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The Detroit Lions beat the Dallas Cowboys by a score of 31-30 on Sunday. Here are my three main takeaways from the game:
Calvin Johnson is the greatest
Johnson was a beast on Sunday. There's really no other way to put it. He had 14 catches for 329 yards and a touchdown, and he played an integral part in the Lions' comeback in the fourth quarter. There's no doubt that he's the best wide receiver currently playing, and he's well on his way to becoming the greatest wide receiver to ever play the game. Reggie Bush actually already thinks Johnson has reached that point:
Calvin Johnson is the greatest receiver in the history of the NFL! #dropsthemic
— Reggie Bush (@ReggieBush) October 27, 2013
I'm personally not ready to make any declarations like that, but Megatron is simply on a level above the rest of the NFL right now.
It shouldn't have come down to the wire like it did
Before the Lions pulled off their comeback, the main story from Sunday was that they were really giving the game away to the Cowboys. They had 4 awful turnovers during Sunday's game, all of which happened in Dallas territory. The Lions were clearly the better team considering how easily they moved the ball down the field, and their defense was holding tough until the fourth quarter. If not for those untimely turnovers that killed promising drives, this could have been a blowout rather than a close game. In the future, the Lions need to avoid those mistakes so a late comeback isn't necessary to win.
The defense was good, but it needs to be better
Before the Lions allowed touchdown passes of 60 and 50 yards in the fourth quarter, the defense was playing one heck of a game. The defense's tough play allowed the Lions to hang around even though the offense had 4 turnovers. They were able to keep Dallas' offense at bay for the most part through three quarters, and Tony Romo was pressured quite a bit. However, it's a bit alarming that the Lions didn't get a single sack or takeaway. They have stopped making plays like they did earlier in the season, and the Lions really could have used a game-changing interception or fumble recovery when the offense was dealing with its struggles. The Lions have got to limit the amount of big plays they give up, and they need to start creating more big plays of their own.
Bonus: The bye week couldn't have come at a better time
With injuries piling up, the Lions have to be glad they are off next week. What's more, it's nice going into the bye week with a 5-3 record and coming off of such an emotional victory. Now they have a chance to take a deep breath before gearing up for the second half of the season.