The Detroit Lions Picked Up a Huge Victory Sunday Night Against the Patriots and Need Another Win in Dallas This Week to Keep Pace in the NFC.
Ford Field was a rocking atmosphere on Sunday night and those of us who were lucky enough to attend will remember that game for a long time. The importance of the Detroit Lions win on Sunday night against New England cannot be understated at this point in the season. Last week, I said that the Lions needed to take two of three to put themselves back in contention and their best chance to get that second win comes this Sunday against the Dallas Cowboys.
This Weeks Opponent: The Dallas Cowboys
The last time the Lions won in Dallas (2011) they may have completed the best comeback in franchise history. Trailing 27-3 in the third quarter, Detroit was sparked with a 31-3 run with back to back pick sixes by Bobby Carpenter and Chris Houston. Hopefully, Detroit won’t need a comeback of that caliber as this year’s Dallas team is reeling headed into a very important game four for both teams.
The Cowboys (1-2) come in off a 13-24 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. One of the biggest controversies of the offseason was the release of wide receiver Dez Bryant from Dallas and Bryant may have a case for himself seeing as the Cowboys have the leagues second worst passing offense headed into week 4. Dak Prescott is facing a lot of criticism as the one year wonder has just 498 passing yards in three games. A one dimensional Cowboys offense should allow Detroit to key in on Ezekiel Elliott, who has carried the Cowboys to their only win of the year.
Stopping Zeke Will Guarantee a Detroit Win
Prescott has been on a downward trend since 2016. Last season Elliott’s suspension didn’t help their cause, but it really showed that Prescott, who people were hailing as elite after his rookie year, really feeds off of and is almost a product of Elliott’s production. Prescott averaged a meager 204.4 passing yards per game when Elliott did not rush for at least 100 yards last season.
Thus far in 2018, we have not been given a reason to believe that Prescott can succeed on his own. Elliott has never actually faced a defense by Lions head coach Matt Patricia, so it will be interesting to see if he succeeds against a coach who in eight seasons calling defensive plays, averaged the 14th best rushing defense in the league. The Lions porous run defense showed life in week three for the first time this season. If the Lions shut down Elliott, they shut down the Cowboys. It’s as simple as that.
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