaranteed at least one home playoff game, but are now likely locked into the No. 3 seed following the loss. The Cowboys snapped a two-game losing streak with the victory and now sit at 11-5 as the No. 5 seed in the NFC playoffs.
The game kicked off at 8:15 p.m. from AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Since it is technically Monday Night Football, despite being Saturday, the game was on ESPN and ABC.
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Lions vs. Cowboys highlights, game recap
The Lions thought they were escaping Dallas with a one-point victory, but an illegal touching penalty on Taylor Decker on the controversial 2-point conversion ultimately led to a failed 2-point conversion on the third attempt, leading to the 20-19 loss. The Lions went 75 yards in just over a minute, but the aggression playing for the win ultimately resulted in a painful loss for the Lions.
Those extra 40 seconds proved to be massive for the Lions. Detroit went 75 yards on 9 plays in 1:18, finished off with an 11-yard Amon-Ra St. Brown touchdown. The Lions decided to play for the win and go for 2, and initially converted with a trick pass to left tackle Taylor Decker, but he was called for illegal touching for not reporting as an eligible receiver before the play. After the penalty, the offense stayed on the field and drew an offsides on the next attempt, setting up a third opportunity. On the third attempt, Jared Goff tried to find James Mitchell in the flat, but the pass was too low and couldn’t be caught to give the Lions a one-point loss.
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The Cowboys had a chance to run the clock down to a minute, but decided to throw the ball on second down of the drive and the pass fell incomplete, giving Detroit an extra 40 seconds. Brandon Aubrey hit a 43-yard field goal to make it a full touchdown lead late.
The Lions’ comeback hopes ended, barring a miracle, on Goff’s second interception right before the two-minute warning. Needing a touchdown, the Lions started the drive at its 11-yard line with 2:30 left. Goff hit Sam LaPorta for a 15-yard gain on the first play of the drive, and tried to target him again on the next play, but the pass was slightly behind LaPorta, allowing Wilson to make a diving interception at the Detroit 31.
The Cowboys went 75 yards on nine plays in just under five minutes to take a late lead. Dallas started the drive with another first down completion to CeeDee Lamb, followed up by a 21-yard completion to Cooks, who made an over-the-shoulder catch, to move into Detroit territory. The Cowboys methodically moved the ball inside the 10-yard line, and finished the drive with an 8-yard touchdown to Cooks on a corner route.
The Lions responded with a 30-yard field goal from Michael Badgley to retake a three-point lead heading into the final stretch. The Lions immediately reached Dallas territory on a 53-yard shot to Jameson Williams, who got past Daron Bland on a deep post. Jared Goff stood tall in the face of pressure and delivered a dot to Williams, who was pulled down after the catch. From the Dallas 14-yard line, the Lions gained seven more yards, but Jahmyr Gibbs couldn’t handle a pass on third down, forcing the short kick.
The Cowboys answered a touchdown with a 51-yard field goal from Brandon Aubrey. Dallas started the drive with a 10-yard completion to Deuce Vaughn, followed by an 18-yard run by Tony Pollard. From midfield, the Cowboys picked up a first down on third-and-11 with a slant to CeeDee Lamb, but couldn’t go any further and had to settle for the kick.
The offense came out and produced a 13-play, 74-yard drive that took over seven minutes off the clock, which ended with a Montgomery three-yard touchdown run. Montgomery started left, then cut back inside to rumble in for Detroit’s first touchdown. The drive nearly stalled at the Dallas 41, but the Lions converted a fourth-and-2 with a completion to Sam LaPorta to keep the drive alive. Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs split running duties on the drive, but Montgomery was the main back with six carries for 41 yards and the score. Josh Reynolds also had a key 13-yard reception for a first down after Gibbs was tackled for a loss, putting Detroit briefly behind the sticks.
The Lions’ defense came up with another stop following the turnover on downs and forced a Dallas punt. However, Detroit’s offense continued to struggle to keep the Dallas defensive line out of the backfield, and had to punt the ball back after Jahmyr Gibbs was tackled for loss on third down. Aidan Hutchinson had two sacks on the final two Dallas offensive drives of the half.
The Cowboys hold the lead thanks to a 92-yard CeeDee Lamb touchdown on Dallas’ second drive of the game. Ifeatu Melifonwu intercepted Dak Prescott on the first possession, but the Lions had to punt the ball back to the Cowboys, setting up the long touchdown. Outside of the one blunder, the defense has held its own against the Cowboys’ top-ranked offense, and came up with a forced fumble at the goal line which led to a touchback to keep the deficit at one possession.
The Lions got on the board immediately with a drive for a field goal on the opening possession, but have struggled since then. The Lions reached the 2-yard line on its second-to-last drive with the help of a fake punt, but failed on fourth down to stay at three points. Outside of those two drives, the offense has had three punts, including two three-and-outs, and an interception.
