The Dallas Cowboys’ three game winning streak came to a halt Thursday night in Detroit as the Lions beat the Cowboys 44-30. Dallas is now 6-6-1, clinging to hope in the NFC East and Wild Card races. The Cowboys will host Minnesota this coming Sunday.
PRIME TIME DUB pic.twitter.com/3xAOdFsttN
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 5, 2025
Hard to beat anyone when you lose the turnover battle 3-0 and two of the giveaways turn into 14 points for the opposition. Harder still to do it against a talented and equally as desperate Detroit team. In the second quarter, a Jake Ferguson fumble was recovered by Brian Branch, and that play set up a 53 yard TD drive for the Lions to put them ahead 17-6 with 4:27 left before halftime. Then on the first play of the third quarter, Dak Prescott and George Pickens failed to connect, and Derrick Barnes returned the pick to the Dallas 14. Two plays later, Jared Goff hit Isaac TeSlaa for a 12 yard TD, and Detroit led 27-9. The Cowboys cut the Lions’ lead to 30-27 with 9:52 remaining, but Detroit answered with a 5 play, 59 yard TD drive. Play of the game was Goff hitting Jameson Williams for a 29 yard pass on 3rd and 6 of that drive. Tack on a 15 yard roughing the passer penalty, and two plays later, Jahmyr Gibbs scored the 2nd of his 3 TD’s, and the lead was back to 10. Cowboys kicked a FG, but the Lions answered with a 3 play 51 yard TD drive, and Gibbs’ third TD put the game away. Dallas held Gibbs in check with only 43 yards on 12 carries, but Gibbs scored 3 times and David Montgomery had 60 yards on 6 carries and a 35 yard TD run. The Cowboys allowed way too many chunk plays in this one, as Detroit had plays of 37, 35, 29, and 26 yards, and the Lions’ final two scoring drives were set up by kickoff returns of 38 and 42 yards. Detroit has a talented offense, especially with Amon-Ra St. Brown healthy and making plays, but this was a step back for a defense that has been better in recent weeks.
Gibbs does it all pic.twitter.com/wt1vgSaOld
— Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 5, 2025
The Cowboys’ offense did their part, as CeeDee Lamb caught 6 passes for 121 yards before leaving the game with a concussion. Ryan Flournoy continues to emerge as he caught 9 passes for 115 yards and a TD. It wasn’t the best day for George Pickens as he caught 5 passes for 37 yards. Pickens could’ve made a better attempt on the interception to begin the second half and I agree with Richard Sherman that Pickens wasn’t always giving great effort on every route. Pickens snapped back at Sherman on social media but the eye in the sky doesn’t lie. Pickens has had a fantastic year and he should get paid this offseason, but there won’t be much from this game on his highlight reel. Here’s hoping Lamb can get back from concussion protocol and Pickens can return to form this week, as Dallas does not have much margin of error left in order to make the playoffs. Oh, and Brandon Aubrey is really good. Aubrey had FG’s of 57, 42, 55, 63, and 29 yards, as he became the first player in league history to make 3 FG’s of 55 yards or more in one game. Aubrey is also the first player in league history to have 3 FG’s of 60 yards or more in one season. Incredible. Can’t ever take him for granted.
Flo on the go 💨
📺: #DALvsDET on Prime Video
📲: Stream on NFL+ https://t.co/RmDxAeCG4M pic.twitter.com/o8FXEHB15R— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 5, 2025
The Minnesota Vikings come to AT&T Stadium this Sunday night at 7:20 on NBC. The Vikes are 5-8, but they snapped a four game losing skid with a 31-0 win over Washington last week. J.J. McCarthy has experienced plenty of growing pains in his first season of action after missing all of his rookie year with a torn meniscus. Justin Jefferson is one of the premiere WR’s in the league and Jordan Addison can be difficult to handle as well. Jordan Mason has had a solid season running the football and Aaron Jones has always played well against the Cowboys. Despite that, Minnesota is 28th in total offense, 30th in pass offense, 24th in rush offense, and 26th in scoring offense. Even without anyone jumping out individually, the Vikings have been solid on defense this season, ranking 4th against the pass, 8th in yards allowed, and 12th in points allowed. I expect the Cowboys to get back on track, but this one will be closer than a lot of people believe.
Dallas 27 Minnesota 20
Matt Meyer
@Bluto51
Join HC Brian Schottenheimer’s press conference from @thestarinfrisco presented by @BankofAmerica.
📺: #MINvsDAL 12/14 on NBC https://t.co/gZAkBbrmHe
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) December 8, 2025
