NFL
Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys Preview
The Detroit Lions will travel to Arlington, Texas in a battle with the Dallas Cowboys this Sunday. Both teams will look to get to .500 with a win. The Lions finally got into the win column last week while the Cowboys went backwards. Both sides are tied for last place in their respective decisions, but they’re just one game back.
Week 3 Recap
The Lions pulled off a very impressive upset of the New England Patriots 26-10. Former Patriots defensive coordinator, Matt Patricia, had his new team ready to play. It’s pretty poetic that Patricia’s first win as a head coach comes against his former team.
The defense held arguably the greatest quarterback of all-time, Tom Brady, to only 133 passing yards. He went 14-26 with one touchdown and one interception. Lions quarterback, Matthew Stafford, went 27-36 for 262 yards.
He had two touchdowns with one interception. To make things even better, the Lions finally had a running back rush for 100 yards in a game since 2013. Kerryon Johnson had 101 yards on 16 carries last Sunday night.
Dallas didn’t fare too well in their 13-24 Week 3 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The offense struggled greatly. Dak Prescott had only 168 passing yards on 19-34 pass attempts. His two interceptions overshadowed the only passing touchdown he had.
He was also sacked five times. If that’s not bad enough, Prescott had a QBR (quarterback rating) of 14.3 and a passer rating of 54.5. Ezekiel Elliott had 127 yards rushing, but they still didn’t feed him the ball enough as he only had 16 carries. The defense played well, but there’s only so much you can do when the offense doesn’t give you time to rest.
Looking Ahead To Week 4
Detroit has looked good on offense the past three games. They have averaged 23 points per game with 401.7 yards per game. Matt Stafford is averaging 298.3 passing yards, and the run game is averaging 98.7 yards per game.
However, the Dallas defense is only allowing 309 yards of total offense per game along with 17.7 points. They’re a bit stingy in the passing game by giving up just 210.7 yards per game. Their rush defense favors the Lions as they’re giving up 98.3 yards rushing per game.
While Dallas’ defense has been impressive, its offense is only putting up 13.7 points per game. If they don’t score against Detroit this Sunday, there is going to have to be some explaining to do. The Lions are giving up 29.3 points and 149.3 yards rushing per game.
Memo to Jason Garrett: “Feed Zeke the ball.”
My Prediction
The only chance I see for Dallas to win this game is if Detroit has a let-down game after the emotional win over New England last week. You know the players really wanted to take care of business against head coach Matt Patricia’s former team.
Otherwise, I don’t think the Cowboys get into any sort of rhythm offensively. The defense will get worn-out again by having to stay on the field. I think Detroit wins this game.
Injury Report
The Lions’ DE Ezekiel Ansah, TE Michael Roberts, OT Andrew Donnal, and G T.J. Lang are all questionable for Sunday’s game.
The Cowboys’ LB Sean Lee is listed as doubtful. DE Datone Jones is on IR. DT Antwaun Woods, S Jeff Heath, and WR Cole Beasley are all questionable.
Photo Credit
Featured Image courtesy of Bruce Adler Sports Photography
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