Recap: Cowboys 24, Lions 20
SportsDirect Inc. staff
Jan 4, 2015
Cowboys 24, Lions 20: Tony Romo threw a pair of touchdown passes to Terrance Williams as host Dallas erased a 13-point second-half deficit for its second playoff victory since 1996.
Romo finished 19-of-31 for 293 yards and capped the comeback with an 8-yard scoring pass to Williams with 2:32 to play - a touchdown that followed a huge reversal of a penalty against the Cowboys (13-4), who will play at No. 2 Green Bay next Sunday. DeMarco Murray rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown while Williams made three catches for 92 yards and the two TDs to lift Dallas to its fifth straight win.
Matthew Stafford threw for 323 yards with one touchdown and one interception for Detroit (11-6), which absorbed its eighth consecutive playoff defeat since beating the Cowboys in January 1992. Golden Tate had six receptions for 89 yards and a TD while Calvin Johnson added five catches for 85 yards for the Lions, who were driving for a potential clinching score when an obvious pass interference penalty was called on Dallas' Anthony Hitchens - only to see the officials pick up the flag without an explanation.
Detroit's Sam Martin shanked a 10-yard punt on the next play and Romo moved the Cowboys 59 yards in 11 plays, ending the drive by finding Williams in the back of the end zone. Detroit, which led 20-7 with just over 8 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter, drove to the Dallas 42 with 1:00 to play, but Demarcus Lawrence sacked Stafford to end it.
Romo found Dez Bryant for 46 yards to set up Murray's 1-yard plunge on fourth down late in the third to cut the deficit to 20-14 and Dan Bailey booted a 51-yard field goal with 12:16 to play to bring the Cowboys within three points. The Lions stunned the home crowd by bolting to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, following a 51-yard strike from Stafford to Tate by driving 99 yards in 14 plays, capped by Reggie Bush's 18-yard TD run.
The Cowboys got on the board when Williams took a short pass and split the defense for a 76-yard touchdown with 1:37 left in the half, but Prater kicked a 39-yard field goal for a 17-7 halftime lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Romo, who overcame a season-high six sacks, has 14 touchdown passes versus one interception during the five-game winning streak. ... Detroit's 99-yard scoring drive was the first of that distance in the playoffs since Baltimore did it against Miami on Jan. 13, 2002. ... Cowboys LB Rolando McClain exited in the second quarter due to illness/dehydration and did not return, while Lions CB Rashean Mathis (quadriceps) exited in the first quarter but returned in the fourth. ... Dallas takes an 8-0 road record into its first playoff matchup in Green Bay since the famous Ice Bowl in 1967.
Jan 4, 2015
Cowboys 24, Lions 20: Tony Romo threw a pair of touchdown passes to Terrance Williams as host Dallas erased a 13-point second-half deficit for its second playoff victory since 1996.
Romo finished 19-of-31 for 293 yards and capped the comeback with an 8-yard scoring pass to Williams with 2:32 to play - a touchdown that followed a huge reversal of a penalty against the Cowboys (13-4), who will play at No. 2 Green Bay next Sunday. DeMarco Murray rushed for 75 yards and a touchdown while Williams made three catches for 92 yards and the two TDs to lift Dallas to its fifth straight win.
Matthew Stafford threw for 323 yards with one touchdown and one interception for Detroit (11-6), which absorbed its eighth consecutive playoff defeat since beating the Cowboys in January 1992. Golden Tate had six receptions for 89 yards and a TD while Calvin Johnson added five catches for 85 yards for the Lions, who were driving for a potential clinching score when an obvious pass interference penalty was called on Dallas' Anthony Hitchens - only to see the officials pick up the flag without an explanation.
Detroit's Sam Martin shanked a 10-yard punt on the next play and Romo moved the Cowboys 59 yards in 11 plays, ending the drive by finding Williams in the back of the end zone. Detroit, which led 20-7 with just over 8 1/2 minutes left in the third quarter, drove to the Dallas 42 with 1:00 to play, but Demarcus Lawrence sacked Stafford to end it.
Romo found Dez Bryant for 46 yards to set up Murray's 1-yard plunge on fourth down late in the third to cut the deficit to 20-14 and Dan Bailey booted a 51-yard field goal with 12:16 to play to bring the Cowboys within three points. The Lions stunned the home crowd by bolting to a 14-0 first-quarter lead, following a 51-yard strike from Stafford to Tate by driving 99 yards in 14 plays, capped by Reggie Bush's 18-yard TD run.
The Cowboys got on the board when Williams took a short pass and split the defense for a 76-yard touchdown with 1:37 left in the half, but Prater kicked a 39-yard field goal for a 17-7 halftime lead.
GAME NOTEBOOK: Romo, who overcame a season-high six sacks, has 14 touchdown passes versus one interception during the five-game winning streak. ... Detroit's 99-yard scoring drive was the first of that distance in the playoffs since Baltimore did it against Miami on Jan. 13, 2002. ... Cowboys LB Rolando McClain exited in the second quarter due to illness/dehydration and did not return, while Lions CB Rashean Mathis (quadriceps) exited in the first quarter but returned in the fourth. ... Dallas takes an 8-0 road record into its first playoff matchup in Green Bay since the famous Ice Bowl in 1967.
