Dallas Cowboys @ Detroit Lions: Preview, prediction and odds
The Cowboys visit the Lions with both teams desperate for a win in a key matchup in the NFC playoff race, read our in-depth preview here.
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Preview for Dallas Cowboys @ Detroit Lions
The Dallas Cowboys (6-5-1) and Detroit Lions (7-5) face off in a crucial matchup in the NFC playoff race with both teams in desperate need of a win to keep their postseason ambitions.
Following a run of three successive victories, including hugely impressive wins over both of last season’s Super Bowl participants, the Philadelphia Eagles and the Kansas City Chiefs, the Cowboys have renewed hope of stretching their campaign into the postseason.
Their most likely path would appear to be winning the NFC East. The Cowboys are just two games back on the Eagles (8-4) in the win column and catching them may be easier than securing a Wild Card berth. The NFC’s current seven seed, the San Francisco 49ers, already have nine wins.
The depth of the NFC is a huge problem for the Lions as they bid to make the NFL playoffs for the third successive season, and the Lions head into the visit of the Cowboys on the back of a dispiriting Thanksgiving loss to their NFC North rivals the Green Bay Packers.
Detroit had no answers for Jordan Love and the Green Bay offense in that 31-24 defeat, but head coach Dan Campbell is relishing the challenge of facing a Cowboys team that has made great strides on both sides of the ball.
“They’re playing good football right now. Playing with a lot of confidence, man, they’ve beefed up that defense,” Campbell said of the Cowboys.
“It’s a really good D-Line. Those guys are active. [Cowboys Defensive Coordinator Matt] Eberflus has done a hell of a job, he’s a good defensive coordinator. We know him obviously, he was in this division, defense always played well. But he’s doing a good job.
“And then what [Cowboys head coach Brian Schottenheimer] Schottie’s done offensively over there, and [Cowboys QB Dak] Prescott, those two receivers. They’ve got a run game, O-Line’s rugged. It’s a good team.
“This is a really good team playing at a high level, confident football. So, this’ll be a good test for us, man. We’re pretty fired up.”
The Cowboys are similarly excited, and with good reason, with Prescott’s connection with wide receivers CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens crucial for an attack that has racked up 930 yards of offense over the last two games.
“It’s a playoff game, essentially, you’ve got the atmosphere, we’re playing away. I don’t think it gets any better especially with everyone in the whole world understanding the situation as far as us all wanting to be in the playoff,” Lamb said.
“We’ve won, we’ve proved it to ourselves we could do it three times in a row, why not make it four?”
Should they make it four, the Cowboys’ playoff odds will improve to 39 percent. If they lose, they will drop to just nine percent, per NFL.com.
For the Lions, a win will see their playoff probability improve to 55 percent, while a defeat would leave them with just a 20 percent shot.
Prediction for Dallas Cowboys @ Detroit Lions
Detroit Lions
Dallas Cowboys
All the momentum is with the Cowboys who have the better offense, the better quarterback and, improbably over the course of the last three weeks, the better defense. The home crowd at Ford Field may be a factor, but recent evidence suggests it won’t be enough to stop Dallas from stretching the win streak to four games and further fuelling hope of a surprise playoff berth.
How to watch Dallas Cowboys @ Detroit Lions
The Dallas Cowboys-Detroit Lions matchup kicks off at 8pm ET.
It will be broadcast on Amazon Prime Video and simulcast on KDFW (FOX/4) in Dallas and WJBK (FOX/2) in Detroit.
The game is also available to stream via NFL +.
Best betting offers for Dallas Cowboys @ Detroit Lions
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