The Cowboys managed to put points on the board on their next possession, but it was incredibly difficult and required an enormous amount of effort.

It seemed like the Cowboys were trying with all of their might for even the tiniest bit of yards in different spurts and stretches. CeeDee Lamb finally made an appearance early on in the possession and KaVontae Turpin even had a handoff as well.

Despite those things the Cowboys had to settle for a field goal when Detroit got home on 3rd and 10.

SCORE: COWBOYS 6, LIONS 10 (Brandon Aubrey 42-yard field goal)

Things got weird on the next Lions possession. Dallas got lucky when Detroit had a false start on second down which made things tough for them. They picked up a ton of it, 13 yards to be exact, on the down, but on 3rd and 2 it looked like several Cowboys players jumped offsides. Jared Goff seemed to assume this as well as he threw a pass that had a low-percentage chance of being completed, the kind you throw when you believe you have a free play. Amazingly there was no penalty called and it was fourth down so the Lions punted away after a three and out.

It was on the next possession when the Cowboys finally flew too close to the sun. Dak Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb for a huge gain so things felt positive, but then he had an awkward pass that was ruled to be backwards that lost a ton of yardage. Soon enough he hit Jake Ferguson for a dump off on third down and Ferguson fumbled before it was all said and done.

This proved to be a great moment for the Lions. After a bit of a stutter start to their possession David Montgomery broke one off for yet another touchdown on the night. It was a 35-yard run which was tough to watch.

SCORE: COWBOYS 6, LIONS 17 (David Montgomery touchdown)

It appeared soon enough that this was going to be the last Cowboys possession before halftime. Given that they deferred to start the game it presented an opportunity for them to double-dip.

George Pickens drew a huge pass interference penalty that was about to put the Cowboys within serious striking distance, but Jake Ferguson got called for illegal hands to the face. Pickens himself was called for a penalty before the drive was over, too.

Things reached a 3rd and 15 with the Cowboys at midfield with just over a minute left in the half. Detroit obviously wanted to give themselves a chance for points so they called a timeout right before the big-time moment.

The aforementioned Jake Ferguson was able to get 11 yards on third down and while the broadcasters thought that Brian Schottenheimer would go for it on 4th and 4 the Cowboys head coach elected to take the points and take the fight to the second half. Dak Prescott was seen on the broadcast wanting to go for it, but Brandon Aubrey made the kick look easy so the results somewhat justified the decision.

SCORE: COWBOYS 9, LIONS 17 (Brandon Aubrey 55-yard field goal)

The Lions made quick work of the possession they fought hard to ensure they received. They put themselves in position to attempt a 47-yard field goal as time expired before halftime.

SCORE: COWBOYS 9, LIONS 20 (Jake Bates 47-yard field goal)

The Cowboys won the toss and deferred which put them on defense to start.

After speculation as to whether Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown would even play in this game… the very first play of it went to him for a 7-yard gain.

The Cowboys were able to get Detroit into a third down two plays later though, but unfortunately Jahmyr Gibbs was able to help them out of it. Gibbs was actually a point of frustration for the defense for a majority of this first possession, but as soon as the Lions reached the redzone things got a little bit tighter.

Donovan Ezeiruaku had a tackle for loss on second down with Detroit really threatening and then a play later James Houston (a former Lion) took down Jared Goff for the sack. The Lions kicked a field goal to start the scoring off.

SCORE: COWBOYS 0, LIONS 3 (Jake Bates 38-yard field goal)

The Cowboys took the field with purpose and clearly wanted to get on the board themselves. Dak Prescott was able to connect with George Pickens early on and with Jake Ferguson for an impressive conversion on a second and 15, but unfortunately the Lions defense forced a 3rd and 10 and were able to get the offense off of the field.

Brandon Aubrey was able to attempt a 57-yard field goal with a chance to equalize though, and thankfully we all know how those things tend to go.

SCORE: COWBOYS 3, LIONS 3 (Brandon Aubrey 57-yard field goal)

The Cowboys defense really began to show itself on the next possession. Dallas was getting consistent pressure on Jared Goff and on second down got to him so much so that he threw an incompletion that the officials initially let go as a fumble (it was clearly a forward pass). Ultimately it was a three and out which led to a punt and thanks to a penalty the Cowboys began the next drive inside of their own 5-yard line.

That field position wound up being treacherous. When the Cowboys were facing third down Dak Prescott was under pressure from the Lions defense and was sacked for what officials initially ruled was a safety. The call was looked at though and while the sack stood it was ruled that Prescott was not taken down for two Detroit points. The Cowboys punted it away and the Lions took over with tremendous field position to start.

It was the Dallas 42-yard line specifically where Detroit started and if you give one of the better offenses in the NFL that kind of start then they are usually going to find a way. Despite trying to involve Dan Skipper on offense again (let it go, Lions) and failing Detroit saw Amon-Ra St. Brown rip off a big play and eventually David Montgomery punch it in for the game’s first touchdown.

SCORE: COWBOYS 3, LIONS 10 (David Montgomery touchdown)

The first quarter ended with the Cowboys offense moving a bit.