Pride of Detroit
It’s not quite do-or-die time, but it’s do-or-die time for the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys. With both teams on the outside looking in and only five games remaining in the 2025 season, neither team can afford to lose a game against another Wild Card competitor.
The Cowboys are in the midst of a stunning turnaround. Despite a 3-5-1 start to the season, Dallas has mounted a three-game winning streak and, given the struggles of the Philadelphia Eagles, there’s an outside chance they could still win the NFC East. The offense is humming, the defense is improving, and there’s an emotional swell within the team after tragedy struck the franchise just a few weeks ago.
The vibes are not as high in Detroit. The Lions have lost four of their last seven, and the team doesn’t seem to have any forward momentum. The offense is still scoring points, but has been plagued by inconsistencies. The defense has really struggled as of late, guilty of giving up huge plays through the air and failing to get off the field on third down.
But we’ve seen late-season turnaround for the Lions before, and now is the time for it. They’ll surprisingly have Amon-Ra St.Brown to help them out, but will that be enough?
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The Dallas Cowboys won the toss and deferred, giving the ball first to Detroit. The Lions offense got off to explosive start thanks to Jahmyr Gibbs, who turned a lateral and a catch into gains of 19 and 26 yards.
But when Detroit got into the red zone, Gibbs got stuffed on a run, and Jared Goff was sacked by former Lion James Houston to force a field goal. 3-0 Lions.
The Cowboys responded with a drive basically consisting of two big plays. Dak Prescott found George Pickens for an 11-yard gain, then he hit tight end Jake Ferguson for 18 yards right up the seam.
But the Lions defense stood up nicely from there, with Avonte Maddox notching a pass breakup on third-and-10 and forcing a 57-yard field goal. Brandon Aubrey nailed it to make it 3-3 seven minutes into the game.
Early in the drive, Lions safety Thomas Harper was injured and evaluated for a concussion. He was replaced by Avonte Maddox.
