The Detroit Lions yanked the playoff lever hard in their own favor and slammed it on the Dallas Cowboys. Behind three rushing touchdowns from Jahmyr Gibbs, the Detroit Lions rolled to a 44-30 win at Ford Field, moving to 8-5 and tightening their grip on the NFC wild-card race. Jared Goff carved up Dallas for 309 yards and a touchdown on 25-of-34 passing, while the Lions offense finished with 408 total yards and zero turnovers via the ESPN Box Score.
The Dallas Cowboys, who came in riding a three-game win streak, slipped to 6-6-1. Dak Prescott piled up 376 yards on 31-of-47 passing with one touchdown, but his two interceptions and the Cowboys’ three giveaways helped Detroit stay in front all night. Dallas actually outgained Detroit 417-408, but those turnovers and red-zone issues (1-for-3) told the real story.
The playoff math shifted just as hard as the scoreboard. According to The Athletic’s playoff simulator, the Lions entered Week 14 with a 30 percent chance to make the postseason. The win bumped that to 45 percent and kept Detroit within one game of the San Francisco 49ers for the final NFC wild-card spot and 1.5 games behind the Chicago Bears in the NFC North. If Detroit wins out to finish 12-5, the model gives them a 99 percent chance to play in January.
For Dallas, this felt close to an elimination punch. The Cowboys started the night with a 23 percent playoff chance. After the loss, that number crashed to 8 percent, per the same model. Even if Dallas wins out to reach 10-6-1, its odds only climb to 40 percent and still depend on teams like the Philadelphia Eagles and 49ers stumbling down the stretch.
The Lions walked off the field with momentum, tiebreakers, and the numbers on their side. The Cowboys left needing help, hope, and almost no more mistakes.
