It’s been a long time since the Detroit Lions so thoroughly dominated a quality opponent on the road in the manner they absolutely annihilated the Dallas Cowboys on Sunday evening. The Lions rolled into AT&T Stadium and rolled the Cowboys, 47-9.
The final score does not adequately reflect just how badly the Lions beat up the Cowboys on their own turf.
The Lions dominated the game from the very start on both sides of the ball. After ceding a field goal on Dallas’ opening drive, the Lions defense stopped the Cowboys offense on the next four drives. At the same time, Detroit’s offense scored every time it touched the ball.
The Lions netted 262 yards in the first half while allowing Dallas only 111. Detroit led 27-6 at intermission. They did not take their foot off the gas pedal as the Lions continued to run all over the hapless Cowboys. Dallas couldn’t run at all, either, netting just 53 yards on 17 carries. David Montgomery (80 yards on 12 carries) and Jahmyr Gibbs (63 yards on 12 carries) each topped that on their own.
Aside from a 1-play kneeldown before halftime, Detroit scored on its first nine offensive possessions. Not to be outdone, Aaron Glenn’s defense forced turnovers on four straight possessions in the second half as the Lions extended hte lead out to 47-9. Both teams then pulled any players of consequence to finish out the game, an opportunity for Lions QB Hendon Hooker to make his NFL debut.
The tremendous victory did come with a cost, unfortunately. Star defensive end Aidan Hutchinson was lost with a significant lower leg injury that appears to be a long-term one.
Beyond that, everything came up Lions in Dallas for the first time in memory. It was the Lions biggest margin of victory in the Dan Campbell era. The Lions nearly doubled the offensive yardage in the game, 492-253. The defense forced five turnovers, while Jared Goff and the offense didn’t give it away once.
Detroit improves to 4-1 while the Cowboys drop to 3-3.