IRVING, Texas --Lions 6-foot-5 receiver Calvin Johnson is essentially a mismatch for any NFL cornerback -- particularly after his spectacular 23-yard touchdown earlier in the game Sunday -- but Jason Garrett said the Cowboys wanted Terence Newman one-on-one with Johnson on his winning 2-yard TD with 1:39 left.
The reason was time.
The Cowboys had no timeouts at that point, and with Detroit sitting at the 2-yard line, they wanted to ensure one more offensive possession.
"On the last play, what we wanted to do was have him by himself," Garrett said. "It's a long discussion as to why, but you're almost inviting them to throw that fade to allow him to defend it and hopefully defend it and the clock stops. Or they score a touchdown and they give our offense an opportunity to go back the other way.
"The worst scenario for us there would be if they run the ball three times and then we have no time to come back."
Johnson did catch the fade for the deciding score, and Tony Romo's offense did get one more chance. Eight plays later, they turned it over on downs at their own 45.
