Prediction: Cowboys 27, Lions 24
by Mike Krueger | Follow @FF_Today
Player Rankings and Projections
|
Detroit Lions |
Rank |
Player |
Projections |
QB 4 |
Matthew Stafford |
Pass: 265, 2 TD Rush: 5, 0 |
RB 5 |
Joique Bell |
Rush: 65, 1 TD Rec: 2-15, 0 |
RB 10 |
Reggie Bush |
Rush: 25, 0 TD Rec: 3-20, 0 |
WR 2 |
Calvin Johnson |
Rec: 7-100, 1 TD |
WR 7 |
Golden Tate |
Rec: 4-65, 1 TD |
WR 24 |
Jeremy Ross |
Rec: 2-20, 0 TD |
WR 28 |
Corey Fuller |
Rec: 1-10, 0 TD |
TE 8 |
Eric Ebron |
Rec: 2-25, 0 TD |
K 6 |
Matt Prater |
FG: 1/1 XP: 3/3 |
DEF 7 |
Defense / ST |
|
|
|
|
Dallas Cowboys |
Rank |
Player |
Projections |
QB 5 |
Tony Romo |
Pass: 270, 2 TD Rush: 5, 0 |
RB 1 |
DeMarco Murray |
Rush: 100, 1 TD Rec: 2-20, 0 |
RB 14 |
Joseph Randle |
Rush: 15, 0 TD Rec: 2-10, 0 |
RB 17 |
Lance Dunbar |
Rush: 5, 0 TD Rec: 1-10, 0 |
WR 3 |
Dez Bryant |
Rec: 7-90, 1 TD |
WR 13 |
Cole Beasley |
Rec: 4-45, 0 TD |
WR 21 |
Terrance Williams |
Rec: 2-30, 0 TD |
TE 2 |
Jason Witten |
Rec: 5-55, 1 TD |
K 4 |
Dan Bailey |
FG: 2/2 XP: 3/3 |
DEF 5 |
Defense / ST |
|
|
|
Game Notes
Lions Won 11 games, tied for 2nd most in season in team history & most by Lions since 1991 (12)... JIM CALDWELL tied POTSY CLARK (11, 1931) for most wins by Lions head coach in 1st season with club. Caldwell is 3rd head coach in team history to lead team to playoffs in 1st season... Lions had 3 players selected to Pro Bowl: WR Calvin Johnson (5th), S Glover Quin (1st) & DT Ndamukong Suh (4th)... QB Matthew Stafford passed for 4,257 yards, his 4th consecutive 4,000-yard season. Owns 4 of top 5 passing seasons in team history. Has 18,912 pass yards since 2011, 2nd most in NFL. Is 2-0 in career vs. Dal. & had 488 pass yards in last meeting. Had 380 pass yards & 3 TDs in only postseason start... RB Reggie Bush has 5 career postseason TDs (2 rush, 2 rec., 1 PR). RB Joique Bell led team with 860 rush yards & 7 rush TDs. Reached 1,000+ scrimmage yards (1,182) for 2nd consecutive year. RB Theo Riddick had 4 rec. TDs, tied for most by NFC RB... WR Johnson had 1,077 rec. yards, his 5th consecutive 1,000-yard season. Since 2011, leads NFL with 6,214 rec. yards & 105.3 rec. yards per game. In last game vs. Dal., had 14 catches for franchise-record 329 yards & TD. Has 4 TDs in past 3 meetings. In only playoff game, had 12 catches for 211 yards & 2 TDs. WR Golden Tate led team with career-high 99 catches & 1,331 yards, his 1st 1,000-yard season. Had 5 100-yard rec. games... Lions led NFL in rush defense (69.3) & was 2nd in league in total defense (300.9). Club held opp. to 100 rush yards or fewer in 14 of 16 games & 50 rush yards or fewer in 5 games. Detroit had 20 INTs, 2nd most in NFC. S Quin led NFL with career-high 7 INTs. Is 1st Lion to lead NFL in INTs since HOFer LEM BARNEY in 1967. Quin (7) & James Ihedigbo (4) combined for 11 INTs, most by S duo in NFL. LB DeAndre Levy led team with 150 tackles, 2nd most in NFL. Has 7 INTs since 2013, most by NFL LB. DE EZEKIEL ANSAH had 7.5 sacks & has 15.5 sacks in 1st 2 NFL seasons. CB Darius Slay led club with career-best 17 PD. LB Tahir Whitehead was 2nd on team with career-high 76 tackles. Had 2 INTs, 1st 2 INTs in career. 8 different Lions had INT, incl. 5 with 2+ INTs. Club ranked 2nd in NFC & 3rd in NFL allowing 4.96 yards per play on 1st down. Lions outscored opp. 104-71 in 4th Q.
