Cowboys Country

Jimmy Joy! Cowboys Escape Lions: Top 10 Whitty Observations

Thanks to a record night from CeeDee Lamb and a crucial penalty on the Detroit Lions, the Dallas Cowboys escaped with 20-19 victory on Jimmy Johnson Ring of Honor night at AT&T Stadium.

Richie Whitt

In this story:

Jimmy Johnson in the Ring of Honor.

CeeDee Lamb in the record books.

But on a wild, wonderful night at AT&T Stadium, the Dallas Cowboys' heart-stopping 20-19 victory over the Detroit Lions was decided by referee Brad Allen in the spotlight.

10. NICE RING TO IT - In the annals of Cowboys villains alongside Santana Moss, we almost added ... Taylor Decker. In a wacky final sequence of plays with 23 seconds remaining, the Lions momentarily took a 21-20 lead on a gutsy, creative two-point conversion pass to the offensive tackle. After huddling with officials, however, Allen called a controversial "illegal touching" penalty on Detroit for not lining up properly. 

With Jimmy enshrined into the Ring of Honor alongside the name of Darren Woodson, the Cowboys survived a terrifying trifecta of game-deciding plays. ... A much better outcome than the night of Sept. 19, 2005 when Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin were inducted together as the "Triplets." On that infamous night, Mark Brunell threw touchdown passes to Santana Moss of 39 and 70 yards in the final 3:46 as the Washington Redskins pooped on the Cowboys' party, 14-13.

9. THIRD TIME'S THE CHARM - On a night already saturated with emotion, Dallas had to survive three game-deciding snaps. On the first, the Lions' apparent game-winner was wiped out by one of the most favorable flags in franchise history. On the second, Micah Parsons jumped offside. And on the third, Detroit quarterback Jared Goff threw low and wide to tight end James Mitchell, who couldn't come up with the catch at the goal line. Whew! Whew!! Whew!!!

9. LAMB OVER LIONS - Drew Pearson. Michael Irvin. Dez Bryant. CeeDee Lamb. Sure he had a third-quarter drop and a boneheaded fumble for a touchback, but Lamb dominated this game and put a punctuation mark on the greatest single season by a receiver in the 64-year history of the Cowboys. He finished with 13 catches for 227 yards and a touchdown, breaking Irvin's records along the way and helping Dallas snap its brief two-game skid. Fittingly, it was Lamb who recovered Detroit's last-gasp onside kick.

8. SAFETY SAVE - On a night dominated by Cowboys stars past and present, it was unheralded safety Donovan Wilson that made the night's biggest play. With Detroit in possession and trailing by only four with just over two minutes remaining, he made a spectacular diving interception of Goff at the Lions' 30-yard line.

7. TRADE VALUE - Lots of fans and critics are bellyaching over Amari Cooper's post-Cowboys production in Cleveland. But Jerry made a pretty salty offseason trade for No. 2 receiver Brandin Cooks. He has five touchdowns in the last eight games, including the 8-yarder in the corner of the end zone that gave Dallas a 17-13 lead. It was his fourth, fourth-quarter touchdown of the season.

6. RUSH TO JUDGEMENT - Johnathan Hankins should ask for a raise. Now. While the run-stuffing defensive lineman has been out (three games with a sprained knee/ankle), the Cowboys' average rush defense has deteriorated into absolutely awful. Jerry contends there is no "bully blueprint" to beat Dallas, but the Lions rushed for 125 yards. In their five losses they have surrendered rush totals of 222 (Cardinals), 251 (49ers), 183 (Eagles), 268 (Bills) and 91 (Dolphins). Another 125 to Detroit was almost loss No. 6.

dak lamb blue det

5. FAKE FIRST - Cowboys this year on fake turf: 11-1; Cowboys this year on natural grass: 0-4.

4. ROAD TO THE ... SUPER BOWL? - Cowboys starting on the road in the playoffs? In 2011, the Dallas Mavericks won their only championship by winning series against Kobe Bryant's Los Angeles Lakers and LeBron James' Miami Heat without home-court advantage. This year the Texas Rangers won the World Series by going 11-0 away from Arlington. The Cowboys beat Tom Brady and the Buccaneers last January, but that's their lone playoff win on the road in the last 30 years. Yikes. This went moved the Cowboys to 8-0 at home, first time they've gone undefeated since 1981.

3. WHEW! - In a scintillating game between two playoff-bound teams - let's face it - the Cowboys were both lucky and outcoached. 

The Lions' Dan Campbell set an aggressive tenor for his team by going for fourth downs three times and trying three straight two-point conversions with the game on the line. Mike McCarthy, meanwhile, almost cost his team the win by throwing a second-down incompletion with just over two minutes remaining and the Cowboys attempting to milk clock with a four-point lead. 

Had officials not dropped that controversial flag on the Lions, the headlines from this game would read much differently. And McCarthy would be wearing goat horns.

'How 'Bout Them Cowboys!' Jimmy Celebrated By Super Bowl Greats During Ring of Honor Speech: PHOTOS

2. DAK ... DODGE ... DEEP! - For his uncanny ability to avoid onrushing tacklers, Roger Staubach earned the nickname "Dodger." On the Cowboys' signature play of the season, Prescott produced a play that would have made Captain America proud. 

Facing an ominous 3rd and 13 at their 8-yard line, Prescott dropped back into the end zone, where blitzing and unblocked Lions' linebacker Derrick Barnes had a free shot at him. But with a subtle, savvy sidestep, Prescott avoided what looked like a certain safety and a 5-0 Lions lead. After making Barnes miss, Prescott launched a perfect pass from the 2-yard line to an open Lamb at the 50. 

Untouched, Lamb walked into the end zone with a 92-yard touchdown pass. It is the second-long scoring pass in franchise history (behind only Bob Hayes' 95-yarder in the Cotton Bowl in 1965) and the third-longest play (also behind Tony Dorsett's 99-yard run in 1983.)

1. HOW 'BOUT THAT JIMMY?! - For Johnson, this night was the beginning of immortality. For Cowboys fans, it was - after 30 years - closure. 

Since Johnson and Jones staged that iconic "divorce" at Valley Ranch on March 29, 1994, there's been an unsettled void in the franchise. But now that the two men responsible for three of the Cowboys' five Super Bowls are on the same Ring-of-Honor page, it's like a petty weight has been lifted. Sure, Jerry accelerated the process to put Jimmy in on a prime-time Saturday night because he admittedly felt pressure from fans and media. 

Nonetheless, when Emmitt and Irvin placed the coveted Ring of Honor jacket on Jimmy at midfield during the halftime ceremony and the old coach teared up before finally bellowing his trademark "How 'Bout Them Cowboys?!", it was finally done. 

As Jerry Jones said repeatedly, "It feels right."

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Richie Whitt
RICHIE WHITT

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