Cowboys 'Winners' Streak Ends, Playoff Hopes Tank as 'Losers' at Lions 44-30

Cowboys 'Winners' Streak Ends, Playoff Hopes Tank as 'Losers' at Lions 44-30Story by (© Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK)Nathan KarsenoFri, December 5, 2025 at 4:47 AM UTC·8 min read

Running back Jahmyr Gibbs scored three touchdowns to power the Detroit Lions to a 44-30 win over the Dallas Cowboys in a pivotal finish that keeps the Lions on the hunt for a Wild Card berth in the NFC.

A sloppy showing on both sides felt like the Week 14 "Thursday Night Football" matchup at Ford Field was heading in the direction of a runaway Lions win, but the Cowboys - hoping to survive a three-game win streak and late-season playoff aspirations - wouldn't go down easy.

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Cowboys (6-6-1) quarterback Dak Prescott (31/47, 376 YDS, 1 TD, 2 INT) kept the team alive by finding receiver Ryan Flournoy in broken coverage down the sideline in the fourth quarter. A two-point conversion pass to tight end Jake Ferguson brought the score to 30-27, Detroit.

Lions (8-5) quarterback Jared Goff answered with a strike to speedy wide receiver Jameson Williams for a gain of 33 yards, with a Cowboys roughing penalty bringing the ball half the distance to the goal.

Gibbs powered to the goal line for his second touchdown of the game to put the Lions back up by double digits a few plays later. Gibbs finished with 120 all-purpose yards in the win (43 rushing, 77 receiving).

Prescott drove the offense down to the Lions' red zone despite facing waves of pass-rush pressure. With under four minutes to go, a questionable offensive pass interference was called on Ferguson to halt the chance for a touchdown to answer. Brandon Aubrey kicked his fifth field goal of the night to bring the deficit to seven.

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Lions wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown did not practice all week after spraining his left ankle on Thanksgiving, but he came alive for Goff in a big way. No play was bigger than his 37-yard reception to extend the Detroit drive that drained the fourth quarter clock after the Dallas touchdown. St. Brown hauled in 92 receiving yards on six receptions.

The play was the sixth "explosive" play of at least 25 yards for the Lions' offense.

Gibbs skipped into the end zone for his hat-trick touchdown to extend the lead to the final tally.

Prescott was sacked for the fifth time and intercepted for the second to put the game on ice just after the two-minute warning.

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We move into our "Winners & Losers" assessment by focusing on the manner in which Prescott committed this final turnover.

LOSER: Line of Scrimmage Woes

Starting left tackle Tyler Guyton was out for the second straight week, leaving the Cowboys' Nate Thomas to fend for himself against the guy with the second-most pressures in the league entering Week 14 in edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson - who has been elite in his return from a broken leg suffered in Detroit's game against Dallas last season. Thomas was pummeled throughout.

The final score could have been a few ticks worse for the Cowboys if a safety at the edge of the goal line wasn't over turned back in the first quarter.

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A bright spot on the offensive line was Tyler Smith's fumble recovery at the goal line to save a touchdown drive, but Prescott was hounded for the majority of the night, leading to out-of-system misconnections to receivers and five sacks. Detroit edge rusher Al-Quadin Muhammad had three of those sacks.

WINNER: Brandon Aubrey

The All-Pro kicker was all of Dallas' first-half offensive production on the scoreboard ... and he was just about the most exciting player to watch for the Cowboys throughout the game. Aubrey hit three field goals from 57, 42 and 55 yards in the first two quarters as the Cowboys trailed 20-9 at the half.

In the third quarter, Aubrey hit his sixth-career 60+-yard field goal, this one from 63. He now owns three of the five longest field goals in NFL history.

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Aubrey's second make was his 100th of his stellar two-and-a-half-year career. His 47 games played ties Chiefs kicker Harrison Butker for the fewest to reach 100 career field goals in NFL history.

The sample size also qualifies Aubrey for the NFL career efficiency record book, where he is now the second-most accurate field-goal kicker in NFL history (90.1 percent accuracy) behind the Chargers' Cameron Dicker (93.6 percent).

We hate to be a broken record, but at this point it's hard to imagine how Aubrey's upcoming extension can continue to increase in value and necessity.

