The Lions and Cowboys meet again – matchup of two first-place teams from a year ago. Who doesn't remember the craziness that occurred at the end of last December's game in Arlington, where the Lions had a chance to take a late lead with a two-point conversion, that was nullified to an illegal procedure penalty. The Lions tried to trick the Cowboys with a substitution but instead fooled the refs, who announced the wrong player to be an eligible receiver, which wiped out their go-ahead score. The Cowboys were able to get the win 20-19. But the Lions haven't forgotten and former Dallas tight end Dan Campbell, the current Detroit head coach, certainly hasn't forgotten.
More importantly, the Lions are 3-1 and have a well-balanced team that nearly made the Super Bowl last year. They'll face a Cowboys team winless at home, but have won two straight games to get them to 3-2 despite suffering injury after injury.
Let's see what the staff writers think about Sunday's game in Arlington.
Patrik Walker: It's a grudge match of the highest order, especially from the vantage point of a Lions' team that felt wronged by the officiating crew the last time they were in Arlington en route to a one-point loss. It's a reloaded team in Detroit that unofficially views this battle as a grudge match, the history of the this series also taken into consideration (hi, Anthony Hitchens), and Jared Goff has a stable of horses the undermanned Cowboys' offense must contain. The likely return of DaRon Bland helps slow them down, but stop them? Tall order. I look more so to Dak Prescott and the offense to finally get going in a must-win HOME game against a questionable Lions' secondary in what becomes a bit of a shootout; and the Lions leave with another heartbreak. Cowboys 30-27
Nick Eatman: I don't love this matchup for the Cowboys. Everything screams trouble with the Lions coming to town. You're still without some of your best defensive players in Micah Parsons and DeMarcus Lawrence, and now Eric Kendricks out as well. This is against a Lions team that will undoubtedly come in and try to run the ball. Other teams have run the ball but the Lions do this to every team. And when you factor in that Jared Goff – say what you want about him as an elite quarterback – he's still the best one you've faced all year. The fact the Lions are rested and don't have hardly anyone on the injury report, coupled with the fact Dan Campbell will have them pissed off and looking for blood after last year's game … I just don't see the Cowboys being able to hold out. I do have them scoring some points on the Lions. And CeeDee will have his best game, playing well in all four quarters. But I'll take the Lions being too much in the end. Give me Detroit, 31-27.
Mickey Spagnola: My initial Gut Feeling as of 1 p.m. on Friday was Cowboys 30, Lions 28. But now it's more complicated, with this hurricane of injuries continuing to blow off the roof. Now missing will be veteran middle linebacker Eric Kendricks, the team's leading tackler (52) by a mile (plus-14). Plus, one of the veteran backup middle backers Nick Vigil also has been rule out of the game, meaning third-year backer Damone Clark will be starting with two basically rookies, DeMarvion Overshown and Marist Liufau. Not only that, two of the team's top four cornerbacks are questionable, DaRon Bland seemingly set to come off IR missed practice on Friday and has been ruled out as has rookie Caelen Carson. This on top of the Cowboys top four defensive ends out for sure, Sam Williams, DeMarcus Lawrence, Micah Parsons and now Marshawn Kneeland. How much can this team continue to overcome? There usually is a breaking point.
Kyle Youmans: Another week, another tough matchup for the Cowboys at home. It has been tough for Dallas to protect home field so far this season. Luckily, they've taken care of business on the road in order to keep the season afloat. This week is a chance to build on their two-straight wins and some of the things they've done well over the last few games. However, it comes against a talented and deep Detroit Lions team. Do I think Dallas will play like they did in the previous two home games? No. Do I believe they'll meet the same fate? Yes. The Lions are too tough of a matchup, coming off a bye, and hungry for revenge after the 2023 meeting. Detroit wins this one, in a highly competitive and high-scoring affair. Lions 38-31.
Tommy Yarrish: The Cowboys have won six straight against the Lions dating back to 2015, but I feel like the 2024 version of Detroit is the best Dallas will have faced from the bunch. Ben Johnson's offense does a phenomenal job utilizing the loaded cupboard of skill players, including one of the NFL's best rushing tandems in Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery. The Cowboys run defense has put together two strong performances in back to back weeks, but the Lions will be the true barometer of how much that unit has improved. Dak Prescott has never lost against Detroit and CeeDee Lamb had the best statistical game of his career against the Lions last season, which bodes well for the Cowboys. The Lions are 27th in the league in passing yards allowed per game with 258.3, and Dallas is averaging 271.6 yards through the air in five games. If the Cowboys offensive line can give Prescott enough time to get the ball to his playmakers and hold off Aidan Hutchinson, who leads the league in sacks thus far with 6.5, then I think Dallas makes this a close game. At the end of the day though, my gut tells me that the Lions have a bit more of an edge in this game because of how well they run the ball. Sure, the Cowboys held Gibbs and Montgomery to just 108 yards rushing last year, but with uncertainty around the status of guys like Eric Kendricks and Nick Vigil I'm not as confident they can repeat that sort of effort. I promise I'm not trying to get the entire fanbase to hate me in my first week on the job, but I've got the Lions winning this one. Lions 27, Cowboys 24
