Wild Card Weekend 2015: Detroit Lions @ Dallas Cowboys

Starting this waaaay early because its the playoffs and I'm excited so kiss my ass.





Quick Take: Cowboys vs. Lions
December, 28, 2014

By Todd Archer | ESPNDallas.com


Three things to know about the Dallas Cowboys' matchup against the Detroit Lions next weekend in an NFC wild-card playoff game at AT&T Stadium:

1. Strength on strength: The Cowboys invested first-round picks in Tyron Smith, Travis Frederick and Zack Martin in three of the past four years. All three were named to the Pro Bowl after opening up enough holes for DeMarco Murray to break Emmitt Smith’s record for rushing yards in a season and giving enough time for Tony Romo to throw 34 touchdown passes. The Lions counter with first-rounders Ndamukong Suh and Ezekiel Ansah, who have combined for 16 sacks on a defense that has 42 sacks.

2. Not a friendly reminder: Brandon Carr will not have fond memories of the last time he saw the Lions. Calvin Johnson caught 14 passes for 329 yards in the Lions’ 31-30 win last season at Ford Field. It was the second-most receiving yards in a game in NFL history. Carr might have played his best game of the season Sunday against the Washington Redskins, but he is still looking for his first interception of the season. He knows Matthew Stafford will be looking his way.

3. Familiar face: Prior to becoming the Cowboys’ playcaller, Scott Linehan served as the Lions' offensive coordinator from 2009-13, overseeing the development of Stafford and Johnson. With the Cowboys, Linehan has directed an offense that has scored 30 or more points in 10 games this season, a team record. The Cowboys have scored at least 38 points in each of their last four games. The Lions, however, have given up 30 points in a game just twice this season.

‏@SportsSturm
My first impression for WC Sunday, If RG Larry Warford's injury yesterday takes him out, that is massive. He was very great yesterday early.

Yeah, can't see any way he plays... Not many do after being carted off to the locker room.

To those who say this year was supposed to suck so who cares how we do from here on out... I don't think so. Everything has broken so right for us this year. Better take advantage because it won't always go this well.

ThoughtExperiment said:

To those who say this year was supposed to suck so who cares how we do from here on out... I don't think so. Everything has broken so right for us this year. Better take advantage because it won't always go this well.

Keep reading...

It is absolutely ridiculous the "breaks" we've gotten this year.

From miracle plays (incredible Romo to WIlliams on 3rd and 20/incredible Dez reception on critical third down in OT vs Texans, etc).... to amazing health, to facing beat up opponents, to opponents making horrid gaffes/bad plays (Rams receiver dropping easy TD.... Manning horribly missing receiver on walk in TD that would've made Giants game basically unwinnable, etc), to the division being weak, to playing opponents at the right time (Seattle when they're playing like shit [lost to woeful Rams right after us], Eagles after Foles went down for year) etc.

This year has been like the perfect storm of everything right going our way. We need to capitalize on it.

Exactly. And on that note, people say there's no way Suh won't be suspended for next week. I say there's at least a 50-50 chance he is.

SB winner odds updated:

Cowboys 10/1
Seattle 9/4
Patriots 5/2
Denver 6/1

Everyone else 20/1, 30/1, 40/1.... except Arizona is 75/1

Get to Know: Detroit Lions

After losing the division Sunday against NFC North rival Green Bay, the Detroit Lions will head to Dallas next weekend to meet the NFC East champion Cowboys.

Here’s what you need to know about Detroit ahead of the playoff battle (all stats entering Sunday):

Total offense (NFL rank): 342.6 yards per game (18)

Rushing offense: 87.4 yards per game (27)

Passing offense: 255 yards per game (11)

Total defense: 295.9 yards per game (2)

Rushing defense: 63.8 yards per game (1)

Passing defense: 232.1 yards per game (13)

Turnover margin: +6 (9)

How they got here: Finished regular season 11-5, second in NFC North. The Lions started the season with three wins in their first four outings, including a home win against the division rival Packers. After losing a heartbreaker on a 58-yard field goal against Buffalo, the Lions rattled off three wins to get to 6-2 entering their bye. After going 1-2 coming out of the bye, Detroit rallied to win the next four, entering a Week 17 matchup with the Packers for the NFC North title. The Lions couldn’t get the sweep in Green Bay, dropping the Lions from the top of the division with an 11-5 record.

Best offensive player: Matthew Stafford. The Highland Park native led Detroit to a winning season for the second time in his six-year career. He threw for 4,257 yards and 22 touchdowns this season, but the Lions’ Week 17 loss to Green Bay dropped his road record against winning teams to 0-16.

Best defensive player: Ndamukong Suh. With 8.5 sacks in 2014, Suh had his best season since getting to the quarterback 10 times in his his rookie campaign. The high-intensity Suh is also run-stopping force in the middle, recording 12 stuffs, a career high, and making 46 combined tackles.

