It’s still early in the season, but this week’s game against the Detroit Lions (1-2) at AT&T Stadium is being approached pretty much as a must-win for the Dallas Cowboys (1-2).
Losing to Detroit at home would hamper the Cowboy’s chances of making the playoffs as they come off a 24-13 road loss to the Seattle Seahawks and have struggled mightily away from home.
That’s why if the Cowboys want to reach the postseason they need to stay undefeated in their own stadium. Dallas took care of the New York Giants at home in week 2 but their offense is struggling badly this season as they rank 31st in the league.
The Lions are entering this game on a positive mood fresh off an impressive 26-10 upset over the New England Patriots.
After suffering a humiliating 48-17 home loss to rookie quarterback Sam Darnold and the New York Jets in week 1, the Lions were edged by the San Francisco 49ers in week 2, before shocking the Pats last week.
The Lions, who rank dead last in run defense, will have the challenge of stopping Cowboys starting rusher Ezekiel Elliott. Elliot ran for over 100 yards last week for the first time this season, but he failed to score a touchdown after finding the end zone in the first two weeks.
Look for Elliott to find his way to the end zone once again against the Lions weak run defense, that’s why if the Cowboys want to get to .500 they must feed him all game long.
Although Elliott has not been as good as he can be this season he’s still tied for the NFL lead in rushing yards and his numbers are likely to improve after this juicy matchup against the Detroit.
For Elliott to flourish though, the Cowboys offensive line must step up. This team’s offense is built around them and so far, they are not doing enough for the kind of talent that they have. They need to play better opening holes for Elliott and pass protecting quarterback Dak Prescott.
Of course, Prescott himself needs to improve his level of play. Although the Cowboys offensive line has struggled the truth is not all of Prescott struggles can be blamed on his offensive line as he’s yet to pass for 200 yards and score more than a touchdown in a single game.
The truth is there are many problems ailing the Cowboys offense, but great quarterbacks find ways to win in spite of that and so far, Prescott has not shown he’s capable of doing that.
On defense, the Cowboys can’t allow big plays against the Lions passing attack (ranked fourth in the league) because quarterback Matt Stafford will make them pay for any busted coverage.
The Cowboys defense ranks third in total yards per game and seventh in points allowed but amazingly they have just two takeaways and are one of two teams with zero interceptions this season.
If Dallas wants to win this game, it needs to pressure Stafford to sack him and create turnovers both on the ground and through the air.
Prediction: Cowboys 24 – 20 Lions
