On the night the Cowboys put legendary head coach Jimmy Johnson into the Ring of Honor they pulled out a miracle.
Trailing 13-10, Dallas scored 10 straight points in the fourth quarter for a 20-13 lead. Then survived three two-point attempts in the final seconds for a 20-19 victory.
CeeDee Lamb set a new single-season record for Cowboys’ receivers with a monster game, despite a huge miscue and a pair of drops during the game.
Lamb had 227 yards on 13 catches with a touchdown in the game.
First Quarter
The Cowboys managed to hold Detroit to a field goal on the opening drive of the game. But they missed a chance to get a three-and-out and let the Lions chew up four minutes off the clock.
Dallas’ opening possession looked promising, as they drove into field goal range for Brandon Aubrey.
But Prescott threw an ill-advised pass to Lamb on a scramble that was intercepted. It appeared Prescott could have made the first down if he had kept the ball instead.
Fortunately, the Cowboys defense managed to give up just 10 yards on five plays, sacking Jared Goff to force a punt.
After a Pollard run of minus-three yards and an incomplete pass it looked like another Dallas punt was upcoming.
Then it looked like a safety as Prescott was nearly sacked in the endzone. Then it became a 92-yard touchdown pass from Prescott to CeeDee Lamb and a 7-3 Cowboys lead.
The longest TD pass in Cowboys’ history came on Nov. 13, 1966. Don Meredith hit Bob Hayes for 95 yards in a 31-30 win over the Redskins.
Dallas’ defense then forced a three-and-out and Detroit punted the ball back to Dallas with one minute to go in the quarter.
But the Cowboys had a penalty and a three-and-out to end the quarter.
Second Quarter
The Cowboys’ defense stepped up on the second play of the Lions’ drive as Jourdan Lewis picked off Goff at the Cowboys’ 46.
Dallas marched downfield, finally finding its running game along the way.
But Lamb fumbled the ball at the one-yard line. The ball landed in the endzone and rolled out of bounds for a touchback.
Dallas looked to have gotten off the field again, but the Lions ran a fake punt and executed it for a first down at the Dallas 41.
Detroit drove to the Cowboys four. But on fourth-and-goal, Goff’s pass to Sam LaPorta sailed high and incomplete.
Neither team threatened to score after that as Dallas took a 7-3 lead into halftime.
Prescott was 13-for-17 in the half for 211 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Pollard finished with 16 yards on seven carries.
Lamb had 151 yards on six catches and a touchdown along with the costly fumble at the one.
Dallas left a minimum of 10 points on the field thanks to the two costly turnovers.
Jimmy Johnson
It was decades overdue. It should have happened in 2005 when the Triplets – Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith, and Michael Irvin – went up.
But the man who made the dynasty run of the 1990s possible – Jimmy Johnson – finally saw his name on the Cowboys’ Ring of Honor.
Watching him walk out onto the field and be welcomed by the five players in the Ring that he coached was a special moment.
And you had to know that “How About Them Cowboys” was coming at the end.
Third Quarter
Dallas got the ball to start the second half. But the offense continued to sputter, getting one first down before punting the ball away.
The Lions converted a fourth-and-two to keep their next drive alive. Detroit capped a 13-play, 74-yard drive with a David Montgomery touchdown.
The drive took 7:26 off the clock and featured 10 running plays to give the Lions a 10-7 lead.
Dallas responded with a solid drive that stalled out after back-to-back drops by Lamb. Brandon Aubrey nailed a 51-yard field goal to tie the game at 10 with 23 seconds left in the quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Lions opened the quarter was a big play. Jameson Williams hauled in a Goff pass for a 63-yard gain and a first down at the Dallas 14.
But the defense stiffened, forcing the Lions to settle for a 30-yard field goal and a 13-10 lead with 12:18 left to play.
On the first play of Dallas’ next drive Lamb hauled in a 11-yard pass.
Michael Irvin had previously set the record of 1,603 yards in 1995. Lamb currently has 1,651 yards after Saturday’s game.
Lamb also set a new mark with 122 catches in a single season, surpassing Irvin’s 1995 total of 111.
Prescott capped the 75-yard drive eight plays later with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Brandin Cooks.
The play gave the Cowboys a 17-13 lead with 7:20 remaining.
The Cowboys’ defense forced a punt after a three-and-out with 6:03 to play. A 22-yard catch by Lamb extended the drive with just under four minutes to play.
But an incomplete pass and Aidan Hutchinson’s third sack of the night killed the drive at midfield.
Dallas punted the ball back to the Lions with 2:33 left, leaving it to the defense to secure a win.
And secure it they did with a Donovan Wilson interception with 2:05 left on the Lions’ second play of the drive.
A tripping penalty on Peyton Hendershot on the next play moved Dallas back to a first-and-25 at the Lions’ 44.
Dallas got back to within easy field goal range for a 43-yard field goal by Aubrey and a 20-13 lead.
But an incomplete pass on second down, allowed Detroit to use their final timeout on the third down play and preserve an extra 35 seconds on the clock.
Detroit got the ball back at their own 25 with 1:41 left and no timeouts. But the Cowboys’ defense played soft.
Goff hit Sam LaPorta on back-to-back passes to move to Dallas’ 40 with 1:02 left. A 15 -yard pass to Amon-Ra St. Brown followed.
After a spike and an incomplete pass, the Lions faced third-and-10. Another catch by LaPorta set up the Lions at the 11.
Goff hit LaPorta for a touchdown on the next play. The Lions went for two and the win.
Goff hit Taylor Decker, an eligible lineman, for the conversion. But Decker was ruled an ineligible receiver and the points were taken off the board.
Now from the seven, Detroit went again. The pass was intercepted, but Micah Parsons was offsides.
On the third try, from the three, Goff’s pass fell incomplete and Dallas escaped with a 20-19 win.
Against The Lions
Dallas is now 1-2 against the Lions in Week 17 battles, losing at Detroit in 2001 and in Arlington in 2006.
The Cowboys are 19-12 overall against the Lions. Their first meeting in 1960 resulted in a 23-14 Lions’ win.
Dallas is 17-11 in regular season games, 11-3 at home but just 6-8 in games played in Detroit.
The two teams have met three times in the playoffs with Dallas holding a 2-1 edge. The Lions won 38-6 in 1992 at Detroit.
Dallas won 24-20 in their last playoff meeting in 2015 at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys have won the last four meetings with the Lions at home – four including the 2015 playoff victory.
Including the playoff games, the Cowboys were 3-0 against the Lions at the Cotton Bowl and 4-2 at Texas Stadium.
They are 5-1 against Detroit at AT&T Stadium.
