Cowboys vs. Lions: The good, the bad, and the ugly from Week 14

The Dallas Cowboys win streak ended at three Thursday night with the 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions. The Cowboys made it interesting by attempting yet another comeback late in the game, but Lions were just too much for them to handle in the end.

Looking back at the Week 14 loss, there is a good mixture of positives and negatives throughout the ballgame for the Cowboys. Today, we’re going to identify one good, one bad, and one ugly thing from the unfortunate Thursday night loss to the Detroit Lions.

THE GOOD – WR Ryan Flournoy

With six catches for 121 yards, CeeDee Lamb was having himself quite a game until he had to exit early due to a concussion. With No. 88 sidelined, second-year WR Ryan Flournoy stepped up to pick up the slack. He caught nine passes for 115 yards and scored one touchdown. Flournoy’s offensive role has continued to expand as the season progressed and he proved why against the Lions Thursday night. He’s become a reliable/trusted target for Dak Prescott and looks to have a bright future with the Cowboys moving forward.

THE BAD – Points off of turnovers

The Lions ended up winning by 14 points Thursday night, and it’s no coincidence that’s exactly how many points the Dallas Cowboys gave up due to turnovers. First it was the Jake Ferguson fumble in the first quarter that allowed the Lions to extend their lead 17-6 off of a off of a 35-yard TD run by David Montgomery and once again in the second quarter Detroit capitalized off an interception to extend their lead even further, 27-9. It’s nearly impossible to win games in the NFL when you’re giving away points to your opponent.

THE UGLY – Pass protection

It doesn’t matter how talented the receiving corps is if the QB doesn’t have time to throw the ball. That was the case for the Cowboys Thursday night against the Lions. Dak Prescott was pretty much under duress all night from Detroit’s pass rush. As expected, Aidan Hutchinson got the better of Terence Steele on a number of occasions and gave Nate Thomas, who was filling in for for an injured Tyler Guyton at LT, problems as well when he rushed from that side. Prescott ended up throwing for 376 yards and one TD, but a lot of that came under duress.