Road Woe-irrers? Cowboys record away from AT&T needs flipping vs Lions

The Dallas Cowboys got a big win on Thanksgiving, but some of the joy was shortlived as much of what the team needed to help their playoff push failed to come to fruition. As rough of a weekend as it was for the Cowboys' postseason hopes, all is not lost. There are still five weeks remaining on the schedule and anything can happen.

However, the margin for error shrunk for Brian Schottenheimer's team. Although they aren't relying on other teams just yet, the path for the Cowboys to make the playoffs got smaller and the three road games remaining present a problem.

Dallas will need to exorcise some demons if they're to get into the 'tournament', as former coach Bill Parcells used to say. There are five remaining games on the schedule, three of which are on the road, a place where the Cowboys haven't fared well this season. If the team is going to forge a postseason run, winning in Detroit against the Lions would be a big step in the right direction.

The bad news

Playing away from AT&T Stadium has not been a recipe for success for the Cowboys, especially against good teams. The team is just 2-4 on the road in 2025, but two of those wins came against the New York Jets and Las Vegas Raiders, teams who have combined for just five wins on the year. Against opponents with winning records on the road, the Cowboys are 0-4.

It's not just the wins and losses against quality opponents on the road; it's that the Cowboys have looked like a different team when playing away from home. In their four road losses against good teams, they allow 32.25 points a game; quarterback Dak Prescott has thrown for just four touchdowns and four interceptions, while also having two games without tossing for a score.

The game against the Lions would be considered playing against a good opponent, and the Cowboys need to break their struggling ways on the road.

Another factor in the Cowboys' problems on the road come from the surface they play on. It's a team that's 1-3 on grass, with the only win coming against the Raiders. In their three grass losses, Prescott has thrown for just one score and four interceptions. Dallas' offense has scored just over 19 ppg in those three losses on grass, a 10-point difference from their season total and almost 14 points fewer than they score at home.

The good news

However, there is good news about the road ahead for the Cowboys. After the game against the Lions, which is on turf and in a dome, the other two away contests are against below average teams.

The matchups will be against NFC East rivals, but that hasn't been an issue for Prescott and the Cowboys. One of the games will be the season finale against the Giants, whom Prescott hasn't lost to since his rookie year, and has won 14 straight games against. The other matchup will be against the Washington Commanders, who are 3-9 and have found ways to lose this season.

Also, against bad teams on the road this season, the Cowboys haven't found much trouble scoring points and getting easy wins. The two road victories against subpar teams have seen Dallas' offense score 37 and 44 points respectively, with Prescott throwing for eight scores and no interceptions. In those two wins, the Cowboys have also turned the ball over just once, and Prescott's been sacked only twice.

The best news

This isn't the same team that lost those first four road games. Dallas' defense is drastically different than the one that couldn't get stops against the Philadelphia Eagles, Chicago Bears, Carolina Panthers or Denver Broncos. There haven't been nearly as many wide open receivers or miscommunications with Matt Eberflus' unit since the team traded for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and linebacker Logan Wilson or got back some defensive help from injury.

Wide receiver CeeDee Lamb was also only healthy for two of those losses, and he makes the team better as well.

These aren't the same Dallas Cowboys as they were before their bye week. It's a team that has played well and stacked up three consecutive wins to put themselves in contention for a playoff berth. The last hurdle they have to overcome is beating a good team on the road and maintaining their high level of play away from AT&T Stadium.

The first challenge comes in Week 14 against the Lions. This game could tell us if the Cowboys are a legit playoff team or just riding a hot streak at home.

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This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Cowboys road woes must cease to exist vs Lions or playoff hopes die