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Cotton

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Cowboys Opponent Profile: Detroit Lions Travel To Dallas Fighting For Playoff Spot
December 20, 2016 10:00 AM
By Shawn Lealos

After starting the season with an 11-1 record, the Dallas Cowboys hit the toughest part of their season. In Week 14, they lost to the New York Giants, who had won six of seven heading into the game. They went on to win a hard-fought game in Week 15 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who had won five straight coming into the matchup. Now, the Cowboys play the Detroit Lions, who have won eight of their last 10 games. Here is a look at the Detroit Lions’ team profile heading into this important NFC contest.

Detroit Lions Season Record

The Detroit Lions sit alone in first place in the NFC North with a 9-5 record. While this is a game that the Dallas Cowboys need to win, this is a must-win for the Lions. The Green Bay Packers have won four straight games and are one back of the Lions. If the Packers win next week, Green Bay will have the tiebreaker heading into the final week of the season when they face off against each other in Detroit. Win or lose, the final game of the season could determine the NFC North, but if the Packers lose, Detroit could clinch the division with a win over Dallas.

Detroit Lions On Offense

The Detroit Lions are led on offense by Matthew Stafford at quarterback. While considered one of the league’s best quarterbacks, Stafford has also been accused of not playing up to his potential when it matters most. That has changed this season. Stafford broke the NFL record two weeks ago for comeback victories in a season when he led the Lions to a win over the Chicago Bears. The Lions have trailed in every single game this season in the fourth quarter, and Stafford brought them back to win nine of them.

Stafford has thrown for 3,720 yards with 22 touchdowns and only eight interceptions. His QBR rating is 95.8, better than names like Ben Roethlisberger, Andy Dalton and Russell Wilson. However, Stafford is wearing a glove on his throwing hand to protect an injured finger, and that could limit him against Dallas.

Golden Tate has emerged as the replacement for Calvin Johnson this season, with 79 receptions for 942 yards. The Lions have little in the way of a rushing attack, with Dwayne Washington likely to carry the load at the moment.

Detroit Lions On Defense

As mentioned, the Detroit Lions have trailed in every single game this season in the fourth quarter, forcing Matthew Stafford to come from behind. That blame partially rests on Detroit’s defense, which ranks 16th in the NFL in total defense. They are best at stopping the run, giving up only 98.9 yards per game—a good sign with Ezekiel Elliott coming to town. However, the Lions rank a low 27th in the NFL in takeaways.

Detroit Lions Players To Watch

Matthew Stafford – The one man who can beat the Dallas Cowboys on Monday Night Football is Lions’ quarterback Matthew Stafford. He has led his team to nine comeback wins this year, and Dallas has to build a big lead or the Lions can take over the game late.

Kerry Hyder – Dak Prescott turned things around in the Cowboys’ win over the Buccaneers after two-straight bad games. Kerry Hyder leads the Lions in sacks and is the one man who can shake up the Cowboys’ rookie quarterback.

Outlook

The Dallas Cowboys looked unbeatable four weeks ago. However, after Dak Prescott struggled to beat the Minnesota Vikings and Tampa Bay Buccaneers and lost to the New York Giants, the Lions can certainly dethrone the Cowboys here. Detroit can win this game and Dallas needs to play strong offense and preventative defense if they want to pull out ahead this week.
 

Cotton

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Scouting the Lions: Detroit has adapted its own version of Cowboys' O-line plan, but it doesn't have this ...

By Rick Gosselin , Staff Columnist

The Cowboys have certainly pumped the resources into their offensive line.

So have the Detroit Lions.

The Cowboys knew they needed to protect their franchise quarterback Tony Romo, so they used three first-round draft picks on blockers. The Lions knew they needed to protect their franchise quarterback Matthew Stafford, so they also used three first-round picks on offensive linemen.

The Cowboys spent first-rounders on tackle Tyron Smith in 2011, center Travis Frederick in 2013 and guard Zack Martin in 2014. The Lions spent first-rounders on tackle Riley Reiff in 2012, guard Laken Tomlinson in 2015 and tackle Taylor Decker in 2016.

The Lions even went a step further than the Cowboys, using premium picks on the other two starters up front, spending third-round picks on guard Larry Warford in 2013 and center Graham Glasgow in 2016.