Keep an eye on: Calvin Johnson. The all-pro receiver hasn’t exactly put up the numbers Lions fans have grown accustomed to after missing a few games, but he’s still a threat to make a big play at any given time. Johnson had 71 catches for 1,077 yards and seven touchdowns this season.


Under the radar: DeAndre Levy.The outside linebacker was snubbed from the Pro Bowl for the second season in a row despite leading the Lions in tackles and being near the top of the league. He finished the season with 150 stops.

Last time vs. Cowboys: Things got interesting the last time these teams met. On Oct. 27, 2013, the Lions completed a comeback at home to stun the Cowboys. Down 10 in the fourth quarter, Matthew Stafford led Detroit on a drive to set up a Reggie Bush score with 3:33 remaining. Dan Bailey nailed a 44-yard field goal to extend the Dallas lead to six, leaving 1:02 on the clock. That was plenty for Stafford, who completed passes of 17, 40 and 22 yards to get Detroit to just outside the goal line. Stafford rushed his team to the line of scrimmage to spike the ball, but instead snuck into the end zone to tie the game. An extra point gave Detroit the lead with 12 seconds left, knocking Dallas to 4-4.

Lions can go to Dallas and win
Foster: Lions can go to Dallas and win


Now comes the ultimate test for Lions coach Jim Caldwell and all the little passages, sayings and fables he tells his team every week.

If the Lions truly believe in their coach and his one-moment-at-a-time ways then the Lions could win their first playoff game since the 1991 season when they beat the Dallas Cowboys at the Pontiac Silverdome.

The Cowboys are up next and the Lions enter "Jerry's World" as a No. 6 seed. The No. 3 Cowboys (12-4) are not as ferocious as they appear.

The Lions can penetrate the Cowboys and win for three reasons.

* The Cowboys' strength is running the football. The Lions strength is stopping the run even though Green Bay ran for 150 yards during Sunday's 30-20 victory over the Lions at Lambeau Field.

* The Cowboys are better on the road where the pressures of Jerry Jones and a suffocating fan base can be overwhelming. This game is in the teeth of the dragon, in the middle of a rabid fan base where the Cowboys are just 4-4.

* And finally the Lions play defense and that gives them the best chance of winning a playoff game for the first time in more than 20 years. This team is capable of making a stop late in a game. Previous Lions teams were not capable of doing that.

Now if you are looking for a run beyond that, you can forget it. The Lions are not good enough to beat a quality opponent. The Cowboys lost to three non-playoff teams at home and ranked 16th in total defense while the Lions finished as the second-best defense in the league.

So there is a punchers chance even though running back DeMarco Murray and that offensive line carries a huge punch.

Few teams to fear

There are only two teams to fear in the NFC. They both will be sitting at home next weekend as top-seed Seattle (12-4) and the No. 2 seed Packers (12-4) enjoy bye weeks. Everybody else is flawed and vulnerable.

Caldwell can be the wild card. It is difficult for a team to lose an emotional game like the one in Green Bay, pack it all in and come out on fire the next week. But Caldwell has done a great job of mentally preparing the Lions all season. I don't know what he is selling, but his players are buying.

He will have something up his sleeve.

Now here is where my logic for victory becomes flawed. The Lions are quarterbacked by Matthew Stafford, who is 0-16 on the road against teams with winning records. He showed no signs of being a playoff winning quarterback against the Green Bay Packers or even the Chicago Bears or Minnesota Vikings. There is something wrong with this offense and it goes beyond Stafford.

Stafford and his receivers seem out of sync. Some of Stafford's bad throws are simply caused by bad throws. But there seems to be a lot of miscommunication on the field. You can see it on the sidelines when Stafford motions to where he thought receivers should be. And they bark back where they tell him where they thought he would throw it.

Cowboys will be overconfident

All of that can be overcome if the Lions believe enough in Caldwell who has them believing the impossible is possible. He is convincing and guided them to a one-play-at-a-time belief that led the Lions to their best regular-season record in 23 years.

That was the last time the Lions won a playoff game and history shows no signs of anything changing. However, this is the best Lions defense since.

During its season-ending four-game winning streak Dallas has scored 41, 38, 42 and 44 points. But this is a team that reads its press clippings and loses playoff games it has no business losing. The Cowboys won't be as dominating against the Lions mostly because they will enter this game believing they are better than they are.

I've already heard Terry Bradshaw say the Cowboys have momentum and will be hard to beat. OK. We've heard that before. The Cowboys last won a playoff game in 2009. The time before that was 1996.

Do not give up hope on your team. They got a chance because of Caldwell and a never die attitude.