It looked like the Lions were going to give the ball right back to the Cowboys after the turnover, but Dan Campbell had an ace up his sleeve. On fourth-and-2, Detroit’s punt unit took the field, but Jalen Reeves-Maybin, the upback, fielded the snap instead of Jack Fox and rifled a pass down the sideline to Khalil Dorsey for a first down.
The Lions drove all the way down inside the Dallas’ 5-yard line, but couldn’t punch the ball in. Dan Campbell kept the offense on the field on fourth down, but Jared Goff missed Sam LaPorta on a sidearm throw while under pressure from Micah Parsons for a turnover on downs.
The Lions were inches away from falling behind 14-3, but Kindle Vildor punched the ball out of Lamb’s hands as he was diving for the pylon to force a fumble. The loose ball bounced inside the pylon and out of bounds for a touchback, giving the Lions the ball at its own 20-yard line.
Jared Goff and the Lions offensive line will want that play back, after Jourdan Lewis jumped in front of a screen pass intended for David Montgomery for an interception at the Dallas 44-yard line. Graham Glasgow was beaten immediately through the middle, forcing Goff to rush the throw to Montgomery while falling, and Lewis dove to take the ball away.
The Lions were inches away from taking a 5-0 lead by sacking Dak Prescott in the end zone, but the Dallas quarterback wiggled away from Derrick Barnes, who whiffed on his hit, and heaved a moon shot on the run to Lamb, who beat Kindle Vildor as he was falling deep down the field. Lamb easily made the catch and walked in for the touchdown to take the lead. The 92-yard touchdown was the longest score given up by the Lions this season and the longest passing touchdown in the NFL this season.
The Lions couldn’t capitalize on the takeaway, and had to punt, pinning the Cowboys inside its 10-yard line.
Melifonwu, fresh off winning NFC Defensive Player of the Week, continues to make plays for the Lions defense. On third-and-4 from the Lions’ 34 yard-line, Prescott rolled to his right and tried to fit a pass in a tight window to CeeDee Lamb, but Melifonwu jumped in front of the pass and secured the interception. He returned the ball to the Detroit 43 to set the offense up with good field position. Melifonwu has two interceptions on the last two drives for the Lions’ defense, the only two interceptions of his career.
The Lions received the opening kick and drove into Cowboys territory, but had to settle for a 41-yard field goal from Michael Badgley. The drive started with a third-and-10 conversion when Jared Goff hit Josh Reynolds on a slant for an 11-yard gain. Goff followed it up with a 23-yard completion to Amon-Ra St. Brown to move across the 50. David Montgomery picked up another first down on two runs for 18 yards combined, but the Lions didn’t gain any more yards after that, prompting the field goal.
Pregame notes
Instead of being caught up in the moment of winning the division for the first time in 30 years, head coach Dan Campbell said there are plenty of goals still on the table to focus on, like winning the franchise’s first playoff game since 1991 and climbing to one of the top two seeds in the NFC.
The Lions need to beat the Cowboys this week to climb above the Philadelphia Eagles for the No. 2 seed, but it will be no small feat. Dallas has won 15 straight games at home, dating back to the 2022 season opener, and has one of the most potent offenses in the NFL along with a defense led by defensive player of the year candidate Micah Parsons.
The Cowboys are second in the NFL in scoring (30.1 points per game) and sixth in total offense (366.2 yards per game). The offense is led by quarterback Dak Prescott, who is averaging 259.5 yards and two touchdowns per game while boasting a 30-to-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio. His favorite target is CeeDee Lamb, who is first in the NFL in receptions (109) and second in total receiving yards (1,424).
The Lions’ offense has found a groove again in the last two weeks after hitting a small mid-season rut. Detroit averaged 36 points in the last two matchups, rushed for 328 yards as a team and Jared Goff has thrown for 535 yards and six touchdowns without any turnovers. The bounceback means the Lions are now third in the league in total offense (394.1 yards per game) and fifth in scoring (27.5 points per game). The Dallas defense is fifth in the league in scoring defense (19.1 points allowed per game), but has struggled against the run in the last two weeks, giving up 357 yards on the ground in the two losses.
Lions injury report
The Lions are getting healthy at the right time of the season. C.J. Gardner-Johnson and James Houston have both returned to practice after being on injured reserve since Week 2 but will sit out Saturday. Detroit’s offensive line will be intact after left tackle Taylor Decker missed practice during the week with a groin injury. Cornerback Cam Sutton is active despite a toe injury, and tight end Brock Wright (hip) is out again. Defensive linemen Tyson Alualu and Bruce Irvin were activated for the game.