The Detroit Lions are right back in the thick of things in the NFC playoff picture, and the Dallas Cowboys are hanging on by a thread. Jahmyr Gibbs scored three touchdowns, Jared Goff threw for 309 yards and a touchdown, and the Detroit defense forced three turnovers in a crucial 44-30 win.

At 8-5, Detroit has a 53% chance to make the playoffs according to SportsLine’s projections. Dallas, now 6-6-1, has just a 10% chance. Making matters worse for the Cowboys, CeeDee Lamb sustained a concussion after a hard fall in the third quarter and did not return.

Gibbs scored the first touchdown of the game, a 1-yard plunge. The Detroit offense started inside Dallas territory after a Jack Campbell sack near the goal line forced a punt, and it cashed in fully.

It was a similar script shortly thereafter. Up 10-6, Campbell made a tremendous hustle play to strip Jake Ferguson. Four plays later, David Montgomery went 35 yards for a touchdown. Detroit led, 20-9, at halftime.

Things looked even worse for Dallas when Dak Prescott threw an interception on the first play of the third quarter, and worse still after Goff found Isaac TeSlaa for a touchdown. But Dallas didn’t quit, with Javonte Williams and Ryan Flournoy touchdowns — sandwiched around field goals by both teams — cutting the deficit to 30-27.

Ultimately, though, the Cowboys just couldn’t get enough stops. Goff led another touchdown drive that included a huge 29-yard completion to Jameson Williams on third-and-6; Gibbs would later score from 10 yards out. After a Dallas field goal, Goff found Amon-Ra St. Brown — who was not expected to play after missing practice all week with an ankle injury — for 37 yards, and Gibbs completed his trifecta from 13 yards away.

D.J. Reed intercepted Prescott to put the icing on the cake.

The Lions get another difficult test in Week 15 against the NFC West leading Rams (9-3). The Cowboys will look to right the ship against the 4-8 Vikings, the NFC North cellar-dwellers.

Jahmyr Gibbs’ star continues to rise

With 47 career touchdowns Gibbs is now tied with Lions legend Barry Sanders for most ever through a player’s first three seasons, and Gibbs still has five games left. And after Thursday’s win, the same could be said for Detroit as a whole, too.

Gibbs is a truly special talent. His yardage on the ground — 43 yards on 12 carries — was relatively pedestrian. But when you add in seven catches for 77 yards in addition to the three touchdown runs, you see just how impressive of a game it was. And it’s not just the numbers, but how he gets them. On the opening drive, he took a short checkdown pass, juked out a linebacker and sped for a 26-yard gain. On a third-and-long in the third quarter, he juked Da’Ron Bland so badly Bland ended up out of bounds … and Gibbs ended up with a first down.

The historic company Gibbs is keeping is no accident. For a player with his speed and quickness, he also has good power and vision, and he is a terrific pass catcher. A true superstar.

Detroit’s defense makes enough plays; Dallas’ runs out of gas

The Cowboys actually out-gained the Lions 417-408, and Dallas averaged a respectable 5.5 yards per play.

The difference, though, was the negative plays. Detroit turned its first two turnovers forced into 14 points, and the third takeaway ended the game. The Lions also sacked Prescott five times, a surprise not only because Prescott had been sacked just twice over the past three weeks, but because the Lions themselves only produced two sacks over the past three weeks.

Thursday was different. Very different. Al-Quadin Muhammad had a career-high three sacks and is now up to a career-high nine on the season. Campbell and Alim McNeill accounted for the other two sacks, and though Aidan Hutchinson didn’t end up with a sack, he created havoc all night.

The Cowboys’ defense, which had played better since adding Quinnen Williams to the mix and getting healthier, got gashed. Detroit had six plays of 25 or more yards, tied for its second-most in a game this season. Five of those were on passes, and one was this Montgomery touchdown, an incredible effort from seven-year veteran but a lane discipline and tackling breakdown for Dallas.

After all the good feelings of the three-game winning streak, Dallas needs to play much better and get a ton of help to make the postseason. In the overwhelming likelihood that they do not make the postseason, the Cowboys will have lots of questions defensively.

Amon-Ra St. Brown personifies Detroit’s toughness, resilience

St. Brown finished with six catches for 92 yards a week after an ugly-looking ankle injury. Detroit was without several defensive backs and lost two more to injury during the course of this game.

But guys step up. That’s a sign of a good team — a team built to last. And how about this? Detroit has now won 15 of their last 15 games that came directly after a loss. That is tied for the second-longest streak in NFL history. The Lions haven’t lost consecutive games in a season since 2022. That is truly remarkable.

Give immense credit to Dan Campbell, too. He is a tremendous coach, play caller — a role he took over just a few weeks ago — and leader. Teams reflect their coaches and their best players, and it’s hard to find ones better than Campbell, Gibbs, St. Brown, Hutchinson and others.

More history for Brandon Aubrey

Aubrey went five for five on field goals with makes from 57, 42, 55, 63 and 29 yards. That makes him the …

first player ever to make three field goals of 55+ yards in one gamefirst player ever to make three field goals of 60+ yards in one season

Just a machine. Our John Breech has an expanded look at Cowboys’ star kicker.