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For a team trying desperately to avoid slow starts, the Dallas Cowboys made sure they again suffered one to open their 35-27 win over the Detroit Lions. On the second play from scrimmage, running back Ezekiel Elliott fumbled and the Lions recovered, followed by the Cowboys defense being unable to stop their own former draft pick in Bo Scarbrough -- who capped off the Lions takeaway with a rushing touchdown.
The Cowboys would eventually find their groove, but they found themselves in a dogfight with the Lions, who saw Scarbrough land his second rushing touchdown on the day in the second quarter. One circus catch by wideout Michael Gallup later, followed by a short push into the end zone by Ezekiel Elliott, and then two big catches by Randall Cobb -- one being a touchdown despite a brutal helmet-to-helmet hit -- ended the half.
The Lions wouldn't lay down coming out of the half, though, with two big plays by Marvin Hall on the opening drive that helped close the gap to just three points. Dak Prescott was having none of it, and helped extend the lead just a bit on a field-goal capped long drive thereafter. While the Cowboys defense continued to struggle over the remainder of the game, Prescott and Co. did not, and the offense went on to bury a confused Lions defensive unit -- going to 6-4 in to process and remaining atop the NFC East.
Prescott has now thrown for the most yards in a two-game span in Cowboys history (841), and is playing at an MVP level.
Why the Cowboys won
They got just enough stops from their defense, but credit for this win goes to Prescott and his stable of weapons, who overcame the aforementioned early game fumble to torch the Lions for 444 passing yards with three touchdowns. Driskel had a solid game, but couldn't outshoot Prescott, and a key second-down sack (Maliek Collins + Michael Bennett) followed by a third-down disruption (DeMarcus Lawrence) forced a fourth-and-26 with two minutes remaining and essentially closed the casket.
Why the Lions lost
The Lions can't lay this loss at the feet of Driskel, because although he didn't turn the lights out with his passing yardage, he had three touchdowns overall -- two in the air and one on the ground -- but his defense had no answer for Prescott. Asking Driskel to score 40 points to win a game will almost never be a winning formula, and had his defense helped, he might've gotten a win with an impressive 27 points scored.
Turning Point
It was a game filled with twists and turns, but seeing Randall Cobb overcome a key drop early in the game to deliver this touchdown while taking a brutal hit not only extended the Cowboys lead, but came shortly after another big catch he reeled in on the same drive.
Play of the Game
There were a few that could've landed this honor, but none better than what Gallup did on this catch. It's filthy.
Injury bullet dodged?
"La'el Collins walking back to the locker room with the rest of the team. ...He didn't finish the game [due to a late fourth quarter injury], but I guess it wasn't serious enough to leave early." -- David Helman of DallasCowboys.com
What's next
The Cowboys must now ready for the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots, while the Lions continue their fight with the NFC East by visiting the confused Washington Redskins.
