DETROIT — Jahmyr Gibbs skipped into the end zone for a clinching fourth-quarter touchdown as if he were dancing in the snow. There was no snow inside Ford Field, but the way the Lions running back got into the end zone with little resistance from the Cowboys’ defense, you could see why he was so happy.
On Thursday night, the Cowboys needed their defense to play as it had during a three-game win streak. Dominant at times. Bend but don’t break. Disruptive.
It didn’t happen consistently in a 44-30 loss to the Lions.
Related
Cowboys
Down and out? See photos from Cowboys’ late-season loss to Detroit Lions
View Gallery
Gibbs was just outstanding Thursday. He juked cornerback DaRon Bland to his knees after catching a pass in the first half. He put a move on linebacker Kenneth Murray as well on another run play. On a 10-yard touchdown run, Gibbs cut back inside as safeties Donovan Wilson and Markquese Bell finally grabbed him at the 2, but it was too late.
Of course, on the final score of the night, Gibbs just ran untouched off the right tackle, skipping into the end zone for a 13-yard touchdown run. That score, with 2:25 left, gave the Lions a 44-30 lead and ended any momentum the Cowboys kept looking to sustain.
Gibbs rushed for three scores and totaled 120 all-purpose yards.
“We knew we had to win the trenches and we didn’t really do that,” coach Brian Schottenheimer said. “I thought they played hard. We gave up too many explosives and couldn’t, when we get a little momentum, we just couldn’t get a stop. The complementary football just wasn’t what it’s been like the last couple of weeks, and when you play a good football team like this on the road, unfortunately, when you do that, it’s going to be hard to win.”
Quarterback Jared Goff threw for 309 yards and his two receivers, Jameson Williams and Amon-Ra St. Brown, almost picked up 100 yards each. St. Brown finished with 92 receiving yards on a bum ankle. He was questionable coming in and looked just fine.
The Cowboys played Thursday night without edge rusher Jadeveon Clowney, who warmed up three hours before kickoff but his hamstring just wouldn’t let him go.
“It was close,” Schottenheimer said of Clowney.
The next 10 days will help Clowney get back. He was clearly missed, but after watching what the Lions did to the Cowboys’ defense, which gave up 44 points for the second time this season, there was only so much he could have done.
For the last three weeks, the Cowboys have praised the interior of their defensive line as a productive part of what’s going on around here.
But the speed of the Lions was too much to handle.
“They’re fast,” Schottenheimer said. “We got guys who can run, too. I felt like we didn’t tackle great, when they got on the perimeter a little bit, I thought they hurt us, and we have to look at that. Explosive, it’s an explosive football team. I thought Goff played very, very well, and we just gave up too many explosives.”
Goff, who was knocked around a little bit in the early going, completed 25 of 34 passes with a touchdown pass and a 111.0 quarterback rating.
With the Cowboys’ offense attempting to keep up with the Lions, their defense simply let them down.
Related
The Cowboys trailed 30-27 after Dak Prescott threw a 42-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Flournoy and converted the two-point conversion pass to Jake Ferguson with 10 minutes left.
But the Lions struck. On a third-and-6, Goff found Williams on a crossing route, with Bell playing behind. The 29-yard reception got a boost when defensive end James Houston was penalized 15 yards for roughing the passer.
It moved the Lions from the Cowboys 26 to the 13.
Gibbs got his 10-yard TD run with 7:22 to play, pushing the lead to 37-27.
Dallas came back one more time, trailing by seven, but unfortunately, its defense couldn’t get the stop it needed.
Faced with a second-and-9 from the 37, Goff connected to St. Brown for 37 yards, as Bland gave him some space at the line of scrimmage. The completion was the clincher, especially with Gibbs skipping into the end zone for the final points.
When it was time for the Cowboys’ defense to make a stand, something this group had done since trade-deadline deals for defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and linebacker Logan Wilson, it just didn’t.
And it might have cost this team a realistic shot at the postseason.
“I don’t know,” Schottenheimer said when asked if the loss affected their playoff opportunities. “We’re going to keep playing. We don’t control who wins and loses, we just do what we can do.”
Find more Cowboys coverage from The Dallas Morning News here.