Dak Prescott partially delivers on bold pregame promise, but Cowboys falter when it means the most in pivotal game vs. Lions
The Cowboys made some plays in Week 14, but they didn’t do enough to beat the Lions to stay on winning streak.
The playoffs have jumped into the minds of plenty of Dallas Cowboys fans in recent weeks after some improved play on both sides of the football. In Week 14, they had a tall task ahead of them in Dan Campbell’s Detroit Lions, but Dak Prescott remained confident ahead of the Thursday night matchup.
Dak Prescott’s pregame confidence falls flat after Dallas fails to deliver in primetime
For the second week in a row, all eyes were on the Cowboys quarterback and his time in a primetime matchup against a legitimate opponent. The Lions came in following a deflating performance last week, but you wouldn’t know it from their offensive success all night long against the Cowboys defense.
Before the game, Prescott mentioned that the Cowboys offense played well versus Detroit last time they played them, and he confirmed that they would do it again tonight.
Prescott’s faith in his team made sense. They understood the sort of looks they would see often from the Lions, but mistakes piled up for them. Prescott threw an unlucky interception to open the second half that led to a quick Lions TD.
WR George Pickens got lazy on a route to try to create a manageable fourth down in the third quarter. Dallas settled for a field goal there as well.
The Lions had four sacks in their last four game leading up to this matchup. In this game, they sacked Prescott five times. The offensive line struggles were crystal clear at times, and Prescott did his best to navigate that pressure. Nate Thomas was simply outmatched against Aidan Hutchinson all night long.
Prescott did miss CeeDee Lamb on a wide open touchdown opportunity before the wide receiver was forced to leave with a concussion. That possession did not end in a TD, which was a decisive trend in the first half for the Cowboys. They found ways to move the ball but stalled in Detroit territory consistently.
On the other side of the gridiron, the Cowboys defense were gashed over and over by Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs and wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams. Those chunk plays negated the early field goals by the Cowboys consistently, and the Lions dominated in the red zone.
All in all, there were particular bright moments at times for Dallas, and they even brought it within three points in the fourth quarter, but it simply was not enough. In crunch time when they needed stops or had to convert offensively on third down, they couldn’t get it done. That blame falls on plenty of individuals, and now, they’ll hope that the Philadelphia Eagles fall to the Los Angeles Chargers on Monday night.
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