Those offensive lines have been the backbones of two division leaders. The Cowboys sit atop the NFC East and hold the top seed in the NFC with a 12-2 record. The Lions sit atop the NFC North at 9-5 in the quest to win their first division title since 1993. The two teams square off Monday night at AT&T Stadium.

But there are a few differences in the two blocking fronts.

First off, all three first-rounders of the Cowboys have been to the Pro Bowl. None of the Detroit first-rounders has been there yet.

Secondly, the Dallas line has been together longer. These same five blockers paved the holes for DeMarco Murray to win an NFL rushing title in 2014. With Decker and Glasgow arriving this season, the Lions are still wearing name tags in the huddle. The chemistry and cohesion up front remains a work in progress.

Thirdly, the Cowboys have a running back who can maximize his blocking. Rookie Ezekiel Elliott leads the NFL in rushing with 1,551 yards -- a whopping 327 more than anyone else. (And that "anyone," by the way, is Murray). The Lions lack that back. In fact, they haven't had that back since the 1990s when Hall of Famer Barry Sanders was accepting the handoffs.

The Lions have managed only one 1,000-yard back in the last 11 seasons and he (Reggie Bush in 2013) is gone. So is the back Detroit expected to push for 1,000 this season. The Lions lost starter Ameer Abdullah with a foot injury in the second game of the season. The Lions have shuffled a series of second-tier backs through the huddle in Abdullah's absence without much success.

Detroit's leading rusher, Theo Riddick, ranks 45th in the NFL in rushing with just 357 yards. Collectively, the Lions rank 29th in rushing and with a league-low four touchdowns by running backs. That's made the Lions one-dimensional and allowed defenses to tee off on Stafford. He's been sacked 31 times this season but only 11 times on the road. Monday night is Detroit's road finale.

That blocking front has showed up when it's needed most, though -- the fourth quarter.

Stafford has engineered an NFL-record eight fourth-quarter comeback victories for the Lions this season. He has led Detroit on game-winning drives of 76, 75, 75 and 60 yards in the closing minutes to fuel hopes for a first division title since the Sanders era. When Stafford absolutely needs to be protected, his line has protected him.

That line will need to protect him again Monday night. The offensive line that has the better night will likely be the blocking front that gives its team the best chance of clinching a division title.
 

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DeMarcus Lawrence hopeful to return next week vs. Lions
BY MATTHEW MARTINEZ
mmartinez@star-telegram.com

Watching teammate David Irving and the rest of the defensive line create the pressure the Dallas Cowboys needed to preserve their 26-20 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Sunday was a two-sided experience for injured defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence.

Lawrence is proud, but in a sort of foaming-at-the-mouth way.

“He’s a dog,” Lawrence said of Irving’s two sacks and five quarterback hits. “And they made some big stops. Dave [Irving], Maliek [Collins], the D-line, they were rushing their butts off [Sunday]. I’m just happy to be a part of this group, and I can’t wait to get back.”

Lawrence did not practice all last week with a back injury. He has been managing his back all season after undergoing surgery on it in the offseason. He played just 13 snaps in last week’s 10-7 loss at the Giants.

“After the game was hell for me,” Lawrence said of the physical discomfort he felt after the loss in New Jersey. “They wanted to sit me down this game, let the inflammation calm down, so that’s what we did this week.”

Despite the pain Lawrence has had to deal with, Sunday’s win was the first the third-year pass rusher out of Boise State missed due to the back issue. He did miss the season’s first four games for violating the NFL’s substance-abuse policy.

Lawrence is arguably the most talented rusher the Cowboys’ have but he has only one sack in nine games. The coaches have credited him with 13 quarterback pressures, though.

Lawrence sounded hopeful that he could return for the Cowboys’ next game against the Detroit Lions on Dec. 26.

“I don’t know right now,” Lawrence said. “I’m just working with my trainers, working with the chiropractors, and hopefully I’ll be back next week.”
 

Cotton

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Cotton

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1bigfan13

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On the surface the Lions are not a playoff team, but they are good at finding ways to win the close ones. Have to credit Stafford for doing more with less and elevating his game when his team needs him most.