Cowboys can run on these guys. Detroit hasnt faced many good running teams and their #1 run D stat is a little distorted. They are good but not better than the Hawks or Texans. They are big and physical.

Stafford is slumping. He’s making a lot bad throws. Even still, i can see him making some big plays against the Cowboys.

Romo looked like he got knocked out on the sack before the half. He seemed to be fine just wanted to mention it.

My biggest concern is Parnell. His pass protection is a little shaky at times.

Yeah and their run D takes a huge hit of Suh is out.

I'm mostly worried what their offense... Johnson, Bush, Tate, etc do against our secondary.

But I'm not worried about getting in a shootout with these guys. We're doing pretty good on offense lately.

Everlastingxxx said:

Cowboys can run on these guys.

Keep reading...

Absolutely.Lacy and the GB o-line did some damage early setting up Rodgers & Cobb/Nelson a bit later.
Also Foster or whoever wrote the OP is dead wrong about the Cowboys being overconfident or reading their own press clippings.
I'd buy that all the way based on past years.But I've seen them have chances to shit the bed this year,and not do it.
From what I've seen this year,if the Lions beat them it won't be because the Boys were doing a pose off in the locker room.

IRVING —

Defensive tackle Henry Melton suffered an injury to his right knee against the Redskins and is going to need “a few weeks,” according to his agent Jordan Woy.

So Melton’s season – and possibly tenure with the Cowboys – could be over.

The Cowboys continue to monitor rookie linebacker Anthony Hitchens, who suffered a high ankle sprain. Coach Jason Garrett said the team is taking it day-by-day and have yet to rule him out.

Defensive tackle Josh Brent’s status remains in question, too. Brent re-injured his calf as he warmed up for the Redskins game, and was a late scratch.








“His calf was grabbing him,” Garrett said. “The reason we made the decision we did is we didn’t think he was going to be able to get through the game and we didn’t want a further setback.”

Garrett said the team is hopeful that Brent, who has played in only one game this season, will be an option for the playoffs.

On the better injury news front, the Cowboys are expected to have right tackle Doug Free (left ankle) and linebacker Rolando McClain (illness) return to practice this week.

Free has missed the past two games, while McClain didn’t make the trip after coming down with a fever.

Read more here: http://www.star-telegram.com/sports...orner-blog/article5130582.html##storylink=cpy

When does the betting open... Putting 100% on the Cowboys this week.

Would go over 100% if I could. Dooms needs to add margin to the account for this one.

Warford, the Lions' top offensive lineman, suffered a left knee injury against Green Bay, and as the team prepares for its opening-round playoff game, he has one thing on his mind.

"Hopefully get my knee better," Warford said Monday. "Whatever they say. If I'm ready to go or not, it's up to them. It's day to day."

Day to day is an optimistic outlook based on how Warford exited the game, walking gingerly toward the trainer's table in the second quarter and heading to the locker room shortly thereafter, but the Lions still think there's a chance he'll play against the Cowboys.

"Not ruled out at this stage, but not certain yet," coach Jim Caldwell said. "We'll have to see."

Warford declined to provide further detail on his injury Monday. He missed three games earlier this year with a left knee injury, too, and has played well in the four games since he returned.

Even though Warford, a third-round pick in 2013, wants to play in his first playoff game, he said he'll only play if he can play like himself.

"I wouldn't say push myself because if I'm in there and I'm not full go, how is that helping anybody?" he said. "I'm putting myself at risk and I'm not helping my teammates, so it wouldn't be smart regardless."

The Lions practice for the first time Wednesday, and his participation will provide an early indication of his potential availability.

Two stats make me nervous going into this weekends game:

The Lions haven't won a playoff game since 1991

The Lions haven't won a road playoff game since 1957




Garrett has a way of ending streaks like that.

Midswat said:

Two stats make me nervous going into this weekends game:

The Lions haven't won a playoff game since 1991

The Lions haven't won a road playoff game since 1957




Garrett has a way of ending streaks like that.

Keep reading...

lost faith overnight?

Suh suspended? - Page 3

Weekend winners: Panthers, Stealers, Colts, Cowboys

bbgun said:

lost faith overnight?

Suh suspended? - Page 3

Keep reading...

No. I fully expect to win as long as, like Sheik said, we don't put batteries in Garretts headphones again.

Got my tickets to the game. Havent been to a playoff game before. Anyone else going?

Anyways, this game makes me very nervous. The more i watch the Lions, the more impressed i am with their front 7. They hit hard and create turnovers. Stafford has 5 comeback victories this season.

If the Cowboys want to be a real SB contender, the defense has to play at a high level. No way around it. 30 points is probably the most you could expect out of the offense against Detroit.

BTW, on Aikman defensive efficiency rating, he has the Lions ranked as the #2 defense. Texans were #1.