Cowboys Are 33-25 (.569) in postseason. Team's 33 playoff wins are tied for most in NFL history. Have played 58 postseason games, most in league history. This is Dallas' 31st time in postseason, tied for most in NFL history...Team's 12 wins tied for most in NFL. JASON GARRETT is 5th Cowboys head coach to win 12+ games in season... Cowboys had 6 players selected to Pro Bowl: WR Dez Bryant (2nd), C TRAVIS FREDERICK (1st), rookie G ZACK MARTIN (1st), RB DeMarco Murray (2nd), QB Tony Romo (4th) & T TYRON SMITH (2nd). Team's 6 offensive selections are most in NFL... QB Romo led NFL with franchise-record 113.2 rating. Has 2 of 3 100+ rating seasons in team history. In Dec., was 4-0 with 12 TDs, 1 INT & 133.7 rating. Has 102.3 rating in 4 career starts vs. Det... RB Murray led NFL with team-record 1,845 rush yards & 12 100-yard games. Murray passed HOFer EMMITT SMITH for most rush yards & most 100-yard rush games in season by Cowboy. Tied for NFL lead with 13 rush TDs. Cowboys were 2nd in NFL in rush offense (147.1)... WR Bryant led NFL with franchise-record 16 rec. TDs. Since 2012, leads NFL with 41 rec. TDs. Is only player in NFL with 12+ rec. TDs in each of past 3 seasons. Had 88 catches for 1,320 yards & 16 TDs, his 3rd consecutive season with 85+ catches, 1,200+ yards & 12+ TDs. Has 5 TDs in 3 meetings & has TD catch in all 3 games vs. Det. TE Jason Witten had 703 rec. yards & is 2nd TE in NFL history (TONY GONZALEZ) with 700+ rec. yards in 11 consecutive seasons. WR Terrance Williams was 2nd on team with career-high 8 rec. TDs. WR Cole Beasley & TE Gavin Escobar each had 4 rec. TDs... Cowboys had 4 players with 70+ tackles: S Barry Church (93), LB Rolando McClain (81), rookie LB Anthony Hitchens (73) & S J.J. Wilcox (70). CBs Sterling Moore (13) & Orlando Scandrick (9) had most PD on club. LB Bruce Carter had career-high 5 INTs & led NFL LBs. Had 2 INTs in Week 17. DE Jeremy Mincey led team with 6 sacks & has 5 sacks in past 7 games. DT Henry Melton had 5 sacks, his 3rd 5-sack season in past 4 years... K Dan Bailey has made 89.8 pct. of FGs in career (114 of 127), highest mark in NFL history (min. 100 FGs). Scored 131 points, his 4th consecutive 100-point season.
Results and Schedule
|
|
Dallas Cowboys |
Week |
Date |
Opp |
H/A |
Score |
Dif |
1 |
2014-09-07 |
SF |
H |
L 17-28 |
-11 |
2 |
2014-09-14 |
TEN |
A |
W 26-10 |
+16 |
3 |
2014-09-21 |
STL |
A |
W 34-31 |
+3 |
4 |
2014-09-28 |
NO |
H |
W 38-17 |
+21 |
5 |
2014-10-05 |
HOU |
H |
W 20-17 |
+3 |
6 |
2014-10-12 |
SEA |
A |
W 30-23 |
+7 |
7 |
2014-10-19 |
NYG |
H |
W 31-21 |
+10 |
8 |
2014-10-27 |
WAS |
H |
L 17-20 |
-3 |
9 |
2014-11-02 |
ARI |
H |
L 17-28 |
-11 |
10 |
2014-11-09 |
JAC |
A |
W 31-17 |
+14 |
11 |
|
Bye |
|
|
|
12 |
2014-11-23 |
NYG |
A |
W 31-28 |
+3 |
13 |
2014-11-27 |
PHI |
H |
L 10-33 |
-23 |
14 |
2014-12-04 |
CHI |
A |
W 41-28 |
+13 |
15 |
2014-12-14 |
PHI |
A |
W 38-27 |
+11 |
16 |
2014-12-21 |
IND |
H |
W 42-7 |
+35 |
17 |
2014-12-28 |
WAS |
A |
W 44-17 |
+27 |
WC |
2015-01-04 |
DET |
H |
W 24-20 |
+4 |
DP |
2015-01-11 |
