Lions will upset Cowboys on grand stage Saturday
Dallas 7-0 at home, but team is motivated, equipped to win
The Road to the Playoffs isn’t over, but it’s definitely nearing an end after the Detroit Lions jumped on the expressway, veered into the carpool lane, put the whole operation into overdrive and rocketed themselves closer to their destination.
That, of course, came courtesy of their 3024 victory Sunday at Minnesota — one of the organization’s biggest in the last 65 years.
Count me among those who thought they might never win a division title again. Yet somehow, almost miraculously, the Lions went from being a 1-6 team to becoming NFC North champions in 13 months.
“It means everything,” owner Sheila Hamp succinctly summed it up afterward.
Everything because at one point, seemed possible for this team. When they went 0-16, I covered the horrific slide into ignominious immortality on a daily basis and it felt like the franchise was closer to capsizing like the Titanic than it was to turning a corner.
When Jim Schwartz was going after Jim Harbaugh and dealing with constant off-field problems, when Jim Caldwell was struggling to manage games and jousting with “dungeon of doom” reporters, when Matt Patricia was messing with his own players’ heads, and chastising a reporter for slouching, none of this seemed possible.
That’s why Tuesday was surreal, when reporters gathered in Allen Park two days after the momentous victory to ask questions about — it’s hard to believe I’m writing this — the Lions possibly clinching the NFC’s No. 1 seed.
To get that top seed, the Lions would have to win out. At 11-4, they’re tied for the NFC’s best record with the 49ers and Eagles, but hold the No. 3 seed because the Eagles own the strength-of-victory tiebreaker.
It’s unlikely the Lions will leapfrog either team, when you consider they have the much tougher remaining schedule. The Lions finish at Dallas (10-5) and at home against Minnesota (7-8). The Eagles finish at home against Arizona (3-12) and at the Giants (5-10). The Niners finish at Washington (4-11) and home against the Rams (8-7).
The Cowboys are also 7-0 this season at home, where they average nearly 40 points, and they haven’t lost at AT&T Stadium since Sept. 11 … 2022. That means they’re on a 15-0 home winning streak and they’re also probably a little extra dangerous this week, considering
nothing
they’ve lost two straight.
Saturday’s game at Dallas will be a primetime matchup with an 8:15 p.m. Eastern start. The Cowboys will also induct Jimmy Johnson, their two-time Super Bowl champion coach, into their ring of honor at halftime.
My colleague Dave Birkett asked Dan Campbell on Tuesday if he took it as a slight that the Cowboys chose the Lions game to honor Johnson, since ring-of-honor celebrations are often reserved for games against weaker opponents.
“No, no, that’s awesome,” the Lions coach said. “I feel like that was for us.”
Campbell is right. The Cowboys announced the Johnson ceremony the morning of Nov. 19, when the Lions were 7-2 and clearly one of the NFL’s best teams. I think owner Jerry Jones was wise to use the ceremony to get the crowd and his team as amped as possible for a huge game, and a potential playoff-matchup preview.
The Cowboys have the better team. They have a slightly better offense but they have a much, much, much better defense. However, there are two factors that will make enough of a difference for Campbell and his team and they’re also big reasons why I’m picking the Lions to beat the Cowboys.
The first factor is Johnson. Campbell was visibly excited Tuesday when he spoke of playing on a big stage in front of Johnson. He spoke of Johnson in a way I’ve never heard him speak of another coach — even mentors like Sean Payton or Bill Parcells.
“I’m a huge Jimmy Johnson fan,” he said. “Obviously grew up in Texas when he had the Triplets (Troy Aikman, Emmitt Smith and Michael Irvin), winning Super Bowls and to do everything that he was able to do.
“And just — he’s somebody that I’ve studied from afar and I’m just — I’ve always been fascinated with him … his style, the way he coached, what he was about, the way he built that roster, the way they played and I just — I think he’s special. I think he’s one of these rare, special coaches.”
Then Campbell added this.
“Obviously, our team has a chance to get a win,” he said, “but do something that he’d be proud of. He could watch us play and be like, ‘I like that style. I approve of that.’ So I think it’s pretty cool.”
Just remember matchups against special teams and coaches mean a lot to Campbell. It was important to him to beat his old boss Brian Daboll last year by thumping the Giants, 31-18, and it was important for him this year to win at New Orleans and to beat Sean Payton and the
Broncos.
The second factor is knocking off “America’s team” in front of the entire NFL world.
I asked Campbell if his team could get some extra motivation from trying to ruin the Cowboys’ celebration. He said he didn’t think so and that he might only mention to his players the significance of playing in front of Johnson.
But when I asked Jared Goff if the Cowboys’ mystique of being “America’s team” meant anything to players, he said it didn’t, though his slightly defensive tone indicated otherwise.
“Well, that’s certainly their nickname, right?” he said. “I don’t know if that means anything. They’re a good team.
“Yeah, I don’t know. I didn’t play them in the ’90s when they got that nickname, but they’re a great team and have been a great team for a long time and have a lot of really good players and are really well coached. Yeah, they’ll be a tough challenge for us.”
If the Lions … excuse me, if the 2023 NFC North champion Lions have proved anything over the last 13 months it’s that they’ve learned exactly how to meet these kinds of challenges when it has mattered most.
Contact Carlos Monarrez: freepress.com. Follow him
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