Lions vs. Cowboys: Random Stats

This is the one, Lions fans. This is the biggest game of the season... until next week of course. This game was the one that piqued my interest the most when the schedule was released over the summer. The chance to take on the Cowboys in primetime seemed like a fun idea. Of course I had no idea the Cowboys would have the best record in the NFL by the time this game came around.

As we know, the Lions and Cowboys have had their fair share of moments together, and we will definitely get to those. But first, let’s go back in time and start at the beginning.

It all started in December

December 11th, 1960, to be exact. 20,465 days ago, to be even more exact. Earl Morrall and the Lions went to town on Eddie LeBaron and the Cowboys, with a 23-14 win at Briggs Stadium in Detroit. Since then, the Lions and Cowboys have faced each other 25 more times. And the ride only got wilder from there.

Crazy moments with Jerry

Normally I’d go into all the random stats you’re used to seeing this early into the piece. Stats like the Lions are 3-9 in Dallas. Or the Lions are 12-14 against the Cowboys. But this one’s different. This rivalry has so much involved. Let’s go back and look at some moments. Shall we?

Lions only playoff win

Sadly, we know the Lions have only won one playoff game in the Super Bowl era. We, for some reason, chose to forget their four championships while Green Bay counts all of theirs. But that’s a different story for a whole other article.

January 5th, 1992. That was the date that the Lions last came within a sniff of the Super Bowl when they demolished the Dallas Cowboys 38-6 at the Pontiac Silverdome. here, relive some of that real quick (or you can watch the entire game here).

What a night. I remember it like it was yesterday. I was six.

The Comeback

After years of futility, the Lions were suddenly good again. They went out to Dallas in search of their fourth straight win of the 2011 season. In true Lions form, they were down for much of the game. Down 27-3 to be exact.

Then Bobby Carpenter (remember him?) came down with a huge interception and took it to the house. That started off a 31-3 run that led to the Lions picking up an improbable 34-30 win on the road.

The Sneak

As long as I live and breathe, I will never forget this day. I was in the building to see it. I’ve written about it a bunch of times. I’ve talked about it a million times. The Lions had no business winning this game. They had lost the ball four times and made countless mistakes on top of that. Yet, still, Matthew Stafford had the wherewithal to fake spike and dive over the top for a winning touchdown. Jeez. Still gives me goosebumps.

The Last Boy Scout

Then there was the incident in the playoffs. The one that I can only compare to the classic Bruce Willis film, "The Last Boy Scout."

Bruce Willis plays a private eye that’s trying to take down an evil hick football team owner who is trying to legalize sports gambling by bribing a high ranking politician. Man. Why does that sound so familiar? It’s almost as if...wait a second...could it be?

What? No way. Next thing you’ll tell me is that the head of all NFL referees went partying with Jerry Jones on his bus.

I don’t want to play this game anymore. As we all know, the Lions lost after their defense let the Cowboys back in the game and Pete Morelli picked up a flag on a pass interference call that was quite blatant. Would the Lions have won the game had that not happened? I can’t answer that, but their chances would have been staggeringly better, that is for sure.

Twitter Questions

Good question. The Lions will be taking on rookie phenom Dak Prescott on Monday. Luckily the Lions have handled rookies somewhat well over the last ten years. They are 6-4 against the young bloods when they face them.

Not as good as one might think. While Stafford did go off in that 2013 game, he also made mistakes. In fact he made mistakes in all of them. Altogether he is 82-133 for 1,051 yards, four touchdowns and four interceptions. Going to need a better effort than that on Monday.

Ouch. That’s a timely question. The answer is this year Ezekiel Elliott has 1,194 more yards than the Lions leading rusher, Theo Riddick. That’s really bad. my early proclamation is that the Lions will be looking for a running back this summer. Reggie Bush will be available. Shut up Mike.

This will actually be the third time the Lions and Cowboys have met on a Monday night. The first time, the Lions were destroyed by Roger Staubach and company, 36-10 in 1976. The second time, the Lions would get the win in a 20-17 overtime win that saw Barry Sanders rush for 194 yards.

That’s all I have for today. Be sure to leave your comments below and don’t forget to join me next week for the final Random Stats of the regular season. Until then, everyone enjoy your holidays with your family. I’ll see you on Monday night.