GB |
A |
|
|
|
|
Offense Stats Comparison
|
DET Offense |
DAL Offense |
NFL Avg. |
Adv. |
Points for |
22.5 |
38.0 |
22.0 |
DAL |
Rushing yards |
101.5 |
133.8 |
112.6 |
DAL |
Rushing yards per attempt |
4.16 |
4.26 |
4.24 |
DAL |
Completion % |
58.8% |
71.9% |
62.2% |
DAL |
Passing yards |
242.3 |
242.0 |
227.7 |
DET |
Passing yards per completion |
10.99 |
11.88 |
10.65 |
DAL |
Passing yards per attempt |
6.46 |
8.53 |
6.63 |
DAL |
Interceptions |
0.3 |
0.3 |
0.9 |
- |
Fumbles lost |
0.8 |
0.8 |
0.6 |
- |
Sacks allowed |
2.5 |
1.8 |
2.6 |
DAL |
3rd down conversions |
35.4% |
40.8% |
38.5% |
DAL |
4th down conversions |
50.0% |
66.7% |
46.9% |
DAL |
Time of possession |
30:16 |
32:11 |
30:03 |
DAL |
|
|
|
Defense Stats Comparison
|
DET Defense |
DAL Defense |
NFL Avg. |
Adv. |
Points against |
19.5 |
25.0 |
22.0 |
DET |
Rushing yards |
64.0 |
75.8 |
112.6 |
DET |
Rushing yards per attempt |
3.42 |
3.81 |
4.24 |
DET |
Completion % |
66.3% |
68.0% |
62.2% |
DET |
Passing yards |
243.0 |
271.0 |
227.7 |
DET |
Passing yards per completion |
9.26 |
10.54 |
10.65 |
DET |
Passing yards per attempt |
6.14 |
7.16 |
6.63 |
DET |
INT return |
1.5 |
1.5 |
0.9 |
- |
Fumble recoveries |
0.3 |
1.3 |
0.6 |
DAL |
Sacks |
2.5 |
2.0 |
2.6 |
DET |
3rd down conversions |
40.5% |
45.5% |
38.5% |
DET |
4th down conversions |
37.5% |
42.9% |
46.9% |
DET |
Time of possession |
29:44 |
27:49 |
30:03 |
DAL |
|
|
Special Teams Stats Comparison
|
DET |
DAL |
NFL Avg. |
Adv. |
Yards per punt return |
6.7 |
9.9 |
9.2 |
DAL |
Yards per kick return |
24.1 |
22.6 |
23.7 |
DET |
Yards allowed per punt return |
14.7 |
6.4 |
9.2 |
DAL |
Yards allowed per kick return |
30.7 |
21.5 |
23.7 |
DAL |
|
|
|
Misc Stats Comparison
|
DET |
DAL |
NFL Avg. |
Adv. |
Penalties |
7.5 |
7.3 |
6.5 |
DAL |
Penalty yards |
51.3 |
64.3 |
54.4 |
DET |
|
|
Note: Team statistics are shown as the average per game
through Weeks 12 to 17 of the 2014 season after deducting the best
and worst value from the data set. The exception is yards per rush attempt, completion %, yards per
pass completion, yards per pass attempt, 3rd and 4th down conversions, special teams and the NFL averages, which are each calculated based on
totals through Weeks 12 to 17 with no adjustment.
Weather
Team vs. Team History
Detroit Lions vs. Dallas Cowboys |
Season |
Week |
Date |
Vis |
Home |
Score |
Winner |
2001 |
17 |
2002-01-06 |
DAL |
DET |
10-15 |
DET |
2002 |
9 |
2002-11-03 |
DAL |
DET |
7-9 |
DET |
2003 |
7 |
2003-10-19 |
DAL |
DET |
38-7 |
DAL |
2004 |
8 |
2004-10-31 |
DET |
DAL |
21-31 |
DAL |
2005 |
11 |
2005-11-20 |
DET |
DAL |
7-20 |
DAL |
2006 |
17 |
2006-12-31 |
DET |
DAL |
39-31 |
DET |
2007 |
14 |
2007-12-09 |
DAL |
DET |
28-27 |
DAL |
2010 |
11 |
2010-11-21 |
DET |
DAL |
19-35 |
DAL |
2011 |
4 |
2011-10-02 |
DET |
DAL |
34-30 |
DET |
2013 |
8 |
2013-10-27 |
DAL |
DET |
30-31 |
DET |
|
Note: Only playoff games from the 2004 to 2010 seasons are included in the team vs. team history. Playoff games from seasons prior to 2004 are not currently included in the database.
|