DETROIT — The Detroit Lions were beaten by the Dallas Cowboys 35-27 in an NFC interdivision battle Sunday afternoon at Ford Field.
The game was broadcast live on FOX 17.
The Lions came in with a 3-5-1 record. Meanwhile, the Cowboys entered the proceedings at 5-4 and as 6 1/2-point favorites after it was announced that for the second straight week Detroit would be without the services of quarterback Matthew Stafford, who remained out of the lineup and on the sideline with a back injury.
Soon after the opening kickoff, the Cowboys turned the ball over on a fumble and the Lions promptly scored first on a 5-yard run by Bo Scarbrough for a 7-0 edge with 12:33 showing on the clock. Dallas retaliated with Brett Maher’s 30-yard goal to slice the deficit to 7-3 at the 2:18 juncture, a score that remained in effect at the conclusion of the opener.
The Cowboys garnered their first lead when quarterback Dak Prescott found Tony Pollard with a 21-yard TD pass for a 10-7 count with 14:10 left until intermission. But Detroit regained control at 14-10 when quarterback Jeff Driskel scored on a 2-yard run at the 7:46 mark.
Ezekiel Elliott then went to work for Dallas, eventually scoring on a 1-yard plunge to put the Cowboys back in front 17-14 with precisely 2 minutes to go in the half. But then with just 27 seconds remaining Prescott hit Randall Cobb with a scoring strike and Dallas was up 24-14 at the break.
The Lions also scored first in the second half when Driskel found Marvin Jones Jr. open across the middle from 11 yards away to close to within 24-21 with 9:15 to play in the third. But it wasn’t long before Maher booted a 34-yard field goal and the Cowboys upped the gap to 27-21 with 5:00 showing on the clock.
That 6-point margin stood until the start of the finale.
At the 7:56 mark, Elliott tallied another touchdown, this one on a reception, and Pollard ran in the two-point conversion for a 35-21 Dallas bulge. But Detroit came right back with a 25-yard scoring strike from Driskel to Jones. A two-point conversion pass failed and the gap was 35-27 with 5:49 on the clock.
Next up the Lions will hit the road to meet the Washington Redskins, with kickoff scheduled for 1 p.m. next Sunday at FedEx Field in Landover, Md.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, will again be away from home for their next foray – an encounter with the New England Patriots starting at 4:25 p.m. next Sunday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Mass.