In the few Lions games I've watched this year it doesn't appear that he is taking as many chances as he used to. Therefore it could be another dry week as far as INTs are concerned.
 

L.T. Fan

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On the surface the Lions are not a playoff team, but they are good at finding ways to win the close ones. Have to credit Stafford for doing more with less and elevating his game when his team needs him most.

In the few Lions games I've watched this year it doesn't appear that he is taking as many chances as he used to. Therefore it could be another dry week as far as INTs are concerned.
Hey. Heath had an interception last week.
 

Genghis Khan

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:excellent

It would be nice to get him in game shape the last two weeks and have him make an impact in the playoffs like Lawrence did.
 

Cotton

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Darius Slay clutched the back of his right leg and turned and looked at the Detroit Lions' sideline. Immediately, he knew.

Slay suffered his second hamstring injury of the season in the first half of Sunday's 17-6 loss to the New York Giants, and the Lions now face the prospect of missing their best cornerback for the two most important games on their schedule.

Lions coach Jim Caldwell declined to update Slay's injury status at his news conference today, repeating his oft-used line, "Check the report."

According to Pro Football Talk, Slay is scheduled to undergo an MRI exam today, and it wouldn't surprise anybody if he missed time.


Slay missed two games with a pulled hamstring earlier this year, and he reappeared on the Lions' practice report with the same injury last week.

The Lions (9-5) play the NFC-leading Dallas Cowboys next Monday night and host the Green Bay Packers in a game that could decide the NFC North on New Year's Day. They seem like they can't afford to play without Slay for any extended time.

Slot cornerback Quandre Diggs was lost for the season to a torn pectoral muscle earlier this month, and No. 2 cornerback Nevin Lawson's wife is scheduled to give birth to the couple's first baby around Jan. 1.

For now, the Lions, who likely need at least one more win to make the playoffs, will play with Lawson, Johnson Bademosi and Asa Jackson as their top three cornerbacks. Adairius Barnes and Alex Carter also are on the practice squad.

"We’ll make adjustments," Caldwell said. "We’ve had situations where we’ve had a lot of guys get banged-up this year. I think it’s kind of like the old Shakespearean term — I think Shakespeare said it — he said that often sorrows come, they don’t come as a single spy, they come in battalions. There’s been times when we’ve had battalions throughout the year, in terms of problems, issues. But our guys have always hung in there, they’ve always focused and they’ve always been able to overcome whatever the odds are."

Considering Slay's recent history of hamstring injuries, the Lions might need to be extra careful with his return or risk losing him for a possible playoff run.

"I’ll leave that up to our doctors," Caldwell said. "They make a determination on that, and then we thus react from there."
 

ravidubey

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:excellent

It would be nice to get him in game shape the last two weeks and have him make an impact in the playoffs like Lawrence did.
I expect nothing from Gregory.

Lawrence won me over in the Detroit playoff game two years ago, but his back injury has me thinking he should be on a serious snap count.
 

1bigfan13

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Hey. Heath had an interception last week.
I know we had a couple of interceptions against Tampa. I was referring to the long interception drought prior to the giants game.
 

Cowboysrock55

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I know we had a couple of interceptions against Tampa. I was referring to the long interception drought prior to the giants game.
We actually had 3 INTs against Tampa :art

Seriously though, Stafford doesn't worry me. Similar type of QB to Winston but with worse weapons and takes less risks.
 

Cotton

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Posted this in the Cowboys related stuff thread, but if the Giants lose in 2 days, this Monday night game is meaningless.
 

1bigfan13

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I would like to see Sean Lee exact a little revenge on Golden Tate on Monday night. Lee's been knocking mo-fos senseless all year long. One ill-timed cross route is all it takes.
 

data

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Posted this in the Cowboys related stuff thread, but if the Giants lose in 2 days, this Monday night game is meaningless.
Not meaningless for Romo...64-0 victory!!!OMG!!!!! All deep passes!!!! Stick that in your Dak and smoke it!!!!
 

Simpleton

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I would like to see Sean Lee exact a little revenge on Golden Tate on Monday night. Lee's been knocking mo-fos senseless all year long. One ill-timed cross route is all it takes.
Tate may miss the game as well.
 
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