At Dallas on Dec. 30, Jared Goff engineered a 75-yard touchdown drive late to give Detroit a chance and offensive lineman Dan Skipper became a cult hero. However, the Lions dropped the game, 20-19. It has not been forgotten.
The Lions (3-1) and the Cowboys (3-2) meet again at 4:25 p.m. on Sunday in Dallas. The Lions are coming off a bye week after beating the Seahawks in a Monday night game. The Cowboys (3-2) have won two straight after starting the season 1-2. They have yet to win at home.
“I’m excited for this one. And really, look, it’s the next one in front of us and it’s a conference opponent and they’ve had our number for a while and I grew up down there, so I have a lot of people there,’’ coach Dan Campbell said. “I think it’ll be a special game. National television, four o’clock, which, that’s awesome.’’
While the Lions can’t let too much emotion carry them, Campbell understands they have not forgotten the December debacle.
“You’ve got to keep your head about you no matter what it is, and I think each game – look, you can always find something. To me, you always find a nugget, it doesn’t matter who you’re playing. There are reasons behind why you want to win them, and you find what those are and they’re different every week,’’ Campbell said. “But you’ve got to play a clean game, you’ve got to keep your head about you, we’ve got to be disciplined, we’ve got to play fundamental football, we’ve got to have a good gameplan, we’ve got to execute it, take care of the football, we need to get some takeaways, it’s the same song and dance it always is.”
After that loss, the Lions wrapped up the regular season with a win over the Vikings, then beat the Rams in a wild card game and downed the Bucs in divisional playoffs.
Quarterback Jared Goff said they all know what happened at the end in the confusion of whether Dan Skipper or Taylor Decker reported eligible for the 2-point conversion.
“It was unfortunate the way it worked, but yeah, we’ll be ready this week,’’ Goff said. ”… I think it was just a mistake that the officials made, and it happens. That type of stuff happens, and you move on but no, I don’t think we take it personally.’’
Campbell was asked if Skipper will report eligible on the first play on Sunday. He said the game plan was incomplete at that point.
Five things to watch:
ONE: The Cowboys with Dak Prescott have the second best NFL passing offense while the Lions are ranked 27th in pass defense. Something’s got to give. Prescott, who has completed 65.4 percent of his passes, has a favorite target in CeeDee Lamb who has 378 receiving yards and a pair of touchdown catches. Lions defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said his corners are ready for it.
“This quarterback is pretty good now. He’s pretty good, (Lamb’s) pretty good. Listen, I think they’ve done a good job with the personnel that they’ve had, and they’ve lost some guys too,’’ Glenn said. “So, again – and I’m sure they feel the same way I do – no excuses, just go out there and execute. But we know that we have to pay close attention to the tight end, also, (Jake) Ferguson, I think he’s doing a really good job and people don’t really talk about that player. I think he’s physical, I think he’s tough. You watch him on these seam balls, he does a good job of contorting his body and going up and catching the ball. So, this is not going to be an easy out, we know that. Every time we play Dallas it’s going to be a dogfight, and we’re ready for it.”
TWO: Jared Goff, aka Mr. Perfect, definitely found his rhythm in the win over Seattle. He now has 19 straight completions (over last two games) with the NFL record at 25.”He downloads the gameplan and looks to go out there and execute it. I mean, shoot, you can look at that Seattle game and there’s some not-so-great play-calls and we’ve got some guys making things right,’’ offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said. “That was my big point to the until last week before we went on break was, we had a couple explosive plays where I wish I had sent the protection a different direction and cleaned the picture up for them, but he was able to buy some time – I think it was the first catch there to (WR) Tim Patrick was not ideal, but they both made it work and it ended up being a 20-something-yard gain. So, when he’s – he knows exactly what we’re looking for, he knows what the bad looks are too.’’
THREE: The Cowboys’ secondary has improved each week and Campbell said that’s what makes them dangerous. “What you’ve seen in the last two weeks – this is a stingy defense and they play hard, they’re gap sound, everybody plays their responsibilities, it’s a run-and-hit defense …’’ Campbell said. “Then this D-line, I know they’ve been hurt but man, these guys over the last two weeks, just watch them play. And they play hard. So, they’re out working people is what they’re doing. That’s what they’ve been doing the last two weeks.”
FOUR: The Lions must run the ball early and often against the Cowboys’ 24th ranked rushing defense which should not be an issue with David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs off to an explosive start to the season. Campbell said Gibbs is primed for a breakaway run and Ben Johnson agrees. “I think we’ve got him up on a safety a couple of times and I know he always is – if he can’t break that tackle. But our guys are doing a great job up front, O-line, tight ends, of covering guys up and I think what you see with our skill group, I’m talking about our receivers, I don’t know if there’s another group in the NFL that blocks like they do down the field,’’ Johnson said. “And so, it’s probably coach’s confidence not in Gibbs and what he can do, but it’s also what our unit’s been putting on tape so far that, yeah, it’s just a matter of time before he breaks some big ones out.”
FIVE: In the win over the Seahawks two weeks ago, the Lions were whistled for a dozen penalties costing them 101 yards. That’s a lot. Over the first four games they amassed 31 penalties for 307 yards while their opponents had 22 for 185. It hasn’t been a big issue for wins and losses but it’s an issue. The defense has been working on avoiding penalties. “I don’t know how other teams practice, but we still do one-on-ones in practice, receivers and DBs, D-line and O-line, linebackers, tight ends and running backs. And when you’re in those situations, and you’re in a tussle match, where are your hands at?’’ defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn said. “There’s a lot of things that we have to – and a lot of that comes from guys in college, because you’re able to do that when you’re in college, so that’s one of the things that TA (Terrion Arnold) is doing a really good job of, of trying to work on those things.”
LIONS INJURY UPDATE: G Christian Mahogany (illness) is out.
COWBOYS INJURY UPDATE: LB Erick Kendricks (calf/shoulder) and DE Micah Parsons (ankle) are out; CB Daron Bland (foot), CB Caelen Carson (shoulder) and LB Nick Vigil (foot) are questionable.
PREDICTION: Lions 27, Cowboys 24.
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