On the heels of a three-game winning streak, the Dallas Cowboys will be on the road this week, taking on the Detroit Lions on Thursday Night Football.
The Lions haven’t been the same team we remember from their dominant 2024 campaign, coming in at 7-5. Still, they’re a team that can be incredibly dangerous. They’re also ahead of the 6-5-1 Cowboys in the NFC playoff race, so a win would go a long way toward helping them get into the postseason.
That said, let’s take a look at the three keys to victory for the Cowboys this week.
3. Find a rhythm on offense early
For as good as the Cowboys have been this season, they’ve struggled to move the ball on early drives. In Week 12, the offense took far too long to get rolling, finally putting up points in the third quarter after going into the half with a 21-point deficit.
Against the Chiefs in Week 13, the Cowboys had about as poor a start as possible, with Dak Prescott being picked off on third down. They recovered in both instances, but the Lions aren’t a team that Dallas wants to try to mount a comeback against.
Even if Amon-Ra St. Brown is out, the combination of Jameson Williams and Jahmyr Gibbs will cause issues for Dallas, especially if they find themselves in too many “must stop” drives.
2. Avoid surrendering the deep ball
One thing that killed Dallas early in the season was miscommunication in the secondary, which led to one deep ball after another. While they got the win in Week 2, no fan wants to relive the nightmare of watching Malik Nabers and Wan’Dale Robinson torching the defense.
In recent weeks, the defense has been much better about keeping the ball in front of them. They have to do that again in Week 14, which won’t be easy. Jameson Williams is coming off a career game that saw him haul in seven passes for 144 yards against the Green Bay Packers.
He’s going to have some success on Thursday, but Dallas can’t allow him to take over.
1. Protect Dak Prescott
The early interception from Dak Prescott was an ill-advised pass, but he was forced to make a quick decision under duress. He did a great job of handling the pressure after this, but that’s an example of how quickly things can go bad if the quarterback is uncomfortable.
This week, it’s going to be important to keep Prescott clean in the pocket. It will also be tough with Aidan Hutchinson lined up across from the Dallas offensive line. The Cowboys will need a game plan for him, which has to include chips and double teams. If not, he can ruin a game plan in a hurry.
