Cowboys vs. Lions at AT&T Stadium: Fish Predicts Playoff Preview PODCAST
ARLINGTON - Want playoff implications? Want a playoff "vibe''? Want to flip the script from last week in Miami that had some of the same feel?
Dallas Cowboys, you've come to the right place. Home.
The 11-4 and playoff-bound are here at AT&T Stadium for a Saturday night showdown against a 10-5 Cowboys team that is favored by five ... And here's why I'm buying that: This is a flip-around scenario from last week.
All the stuff Dallas did well in a 22-20 loss at Miami can be done better here. Some quick thoughts on what should be an offense-first game and my Fish Prediction ...
*Detroit's Offense: The Lions have 30 or more points in three of their last four games, and Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery are surely licking their chops when they review a Dallas D that in the last two weeks (at Bills and at Dolphins) has allowed a combined 62 carries for 335 yards and two TDs and a (5.4 yards-per-carry line.
Oh ... And Detroit QB Jared Goff is short-term hot and he's got a 6:0 TD-to-INT ratio over the last two weeks.
Oh ... And receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is long-term hot, as his incredible roll of totaling either 100 yards, or a touchdown, or both has come true in 13 of his last 14 games.
*Cowboys Offense: Want a track meet? Fine. Come to AT&T and lets race!
Dallas has won all seven here this year and has won here 15 straight times. What's the magic? At this point, all that matters is that it "is.''
QB Dak Prescott was knocked down 16 times and sacked four times last week by the Dolphins. Hopefully the return of Tyron Smith (back) fixes that.
Or maybe a Lions defensive weakness helps, as it ranks just 27th in pressure rate while allowing the NFL’s fifth-most yards per pass attempt (7.6).
Enter CeeDee Lamb, on a streak of his own - but more important, with a fantastic body of work. Lamb comes in here ranking third among NFL wide receivers in targets (151), first in catches (109), and second in receiving yards (1,424).
Toss in his additional 12 carries for 101 rushing yards and a) Whoever says he isn't elite must not own a TV, and b) Going two full quarters without targeting him, as was the case in Miami, is a football crime that cannot be repeated.
Jake Ferguson may also be in play here; Detroit gets victimized by tight ends and Ferguson now regularly gets eight targets per outing.
The Fish Predicts final score?
I'm going Cowboys 33, Lions 26, envisioning Dallas building on much of what it did in the loss at Miami transferring itself into a flip-the-script home win - all of which I discuss in our Fish Podcast and the Fish Report!
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