It ended up being a group of missing Dallas players, not Lions, that dictated the outcome of Thursday night’s game.
There was an interesting shift in the final 48 hours prior to the Cowboys and Lions facing off on Thursday night. All week, since Thanksgiving, the general vibe was that Detroit was likely going to miss numerous key pieces of their starting lineup, while the Cowboys were going to be in one of their healthiest spaces all season. The lone major cog that seemed destined to miss the contest was left tackle Tyler Guyton.
Meanwhile, Detroit was looking like they were facing going into battle with a skeleton crew. WR Amon-Ra St. Brown was looking like a smokescreen game-time decision, while safety Brian Branch and the several offensive linemen were in danger as well. The de facto elimination game seemed slanted towards the Cowboys’ favor through Tuesday.
The shift began on Wednesday and by an hour before kickoff, things had totally flip-flopped. The Lions were teaming with good injury news while the Cowboys were missing pieces that ended up proving pivotal to the way they lost.
On Wednesday it became clear that the 2024 first-round pick wasn’t going to be ready, but that wasn’t much of a shock. The tide, however, turned on cornerback Trevon Diggs. It’s felt, for the past week, that Diggs would be activated from injured reserve to play in the crucial game. Out since Week 7, he was clear of the minimum four games missed. The team had activated it’s 21-day practice window following their Thanksgiving win. But word began to swirl Wednesday morning that Jerry Jones proclamation he would see the field was being backed away from.
At the same time, DE Jadeveon Clowney’s hamstring issues were on a wait and see basis. Coming off a two-sack performance of Patrick Mahomes, Clowney has worked himself into an integral groove for the Dallas defense as he has gotten his sea legs under him since being signed in-season.
By Wednesday afternoon, Diggs had been ruled out, along with Guyton. Clowney, a three-time Pro Bowler and No. 1 overall pick from 2014 would test his hamstring in pre-game warmups and a decision would be made.
During warmups is when the two paths really switched. Clowney was unable to go, but on the opposite end of the field, St. Brown was looking like his old self. Not only that, but all of the questionable offensive linemen were going to play as well. Detroit named their inactives and Penei Sewell, Taylor Decker, Graham Glassnow and safety Brian Branch were all in the starting lineup.
When the game kicked off, the Cowboys clearly missed their three starters. Second-year tackle Nate Thomas struggled mightily (as did Terence Steele) and the Lions pressured QB Dak Prescott relentlessly. Thomas allowed a team-high eight pressures for the game.
The first rookie moment of Shavon Revel’s career took place as a Lions QB Jared Goff targeted him to great effect. Perhaps Diggs, a two-time Pro Bowler who has struggled to regain his form through numerous injuries wouldn’t have helped, but this was certainly a game where more depth at corner was needed. The same could be said for more pressure players up front, as the Cowboys weren’t able to rattle Goff much without blitzing, and they rarely blitzed because of their coverage issues.
In the end, the 44-30 game may have still resulted in a loss, but it was the Cowboys who ended up caving to their injury issues in Week 14; especially after losing CeeDee Lamb to a concussion after he had 122 receiving yards in just over one half of action. Falling short due to being short handed is turning out to be the narrative of the Cowboys entire season if they end up not making the playoffs as is currently projected.
This article originally appeared on Cowboys Wire: Flipped Script: Cowboys missed two 1st rounders, 5 Pro Bowls while injured Lions played
Reporting by K.D. Drummond, Cowboys Wire / Cowboys Wire
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