LOSER: Miscues and Missed Opportunities

The Cowboys had four crucially costly penalties in a first half where the offense struggled to live up to it's league-best statistical standard.

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KaVontae Turpin issued a fake fair catch signal (his second such penalty in as many weeks). Jake Ferguson coughed up the Cowboys' first turnover as he fumbled the ball to the Lions, who capitalized with a David Montgomery rushing touchdown. Ferguson then offset what would've been Dallas' longest play of the half (a pass interference that would've put the Cowboys inside the five-yard line) with illegal hands to the face.

Then, the defense couldn't contain the Lions' up-tempo attack at the end of the second quarter as Detroit hustled downfield with ease to set up a field goal by Jake Bates to retake a two-possession lead at the break. A sack of Prescott greatly limited the Cowboys offense from draining more time off the clock in a two-for-one scenario where Dallas would receive the ball to start the third quarter.

... But two plays into the second half, a slant to Pickens was broken up and intercepted for the second Cowboys giveaway of the game. It set up Detroit's second touchdown-off-turnover score: an Isaac TeSlaa reception to put Detroit up 27-9.

Miscues and missed opportunities galore. Dallas was still in this game, but you have to figure that things could have been even closer with a cleaner start.

AdvertisementAdvertisementAdvertisementWINNER ... then LOSER: CeeDee Lamb

The Cowboys' star receiver took advantage of a banged-up Detroit secondary by being Prescott's top target downfield for six receptions and 121 yards. It's the fifth time - and third straight game - where Lamb has posted at least 100 receiving yards.

He faced a scare, however, when he landed hard on a shoulder while trying to make a circus catch in the end zone in the third quarter. He did not play for the rest of the series and headed to the locker room as Javonte Williams rushed for a touchdown to make the score 27-16 in favor of the Lions.

Lamb was diagnosed with a concussion and did not return.

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Flournoy (nine receptions, 115 yards, TD) picked up some slack, but George Pickens (bonus loser) was quiet with just 37 yards on five catches. He caught flack on social media after the game after numerous examples of a lack of hustle and seemingly uninterested body language in important situations.

LOSER: Matt Eberflus Gameplanning Detroit RBs

The Lions' one-two punch of Gibbs and Montgomery in the backfield is one of the toughest rushing attacks to prepare for, but it was largely Gibbs' ability as a pass-catcher that gave the Cowboys the most fits.

In the first half alone, Gibbs found space underneath for five catches and 63 yards receiving; he was Detroit's leading receiver, with St. Brown banged-up and easing into things to start the game.

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Montgomery pitched in with a team-high 60 rushing yards - 35 of which came on his lone touchdown.

Cowboys defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus was called out by ESPN this week for still having "something to prove" despite the signs of progress during Dallas' three-game win streak post bye ... but Thursday didn't bode well for keeping the good times rolling.

It ultimately may not be a crushing result for Eberflus' tenure in Dallas (wouldn't you want to see him manage a full offseason and schedule with Quinnen Williams & Co.?), but it doesn't help keeping the critics quiet.

WINNER: Javonte Williams

The Cowboys running back never pulled off any flashy chunk plays, but he displayed his trademark physicality with 67 rushing yards on 17 carries.

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On his third-quarter touchdown, Williams reached the 45 rushing yards needed to surpass 1,000 for the season. It's the first time the fifth-year man has rushed for over 1,000 yards in his career.

LOSER: Playoff Odds

A Cowboys win would have leapt Dallas over Detroit in the conference standings, but rather than rising to a 39 percent of making the playoffs, the loss drops Dallas' postseason odds to nine percent, according to the Amazon Prime broadcast.

Detroit now improves to a 55 percent chance at sneaking into the postseason as a Wild Card behind the NFC North-leading Chicago Bears, who sit as the No. 1 seed entering the rest of Week 14. With a loss, the Lions' playoff odds would have plummeted to 19 percent.

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It's a 2-1 finish for the Cowboys in the three-game "gauntlet" against the Super Bowl competitors and Detroit, but there remains a lot of work to be done for Dallas extending its season.

Up next is "Sunday Night Football" in showing in Arlington against the 4-8 Minnesota Vikings on Dec. 14.

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