If Detroit wins tonight and abutting anniversary vs. Minnesota, they can move up to the No. 2 seed. Depending on what happens with San Francisco in their final two games, the No. 1 berry is still in comedy as well. But aboriginal the Lions accept to booty affliction of business tonight vs. the Cowboys.
Here are bristles things to watch out for in this one:
1. ROAD WARRIORS
If the Lions win tonight at AT&T Stadium, they’ll be the aboriginal opposing aggregation to do so this season. Dallas is 7-0 at home and is averaging a league-high 39.9 credibility per bold at home. That is currently the third accomplished home scoring boilerplate back the NFL merger, abaft alone New Orleans (41.1) and Green Bay (40.1) in 2011. The Cowboys accept outscored opponents 279-108 at AT&T Stadium this season.
“I beggarly it’s aloof article about them as far as man, listen, our tempo, our execution, the plays that they have. That shows up back you watch them on home amateur and abroad amateur of how they advance you,” Lions arresting coordinator Aaron Glenn said this week.
“And I anticipate it’s because of the way the army responds to them in those situations. I’ll acquaint you what, they’re a actual atomic team, and we accept to be on our P’s and Q’s to alpha this bold off. I beggarly they accept been on a breach at home, abnormally starting the game.”
Dallas is attractive to go 8-0 at home for aloof the third time in authorization history, abutting the 1980 and 1981 teams. Detroit has played appealing able-bodied on the alley all division with a 6-2 record.
2. DYNAMIC DUO
Lions active backs David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs accept anniversary topped 1,000 flat yards on the season, acceptable the fourth set of active backs in aggregation history to do so.
2023 is the aboriginal time Detroit’s had two players top 800 hasty yards in the aforementioned year and the aboriginal time two active backs accept totaled 10 flat touchdowns in the aforementioned year.
Can Montgomery (910) and Gibbs (872) ability 1,000 hasty yards this season? The way they are activity it seems likely. Could they achieve the accomplishment calm tonight? The Cowboys appear in ranked 19th in hasty aegis at 115.7 yards accustomed per game.
3. PARSONS EFFECT
Dallas linebacker Micah Parsons is one of the best activating arresting players in the league. He has 53 tackles, 15 tackles for loss, 13.0 sacks and 30 quarterback hits on the season. The difficult allotment in aggravating to apathetic him bottomward is that Dallas moves him all over the field. He’s got 205 reps at larboard end, 182 at larboard alfresco linebacker, 170 at appropriate alfresco linebacker and 80 at appropriate end. He’ll additionally comedy in the box as an off-ball linebacker.
“Oh yeah, he’s a game-wrecker for sure,” Lions abhorrent coordinator Ben Johnson said this week. “I was aloof talking to the guys upstairs, they move him about so abundant whether it’s appropriate side, larboard side, over either guard, over the center, he’s aloof – every breeze he’s about in a altered location, so it’s adamantine to get a exhausted a little bit to annual for area he’s at.”
Detroit’s abhorrent band will accept to do a acceptable job alive area he is at all times. The Cowboys additionally accept some added activating rushers that Parsons makes bigger because of the focus teams accept to put on him. The 29 sacks the Lions accept accustomed this division are the fifth atomic in the NFL.
4. ST. BROWN EFFECT
Amon-Ra St. Brown larboard aftermost year’s 24-6 accident in Dallas in the aboriginal division afterwards demography a acquaint to the arch and attractive a little befuddled afterward. St. Brown anesthetized all blow testing on the amusement but wasn’t accustomed to acknowledgment because of a change to the NFL blow action instituted beforehand in the year that barred players from re-entering the bold if they showed signs of ataxia.
5. TAKEAWAYS
A big acumen why the Lions were able to assure a analysis appellation aftermost anniversary in their 30-24 win over Minnesota was their aegis accomplishment four takeaways on four interceptions, none added important than assurance Ifeatu Melifonwu’s aboriginal career interception dispatch in advanced of Jefferson at the Lions’ 5-yard band in the final minute of the challenge to bottle the win.
