Week 17’s matchup between the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys was not a fundamentally sound football game. But it was a great football game.
The showdown between two teams jockeying for playoff position featured the best and worst of each side. The Cowboys displayed the fearsome pass rush and downfield passing game that makes them a contender. They also showed off head coach Mike McCarthy’s abject lack of clock management skills and this team’s ability to run screaming from golden opportuntity.
The Lions, on the other hand, leaned into head coach Dan Campbell’s aggressiveness with aplomb, alternatively thriving and running face first into an open flame. Amazingly, all these traits were on display in the final three minutes of a game that saw the Cowboys fail to ice the game late, the Lions rally for what appeared to be a game-winning touchdown and, finally, enough evidence to ensure no one trusts either side once the postseason rolls around.
Let’s break down the stupidity that ruled crunch time and made this game glorious and frustrating and glorious again.