The Cowboys defeating the Lions only creates more questions
If the Dallas Cowboys are able to defeat the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football, it creates a ton of questions concerning the final game of the season.
The Dallas Cowboys 26 – 20 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers was supposed to end all questions about a possible quarterback controversy. Instead, many of us found a way to pose more questions even with quarterback Dak Prescott completing 32 of 36 passes. It was an interesting game to watch because we expected the Buccaneers defense to follow the blueprint and challenge our offense.
The Bucs defensive line with defensive ends Robert Ayers and William Gholston along with defensive tackles Gerald McCoy and Clinton McDonald have made a name for themselves. Initially, they rushed four down linemen and played zone defense which allowed Prescott to pick them apart with short passes. By short, of Prescott’s 36 attempts, 6 passes went farther than 10 yards and he completed 4 of them.
Of course, the big key for defenses is to contain running back Ezekiel Elliott. Elliott ended with 23 attempts for 159 yards but only 1 touchdown. The Bucs defense held the Cowboys to 3 field goals in the second half. One field goal came when the Cowboys intercepted a bad pass by quarterback Jameis Winston and started on the Bucs 20 yard line. Few expected Winston to perform so poorly. His passes were often high, which resulted in three interceptions. From the stands, it looked like Winston’s solution was to close his eyes and throw the football as hard as possible into a crowd.
We’re not expecting that with our next opponent, the Detroit Lions. Winston, in his sophomore year, looked like a rookie but quarterback Matthew Stafford is an 8 year veteran. Stafford’s Lions lead the NFC North with a record of 9 – 5. However, one wonders which Lions team will show up – the version that lost 17 – 6 to the New York Giants in Week 15 or the version that beat the New Orleans Saints 28 – 13 in Week 13. This season, the Lions managed to defeat the Jacksonville Jaguars with a mere 14 yards rushing.
The Lions running game shouldn’t pose a threat with seventh round pick Dwayne Washington. I’m always leary of making that kind of statement because it might be the day he has a Buster Douglas moment. Since Week 3, the Lions have only had one game with more than 100 yards rushing. That was a combined team effort with running backs Washington and Zach Zenner, along with Stafford. The Cowboys defense ranks first by allowing 80.9 rushing yards per game.
With the Lions unable to run the football, their offense will rely on the arm of Stafford who is averaging 253.6 yards per game. The Cowboys defense has improved, but Stafford could easily join the nine quarterbacks that have passed for 300+ yards against our defense.
The most important matchup this game will be Cowboys cornerback Brandon Carr against Lions receiver Golden Tate. While Tate leads the team in targets and receptions, receiver Anquan Boldin leads the team with 7 touchdown receptions which is four more than Tate.
I’m doubtful that the Lions have enough firepower to defeat the Cowboys, even if they do the defensive things that the Buccaneers didn’t. A win by the Cowboys (or if the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Giants) will secure the top spot and a first round bye in the NFC playoffs. That would make the last game against the Philadelphia Eagles statistically meaningless.
With nothing to gain – Will head coach Jason Garrett will allow Elliott to chase Eric Dickerson‘s rookie rushing record? Will we see the return of Tony Romo in Philadelphia? Just when you thought all the questions had been answered.
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