{"id":425697,"date":"2025-12-05T04:50:14","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T04:50:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/425697\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T04:50:14","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T04:50:14","slug":"playoff-hopes-take-a-hit-after-sloppy-loss","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/425697\/","title":{"rendered":"Playoff hopes take a hit after sloppy loss"},"content":{"rendered":"

DETROIT \u2014 Before Thursday\u2019s game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones <\/a>called Dan Campbell \u2014 a former Cowboys tight end \u2014 one of his football heroes. He gave Campbell such high praise for the way the Lions head coach persevered through initial head coaching struggles to, in Jones\u2019 words, \u201cevolve\u201d into one of the best coaches in the NFL. <\/p>\n

That evolution could probably be summarized in one statistic: the Lions hadn\u2019t lost back-to-back games since 2022. They had won 14 in a row in those opportunities heading into the game against the Cowboys. <\/p>\n

That wouldn\u2019t change Thursday.<\/p>\n

The Cowboys played in their fourth game in 18 days and looked like it. Their defense couldn\u2019t keep up with the speed of the Lions\u2019 offense in a 44-30 loss<\/a>. Their offense struggled to move people in the running game. There were plenty of sloppy moments from a team that couldn\u2019t afford it.<\/p>\n

Cowboys<\/p>\n

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With the loss, the Cowboys now have a 9% chance of making the playoffs, according to The Athletic. <\/p>\n

Here are five takeaways from the Cowboys\u2019 crucial loss to the Lions:<\/p>\n

Be careful what you wish for<\/p>\n

A topic of conversation this week was Cowboys wide receiver George Pickens <\/a>and his success on slant routes. He led the league in catches and yards on slant routes, according to TruMedia.<\/p>\n

When Pickens was asked about his success on slants, he said that it was inevitable, regardless of how opposing teams played it. <\/p>\n

Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer <\/a>echoed that confidence by alerting Lions defensive coordinator Kelvin Sheppard that they would, in fact, run slant routes.<\/p>\n

The Lions looked like they expected it. Pickens was targeted on a slant on the first play of the second half. Lions corner Amik Robertson broke on the route and tipped the ball to Derrick Barnes, who intercepted it and returned it deep into Dallas territory. Rookie Isaac TeSlaa then caught a touchdown later that drive to extend the Lions\u2019 lead. <\/p>\n

The Lions did a good job of containing Pickens all night. Pickens\u2019 success, at least for one game, wasn\u2019t inevitable. Pickens finished with five catches for 37 yards. He also had two offensive penalties.<\/p>\n

What made things worse: CeeDee Lamb, who had a lot of success against the Lions, left the game in the third quarter with a concussion<\/a>. He finished with six catches for 121 yards,<\/p>\n

Storm watch<\/p>\n

If the Cowboys were going to win, they\u2019d have to contain one of the best backfields in the NFL. The tandem of Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery can beat you in a flash, like lightning, or with power, like the shake of thunder. <\/p>\n

Fittingly, lightning struck before thunder, though both left their mark on the Cowboys\u2019 defense. <\/p>\n

Gibbs, the lighting in that backfield, was a focal point in the Detroit offense from the beginning. He finished with 19 touches for 120 yards and three touchdowns. <\/b><\/p>\n

Montgomery, the thunder of the pair, wasn\u2019t used as often, but was felt with at least one boom: a 35-yard touchdown run where he broke through the middle of the Cowboys\u2019 defense. <\/p>\n

A thunder and lightning storm blew through, just as it was forecasted. <\/p>\n

Turnovers the key<\/p>\n

Schottenheimer, unprompted, brought up the key to whether the Cowboys or Lions would win this week. He said it would come down to turnovers. He then brought up the unfortunate reality for the Cowboys heading into Thursday: that department wasn\u2019t one of their best. <\/p>\n

To paraphrase Schottenheimer, a negative-five turnover this season wasn\u2019t good. <\/p>\n

It got worse on Thursday. <\/p>\n

The interception on the Pickens play was pivotal. So was the fumble that tight end Jake Ferguson had while fighting for extra yards on third and long. It gave the Lions the ball near midfield. Eventually, Montgomery capped it off with a long touchdown run. <\/p>\n

The Cowboys couldn\u2019t afford giveaways. Ultimately, it played a part in them giving away a crucial game. <\/p>\n

Defensive regression<\/p>\n

The Cowboys\u2019 defense resurgence has been on display the last three games. That much was true. But how much better truly had it gone? That was going to be tested against a Lions\u2019 offense that featured plenty of explosiveness. <\/p>\n

The result: there\u2019s still room for improvement. <\/p>\n

The Lions, for the most part, had a lot of success against the Cowboys\u2019 defense. Detroit was able to use the speed of Gibbs and wide receiver Jameson Williams to put the Dallas defense in some compromised positions. The Lions had multiple injuries on the offensive line, but those limitations didn\u2019t show themselves too much.<\/p>\n

The Lions finished with 408 yards and averaged 7.2 yards per play.<\/p>\n

A pivotal loss<\/p>\n

Thursday\u2019s game was unofficially a playoff game for both the Lions and Cowboys. Consider the Cowboys\u2019 playoff chances depending on Thursday\u2019s result.<\/p>\n

According to The Athletic\u2019s playoff simulator, a win would\u2019ve given the Cowboys more than a 40% chance of making the postseason.<\/p>\n

A win could\u2019ve vaulted them into a great position. The loss ultimately made their chances slim. They now have a 9% chance of making the playoffs. <\/p>\n

The Cowboys aren\u2019t done. They should be favored in the final four games of the season. There\u2019s a world where they win out, get some help, and sneak into the playoffs. <\/p>\n

It\u2019s starting to feel like their late-season turnaround is going to be too little too late. <\/p>\n

Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here<\/b><\/a>.<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"DETROIT \u2014 Before Thursday\u2019s game, Cowboys owner Jerry Jones called Dan Campbell \u2014 a former Cowboys tight end…\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":425698,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5135],"tags":[5229,7311,1596,8998,6415,1232,358,3187,67,586,132,5230,68,2969],"class_list":{"0":"post-425697","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-dallas","8":"tag-america","9":"tag-cowboys","10":"tag-dallas","11":"tag-dallas-cowboys","12":"tag-listicle","13":"tag-nfl","14":"tag-texas","15":"tag-tx","16":"tag-united-states","17":"tag-united-states-of-america","18":"tag-unitedstates","19":"tag-unitedstatesofamerica","20":"tag-us","21":"tag-usa"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@us\/115665163290167675","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425697","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=425697"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/425697\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/425698"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=425697"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=425697"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=425697"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}