What was a pretty competitive game between the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys for much of Sunday afternoon wound up being a lopsided 24-6 loss for the visitors from Detroit. Myriad mistakes from the Lions, costly turnovers and a few game-altering officiating calls made the outcome look a lot more one-sided than the game truly was.
The Lions led 6-3 at the half in what was largely a defensive struggle. Too many costly mistakes by Detroit and just enough big plays from the Cowboys on both sides of the ball sealed the win. It was 10-6 Dallas with just under three minutes to play.
Detroit drops to 1-5 with the loss, while Dallas improved to 5-2 with the Week 7 triumph.
Here are a few quick takeaways from watching the game in real-time.
Too many turnovers
Sometimes it’s important to state the obvious. Detroit turned the ball over way too often.
Five Lions giveaways ruined any real chance for an upset win. Four of them came in rapid succession in the fourth quarter with the game very much still in question. Jared Goff threw two poor interceptions, forcing the ball a count or two late to well-covered targets.
The killer was a goal-line fumble by Jamaal Williams. What could have been the go-ahead touchdown instead turned into a Dallas possession. The Lions never seriously threatened again. It was Williams’ second fumble of the game, uncharacteristic carelessness from the veteran RB. Two late fumbles on strip-sacks of Goff thereafter were extra salt in the wounds.
Defense stars came to play
The beleaguered Lions defense held up significantly better than expected against the Cowboys offense. Aaron Glenn’s unit held Dallas to two scores in the first eight drives, including forcing two straight 3-and-outs to start the game. No defense had done that to Dallas since November of 2019.
Two recent first-round picks played outstanding games. Cornerback Jeff Okudah had a team-high 15 tackles and was critical in limiting the Cowboys run game, especially in the first half. Dallas gained two yards or less on 10 of its first 13 carries, and Okudah finished off five of those runs.
Aidan Hutchinson had a fantastic game at DE. He recorded two sacks (credited officially with 1.5) and was consistently disruptive in the Dallas backfield all afternoon.
The officiating played a major factor in helping Dallas
This was one of the more one-sidedly officiated games I can ever remember watching. Rather than reliving it all, here’s the story of the officiating in tweets…
I'm surprised that play was not stopped for a formal, detailed review of the interception ruling in #DETvsDAL. For a catch to be made, the ball can touch the ground but the player must have firm control of it prior to that. It does not appear that Diggs' does in my opinion. pic.twitter.com/sxYJKGTDAw
— Gene Steratore (@GeneSteratore) October 23, 2022
Some justice for #Lions there after bogus holding calls slowed this drive. The Dallas MVP as usual has been the refs in this game. They're actually a putrid team.
— Max DeMara (@SportsGuyTheMax) October 23, 2022
Refs miss a call in favor of the Lions and the opposing team scores… Seen it a million times
— Evan Fox (@evanfoxy) October 23, 2022
Refs apparently are employees of Jerry World today….
I'm passed getting angry with them now.
— Roar of the Lions UK (@ROTL_UK) October 23, 2022
Look I’m not blaming the refs for why the Lions loss, but how is this call missed???
— Jamal Spencer (@JamalSpencerTV) October 23, 2022
Okudah would have had another one but was blocked in the back
— Erik Schlitt (@erikschlitt) October 23, 2022
Cowboys living a blessed life with the officials. Game-altering
— Jeff Risdon (@JeffRisdon) October 23, 2022
That’s not even half of the story, but you get the point. Most of the remaining tweets are NFSW, nor should they be…
Third-down offense remains a problem
The Lions (and the Cowboys) went 3-for-9 on third-down conversions in the game. The lack of execution and poor schematic designs were problematic for Detroit’s offense once again.
Take the Lions’ first effort on third down. Facing 3rd-and-7, coordinator Ben Johnson dialed up a slow-developing run play to backup RB Craig Reynolds that was easily snuffed out for no gain by Dallas. On the next third down, also 3rd-and-7, the designed play was a two-yard pass to Kalif Raymond on a set where the tiny wideout would have needed to break three potential tackles to pick up the conversion. The pass fell incomplete. A later 3rd-and-15 saw a pass behind the line of scrimmage to the short side of the field. The odds of that working are about the same as depending on the lottery to fund your retirement.
It’s been an ongoing, even worsening problem as the season has progressed. Too many third-down plays are not sensically called to try and pick up the conversion.
Quick hits
–Kicker Michael Badgley put his best foot forward to keep the gig. Badgley made field goals from 40 and 53 yards and neither was ever in doubt.
–Will require a more in-depth tape viewing, but the initial impression of second-round rookie DL Josh Paschal was very good. He did more impactful things in the first two drives than the man he replaced in the lineup, Michael Brockers, had done all season.
—Losing WR Amon-Ra St. Brown on the opening drive to a likely concussion was a big blow to the Detroit offense.
–Following up on the Lions’ heavy usage of the sixth lineman, it failed miserably in this one. Dan Skipper whiffed on a block that led to a TFL.
–Need to reemphasize how bad Goff’s first two giveaways were. Crushing, eminently avoidable interceptions that he has to know better than to throw. Having said that, his receivers did not help him one iota on either ill-advised throw.
–Amani Oruwariye returned to the lineup and played much better than he had looked earlier in the season, which led to the CB being benched in Week 5. I didn’t note any plays where he was badly beaten. Baby steps…
–The Lions’ uncanny ability to compound their own mistakes is incredibly frustrating. And that’s on Dan Campbell for failing to keep the seas calm in times of turbulence.
