The Dallas Cowboys (3-2) have a date with the Detroit Lions (3-1) this Sunday. Dallas is looking for its first win inside AT&T Stadium this season. Kickoff is at 3:25 p.m.
Series history:
Dallas was looking for its first win in its inaugural season, the first time these two teams met back in 1960. Dallas lost 23-14 in Detroit, then. But the last time they matched up, in Week 17 of last season, a controversial 20-19 win in Arlington in favor of the Cowboys was the talk of the NFL. This week, the Cowboys are looking for their first home win of the season to go 4-2 on the year.
Last week in Steeltown:
A come-from-behind 20-17 win made the game’s delay worth it for Dallas. Head coach Mike McCarthy said, “how often do you lose the turnover ratio and win a game?” The Cowboys have now won all three of their games on the road, and this Sunday was thanks to quarterback Dak Prescott’s pass to wide receiver Jalen Tolbert with 26 seconds remaining for a game-winning drive. No WR Brandin Cooks, but Tolbert made up for that as the game’s primary target with seven catches for 87 yards, both personal bests, and was the exclamation point to decide the score. Running back Rico Dowdle also had a career-night: highs in rushing yards, with 87, 20 carries, averaging 4.4 yards per carry, and got his second receiving touchdown of the year in the fourth quarter. Prescott completed 29 of 42 passes for 352 yards and two TDs, but McCarthy wants the story to be about the 10 guys who received the ball—they’ve been working on that distribution, and feels it was best showcased this past Sunday.
The Lions:
Who else has good ball distribution, according to McCarthy? Detroit. He said that you “can’t play any better than the last time they lined up,” beating the Seattle Seahawks 42-29 in Week 4. After the Lions’ early BYE last week, they play four of their next five games on the road, starting with the Cowboys this coming Sunday. The NFC North is the only division after Week 5 to have winning records for all four teams, a feat Prescott could break considering his perfect 5-0 record over the Lions in his career.
Set the edge:
Watch out for running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery—Gibbs is averaging 5.3 yards per carry this season, and Montgomery has scored a TD in every game so far; the Cowboys run defense and its problems could be exposed with their speed on the outside. Dallas has allowed 2.36 yards-per-carry, the least in the NFL’s last two weeks, but the Lions are seventh in the league in outside runs with 59.7%, are sixth in rushing yards per game averaging 151.3, and fourth with a 50.4% success rate on the ground.
Players to look out for:
The Lions have RBs Montgomery and Gibbs, and WRs Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown, plus tight end Sam LaPorta and defensive end Aidan Hutchinson. The Cowboys faced T.J. Watt last week, setting them up well for the upcoming matchup with Hutchinson.
