The Detroit Lions delivered one of the worst birthday presents Jerry Jones has seen in his 82 years on the planet. The Lions had their second-highest-scoring road game in franchise history and sent the Cowboys to their largest home loss since 1988.
Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys Box Score
| Q1 | Q2 | Q3 | Q4 | T | |
| Lions | 7 | 20 | 10 | 10 | 47 |
| Cowboys | 3 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
Lions-Cowboys Stat Leaders
Leading Passers
Jared Goff: 18-of-25, 315 yards, 3 touchdowns
Dak Prescott: 17-of-33, 178 yards, 2 interceptions
Leading Rushers
David Montgomery: 12 carries, 80 yards, 2 touchdowns
Jahmyr Gibbs: 12 carries, 63 yards
Rico Dowdle: 5 carries, 25 yards
Ezekiel Elliott: 5 carries, 6 yards
Leading Receivers
Jameson Williams: 3 receptions, 76 yards, 1 touchdown
Kalif Raymond: 4 receptions, 73 yards
Tim Patrick: 3 receptions, 68 yards
Sam LaPorta: 1 reception, 52 yards, 1 touchdown
CeeDee Lamb: 7 receptions, 89 yards
Jalen Tolbert: 4 receptions, 43 yards
Lions-Cowboys Game Recap
The Cowboys took their first lead at home this season with an opening-drive field goal, but that was short-lived. Following a 42-yard Tim Patrick reception, David Montgomery scored for the eighth straight game. That broke a tie with Billy Sims for the longest streak in Lions franchise history.
David Montgomery making it look easy
— Nolan Bianchi (@nolanbianchi)
The drive was extra sweet for the Lions, who began the game with a nod to last year’s controversial loss in Dallas.
Dan Campbell and Lions swore all week they were not thinking about last year’s controversial ending in 20-19 loss to Dallas.
Lions first play from scrimmage has T Dan Skipper eligible.
— Ed Werder (@WerderEdNFL)
The Lions built up a two-touchdown lead with a field goal and tremendous trick play, leading to Sam LaPorta’s first touchdown of the season.
Sam LaPorta. Flea Flicker. Touchdown.pic.twitter.com/bAo6ZRL5ew
— LionsFanReport (@lionsfanreport)
The beatdown continued, with the Lions scoring on their first five drives of the game to take a 27-3 lead after Montgomery’s second rushing touchdown of the game. It was his 19th rushing touchdown in 19 games since joining Detroit.
A 79-yard KaVontae Turpin kick return set up a Cowboys field goal before halftime, but the Lions took a 27-6 lead into the locker room. It was Dallas’ largest halftime deficit since the 2014 season opener vs. the San Francisco 49ers.
The Cowboys have trailed by 15+ points in each of their last four home games (including the Wild Card debacle vs. the Green Bay Packers). That ties the 2013-14 Oakland Raiders for the longest streak by any team since at least 2000.
Detroit picked up where it left off to begin the second half, with Jameson Williams extending the lead back to 28 with a 37-yard touchdown.
.@Lions are not slowing down. JAMO TD!
📺: #DETvsDAL on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO8ZBqG pic.twitter.com/TGryqHZ7bA— NFL (@NFL)
The first bad break of the game for Detroit came in the third quarter. NFL sack leader Aidan Hutchinson took Dak Prescott down on the Cowboys’ opening drive of the third quarter but came up lame with an apparent leg injury. Hutchinson was carted off the field.
Aidan Hutchinson is down after the previous play. pic.twitter.com/1l1kTN7Blb
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX)
Hutchinson’s injury was a somber scene, as numerous players from both teams went to console the star edge rusher, seemingly realizing the severity of his injury.
The Lions’ defense continued to excel despite losing their best player, holding the Cowboys to a field goal on the drive where Hutchinson was injured. And emerging star nickel Brian Branch ended another drive in the third quarter with a forced fumble, his first of the season.
.@Lions steal it! When the first punch doesn't work, just do it again 🥊
📺: #DETvsDAL on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/qsAzRiAoDw— NFL (@NFL)
Amon-Ra St. Brown was just about the only Lions player who hadn’t gotten in on the fun, but he eventually capped off the day with a touchdown after Brian Branch’s second interception of the game. With Jared Goff in the game, the Lions scored on all nine possessions (excluding a kneeldown to end the first half).
INT No. 2 for @BrianBB_1 and he NEARLY makes it a pick 6!
📺: #DETvsDAL on FOX
📱: https://t.co/waVpO909ge pic.twitter.com/4QRWbeIPkW— NFL (@NFL)
That brought an end to the day for both Prescott and Goff, who finished with a sparkling 153.8 passer rating. That’s one game after Goff posted a 155.8 passer rating in going 18-for-18 vs. the Seattle Seahawks, the most attempts without an incompletion in NFL history.
The final score ended up being scorigami, as this was the first 47-9 final in NFL history.
Crazy Numbers Behind Lions’ Historic Win
The Lions played a historically great game in beating down the Dallas Cowboys. Below are some of the stats that stand out the most.
38-Point Win
This goes down as the Lions’ largest road win since they beat the Green Bay Packers 40-0 on Sept. 20, 1970. Overall it’s tied for the third-largest road win in franchise history.
In addition, this is tied for the fourth-largest home loss in Cowboys history and their largest since they lost 43-3 to the Minnesota Vikings on Nov. 13, 1988.
157.5 Passer Rating
That’s the cumulative passer rating for Goff over the last two games. He posted a 153.8 rating on Sunday, on the heels of a 155.8 rating in his 18-for-18 game vs. the Seahawks.
That’s the highest passer rating over a two-game span in NFL history (min. 40 pass attempts). While certainly not a perfect stat, it’s been a historic stretch for Goff no matter how you spin it.
By more advanced metrics, Goff posted a 0.88 EPA per dropback in Week 4 vs. the Seahawks and 0.54 on Sunday. Those are the best and ninth-best games of the season, respectively.
43.4 Expected Points Added
The Lions compiled 19.1 EPA on offense and 24.3 EPA on defense, for a total of 43.4 EPA on line-of-scrimmage plays, the second-best mark over the last four seasons. The only team with a better mark in that span was the Miami Dolphins, who scored 70 points vs. the Denver Broncos last season (57.6 EPA).
For the season, the Lions are up to fourth in EPA per game on offense and 13th on defense. The latter will be challenged without Aidan Hutchinson, who is presumably out for a prolonged period of time. Hutchinson has accounted for 56.4% of the Lions’ pressures this season, the only player to account for more than half of his team’s pressures.
