I’m sure I wasn’t the only person on the brink of being rushed off to the emergency room Saturday night.
The Dallas Cowboys escaped – and no, there is no other term to use here – with a 20-19 win over Detroit. The Lions had three shots to win.
Somehow, Dallas dodged all three bullets. Lions’ fans remain salty over the penalty that wiped away a successful two-point play.
But referee Brad Allen’s post-game explanation pretty much makes the case that the Lions committed two penalties on the play.
The Cowboys got hammered earlier in the year by the officials in a similar “he reported/no he didn’t” situation, so we can understand the outrage.
Although I’d note for the record the tripping call on Dallas’ last full possession that set them back 15 yards looked like Aidan Hutchinson’s leg and not Peyton Hendershot’s was doing the tripping.
And don’t even get me started on it being 10+ games now since Micah Parsons has drawn a holding call.
But the late penalties should never have mattered in the first place.
The two first-half turnovers in Lions’ territory took at least 10 points off the board. Points that would have been dearly missed if the Lions convert that two-point attempt.
The bottom line is the Cowboys got a huge win for their 16th straight at home. They now only need to beat the Commanders on Sunday to win the NFC East.
As far as the No. 1 seed in the NFC?
The 49ers locked that up, along with a week off in the first round, with their own win over Washington.
But after the Eagles collapsed at home against the Cardinals, I’m okay with that.
CeeDee Lamb’s Interesting Night
CeeDee Lamb had an interesting game. He fumbled at the one, letting the ball bounce through the endzone and out of bounds for a touchback.
And he had a couple of dropped passes too. But he did set a new Cowboys’ record with a monster night.
Piling up 227 yards on 13 catches, including a 92-yard touchdown that was the second-longest in Cowboys’ history.
Only Don Meredith’s 95-yard scoring pass to Bob Hayes in 1966 is longer.
The night moved Lamb to 122 receptions and 1,651 yards for the season, both single-season records for the Cowboys. Michael Irvin had 111 catches for 1,603 yards in 1995.
Lamb has 5,047 career receiving yards, eighth all-time for Dallas and just 167 behind Frank Clarke for seventh. He also tied Tony Dorsett at seventh with 382 career receptions as a Cowboys’ receiver.
Coaches, What Are Y’all Doing?
Dan Campbell, the former Cowboys’ tight end and current Lions Head Coach, was gambling like he was using stolen money on Saturday.
He went for it on fourth down three times, converting twice. He ran a fake punt in the first half from his own 28.
That gamble failed to produce points when a fourth-and-four pass fell incomplete seven plays later.
Then came the final sequence of plays with 23 seconds left.
Campbell went for the win, got it, and had it erased by a penalty. With the ball back at the seven, he had a chance to go for the tie.
He kept the offense out there, had an incomplete pass, and got bailed out by a Micah Parsons offsides.
You’d think he’d figure the odds were against him, but with the ball at the three, he went for two.
And rolled snake eyes when Goff’s pass hit the turf at the one.
I get the aggression with a chance at the No. 1 seed in sight. But maybe after the insanity of the first two plays it was time to be more conservative there?
Campbell wasn’t the only coach making head-scratching decisions on Saturday.
I’d love to hear Dan Quinn’s explanation of what his defense was (allegedly) doing out there on that final drive.
They went soft, played prevent, and nearly prevented a victory and a possible chance for the division title. Sam LaPorta was looking like Jerry Rice out there.
Whatever those plays were that Quinn called, he needs to delete them from the playbook going forward. My old team from the 1970s could have beat those guys as old as we are today.
And someone please ask Mike McCarthy why he was throwing on second down inside of two minutes when the Lions had no timeouts?
Those extra 40 seconds of clock time very nearly cost the Cowboys. Let’s not do that again, okay Mike?
I Miss The Old New Year’s Day Format
Remember when New Year’s Day rolled around on January 1 and you didn’t have school? Your dad was off work and you’d turn on the TV and have all day football?
The Cotton Bowl, the Sugar Bowl, the Rose Bowl, the Fiesta Bowl, and the Orange Bowl capping off the night.
Almost always they’d be four great games. And, as soon as the clock hit zero in Miami, you had a National Champion. Occasionally, you’d know who the champ was before the Orange Bowl kicked off.
It was flawed in that the champion was voted on instead of won directly on the field in a single game. But it was still glorious.
Now?
This year the Cotton Bowl was played on Dec. 29th, the Orange Bowl on Dec. 30th – and what a dog of a game that turned out to be.
The Fiesta Bowl – a who cares game between Liberty and Oregon – and the Rose and Sugar Bowls will be played today, January 1st.
Only, we won’t know who the champion is until Jan. 8th.
I’m glad we finally have a playoff system – although it has been a terribly flawed one that turned into the Alabama Invitational Tournament.
But I miss those old January 1st days. It was so much better back then in ways I’m just now beginning to appreciate.