Cowboys put 15-game home winning streak on the line against NFC North champ Lions
DETROIT (11-4) at DALLAS (10-5)
Saturday, 8:15 p.m. EST, ESPN
BETTING LINE: Cowboys by 6, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.
AGAINST THE SPREAD: Lions 10-5; Cowboys 9-6.
SERIES RECORD: Cowboys lead 18-12.
LAST MEETING: Cowboys beat Lions 24-6 on Oct. 23, 2022, in Arlington, Texas.
LAST WEEK: Lions beat Vikings 30-24; Cowboys lost to Dolphins 22-20.
LIONS OFFENSE: OVERALL (3), RUSH (3), PASS (5), SCORING (5).
LIONS DEFENSE: OVERALL (15), RUSH (4), PASS (23), SCORING (24).
COWBOYS OFFENSE: OVERALL (5), RUSH (12), PASS (6), SCORING (2).
COWBOYS DEFENSE: OVERALL (7), RUSH (19), PASS (5), SCORING (5).
TURNOVER DIFFERENTIAL: Lions minus-2; Cowboys plus-8.
LIONS PLAYER TO WATCH: S Ifeatu Melifonwu’s interception of Nick Mullens with 58 seconds left sealed the win against the Vikings. His two sacks were the most a Lions DB has ever totaled in a single game. In his third straight start, he also had five tackles and two passes defended.
COWBOYS PLAYER TO WATCH: WR CeeDee Lamb needs three catches to break Pro Football Hall of Famer Michael Irvin’s club record of 111 in a season. Lamb’s 109 grabs lead the NFL. He’s second in yards receiving with a career-best 1,424 and tied for fourth with nine touchdowns. He can become the first Dallas receiver with a TD in eight consecutive games. His streak of seven is tied for the club record with Dez Bryant and Terrell Owens.
KEY MATCHUP: Detroit RBs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs vs. the Dallas run defense. Montgomery, a five-year veteran, and the rookie Gibbs power the NFL’s third-best rushing defense. They are the first Detroit duo to have at least eight rushing TDs in the same season. The biggest weakness for an opportunistic Cowboys unit is the run game. Dallas is just two weeks removed from giving up 266 yards on the ground, the most in three seasons under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn. The Cowboys are facing a third consecutive game without their most important run stopper, DT Johnathan Hankins. He has a sprained ankle.
KEY INJURIES: Detroit LT Taylor Decker (groin) and TE Brock Wright (hip) did not practice Wednesday. … DB C.J. Gardner-Johnson, who tore a pectoral muscle in Week 2, started practice last week. There’s a chance he could be active. … Cowboys LT Tyron Smith (back) has a chance to return after sitting against Miami. … T Chuma Edoga, Smith’s replacement last week, showed up on the injury report Wednesday with a toe issue. … Backup RB Rico Dowdle went from limited in practice to out with an ankle injury. If he can’t play, rookie Deuce Vaughn could be active for just the second time since Week 5.
SERIES NOTES: The Cowboys can match their longest winning streak in the series with a sixth consecutive victory. Both streaks include a playoff victory. The previous one was from 1963-77.
STATS AND STUFF: The Cowboys take a 15-game home winning streak into their regular-season finale at AT&T Stadium. It’s the club’s longest home winning streak since an 18-game run at Texas Stadium from 1979-81. Dallas hasn’t gone 8-0 at home since 1980 and ‘81. … Lions coach Dan Campbell is a Texas native who played for Texas A&M and spent three of his 10 seasons as an NFL tight end with the Cowboys (2003-05). … The Lions are 19-7 since the 24-6 loss to Dallas that dropped them to 1-5 last season. The NFC North champs just clinched their first division title since 1993 and still have a shot at the top seed in the NFC. … A victory would ensure Detroit not losing consecutive games this season. The club hasn’t done that since 1972. … The Lions have averaged 173 rushing yards in the past eight games. … QB Jared Goff is third in the NFL in yards passing with 3,984 yards and tied for third with 27 TD passes. His only other season with at least 30 touchdown tosses was 2018 with the Los Angeles Rams. … Gibbs has at least 50 scrimmage yards in 13th consecutive games, the first Lions running back to do that since Kevin Smith in 2009. … Gibbs and TE Sam LaPorta are the first pair of rookies from the same team in NFL history to produce at least nine TDs. … S Kerby Joseph had two interceptions against the Vikings to become the first Detroit DB since Bobby Watkins in 1982-83 to have at least four picks in each of his first two seasons. … The Cowboys have lost consecutive games for the first time since 2021. They still have a shot at the NFC East title, but likely will need wins in their final two games and a loss by Philadelphia at the New York Giants in the finale to sneak past the defending division and NFC champion Eagles. … Dallas is averaging a league-best 39.9 points per game at home. The only bigger numbers since the NFL merger were New Orleans (41.1) and Green Bay (40.1) in 2011. Those Packers were led by Mike McCarthy, who is calling plays for the first time in four seasons as head coach of the Cowboys. … QB Dak Prescott needs 108 yards passing for his third season with at least 4,000. His predecessor, Tony Romo, is the franchise leader with four. … LB Micah Parsons needs half a sack to become the fifth player since 1982 with at least 40 in his first three seasons. … K Brandon Aubrey takes his NFL record of 33 field goals without a miss to start a career into his final home game. He needs two field goals to break Richie Cunningham’s club record from 1997. Cunningham was 34 of 37 that season.
FANTASY TIP: Lamb is averaging 104 yards with seven touchdowns in seven home games. The Lions are in the bottom third in the NFL in pass defense.
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