Blame these Cowboys for giving the Lions an NFL Playoff race advantage

The Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions game on Thursday night was essentially a key game for tiebreakers in the NFC playoff race. There’s no shortage of players to point to as the Cowboys playoffs hopes were nearly cut short. Not all is lost, technically, for Dallas, but the loss to Detroit makes it really difficult for Dallas to make a late push. 

It’s easy to blame Dak Prescott for his two interceptions, but beyond that, there’s a couple more people to point to as Brian Schottenheimer’s first season leading the Cowboys looks like it’s going to fall short of a postseason appearance. 

Dallas Cowboys to blame for loss to Detroit Lions

QB Dak Prescott

Prescott gets a lot of flak for his inconsistencies and erratic passing. Some of it is fair and some of it is maybe over critical. At the end of the day, Prescott played well, just not well enough and the two interceptions he threw cost the Cowboys a shot at a big road win over Detroit on Thursday night. Sure a lot will be focused on his final interception, which sealed the loss. But the biggest turnover was his interception as soon as the second-half started. 

The Cowboys got the ball coming out of halftime, trailing 20-9. It was a chance for Dallas to get to a one-possession game and ignite some momentum for a team that only settled for three field goals in the first half. Two plays into the second half, Detroit forced a turnover and eventually scored to extend their lead. 

You could argue that interception wasn’t necessarily Prescott’s fault, but why did he force the pass? It’s nitpicking, but that play ultimately put Dallas further behind on a pivotal possession. At the end of the day, though Jerry Jones retooled this defense, the success of the Cowboys was always going to fall on the shoulders of the offense. They can’t have turnovers costing them games. 

TE Jake Ferguson

Speaking of turnovers, Jake Ferguson’s fumble in the first half was another critical turnover that gave Detroit some early momentum. He was fighting for extra yards and had the ball punched out of his grasp for a Detroit recovery. It led to Detroit’s second touchdown of the first half. The Cowboys, once again had two drives end in field goals and another end in a punt, the last thing the offense needed was a turnover at that moment. 

Ferguson has been reliable for the most part in the receiving game and he did finish with five catches and 58 receiving yards. His turnover ultimately ended up halting a Cowboys drive before it got a chance to get going. Dallas had already gotten a first down on that drive and once again looked like it was going to move down the field. 

That play set off the domino effect of turnovers that cost Dallas the win. Turnovers happen and usually that’s the difference in the game. But it was clear from the beginning the Cowboys and Lions was going to be an offensive game and had the Cowboys not turned the ball over as much as they did, you have to think they just might have had enough to pull off the win. 

CB Shavon Revel Jr.

There was a lot of hype for Shavon Revel Jr. after his NFL debut a few weeks back. He came crashing back to reality against the Detroit Lions. Dan Campbell knew he wanted to attack the rookie and just about every skill player that lined up against Revel on Thursday night torched him. He was flagged for pass interference, he was burned several times throughout the game and he was simply outmatched by Issac TeSlaa, who scored on Revel as well. 

I don’t want to bash him too harshly since he is a rookie and being tasked to keep up with Amon’Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams, those aren’t exactly easy assignments. That said, he largely hurt the Cowboys defense as the Lions continuously targeted him. Maybe this isn’t a bad omen and maybe it’s a bad game. 

Either way, the rookie learned how quickly things can change in the NFL. He does get grace after coming back from an ACL injury, which he suffered in college, but Thursday night was not a good game for him and you have to think Detroit might not have as much success if they didn’t feel confident that he wouldn’t stop a single player he guarded. 

OT Terence Steele

Prescott was sacked five times on Thursday night and three of those were given up by Terence Steele. That’s not a good sign at all for the Cowboys. Steele is the most experienced starting lineman and Al-Aquadin Muhammad just bullied him all game. Muhammad recorded three sacks in the game by himself and single-handedly disrupted the Cowboys’ offense. 

While the offensive line could have played better as a whole, with Prescott running around the pocket nearly all game and speeding up his process, Steele can’t let one player terrorize the entire offense. It shouldn’t be a shock that one of the other EDGE rushers on Detroit had a big game considering Aidan Hutchinson is going to garner a lot of attention. 

That doesn’t mean Hutchinson becomes the sole focus. Muhammad has had a decent career, but before this season, Muhammad had one season with more than three sacks. He recorded three on Thursday and has a career-high nine this season. The offensive line has to play better if Dallas hopes to sneak into the NFL playoffs.