In a game Detroit had to have at home to keep pace in the NFC North standings and the NFC playoff picture, the Lions got a complementary performance from all three phases in defeating the Dallas Cowboys, 44-30.
Detroit's defense forced three turnovers on a Jack Campbell forced fumble recovered by Brian Branch, a Derrick Barnes interception on a pass defended and tipped in the air by Amik Robertson, and a D.J. Reed interception to ice it. Detroit's offense turned the first two into touchdowns by David Montgomery (35-yard run) and Isaac TeSlaa (12-yard reception) and the later helped seal the game for Detroit late in the fourth quarter.
Detroit also got three touchdown runs from Jahmyr Gibbs to give him 13 total touchdowns on the season and 47 for his career, which ties Hall of Famer Barry Sanders for the most by a player in his first three seasons in NFL history.
Lions kicker Jake Bates made three field goals and five extra point tries and Detroit's return and coverage units on teams were good all night against dynamic Cowboys returner KaVontae Turpin. Lions wide receiver/returner Tom Kennedy had a 21-yard punt return and three kickoff returns totaling 120 yards for a 40-yard average.
The win improves the Lions' record to 8-5 on the season as they currently remain the No. 8 seed in the NFC playoff picture.
Wide receivers Jameson Williams (7 catches, 96 yards) and Amon-Ra St. Brown (6 catches, 92 yards) also had really nice games for the Lions.
QB comparison: Jared Goff’s third-quarter touchdown pass to TeSlaa was his 19th straight game with a passing touchdown. He joins Matthew Stafford (2011) as the only players in franchise history to produce a passing touchdown in each of the first 13 games of a season.
Goff finished completing 25 of his 34 pass attempts on the night for 309 yards with one touchdown, no interceptions and a 111.0 passer rating. He was sacked just once in the contest.
Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott was 31-for-47 passing for 376 yards with one touchdown, two interceptions and a 79.7 rating. He also rushed three times for 14 yards and was sacked five times (Campbell, Al-Quadin Muhammad (3), Alim McNeill)
Impact moment: Detroit led 20-9 at halftime with Dallas receiving the second-half kickoff. On the Cowboys' first play of the second half, Prescott threw a slant to wide receiver George Pickens that was well defended by Robertson. The ball popped up in the air and into the hands of Barnes at the Dallas 37-yard line. Barnes returned it to the 14-yard line.
It took only two plays from there for Goff to find TeSlaa on the 12-yard touchdown in the left corner of the end zone to give Detroit a 27-9 lead the Cowboys could never quite battle back from.
Key stat: After recording just four sacks total over their last four games, Detroit's defense notched five Thursday against the Cowboys with Muhammad leading the way with three and Campbell and McNeill also recording one apiece.
Also key Thursday was Detroit winning the turnover battle 3-0 and turning two of those takeaways into 14 points.
Star performer: Campbell was a one-man wrecking crew for the Lions' defense. Campbell recorded 12 tackles, a sack that nearly resulted in a safety, a quarterback hit, a tackle for loss and a forced fumble that was turned into a Detroit touchdown.
Injury report: Starting safety Thomas Harper left the game on Detroit's first defensive possession to be evaluated for a concussion. Harper did not return and was replaced by veteran Avonte Maddox, who had eight tackles, a pass defended and a forced fumble.
Branch left the game late in the fourth quarter with a leg injury. He did not return.
Up next: at Los Angeles Rams (9-3), Dec. 14, 4:25 p.m.
