Dallas Cowboys vs. Detroit Lions: 10 thoughts on the 47-9 debacle

It wasn't a good Sunday for the Dallas Cowboys as they were embarrassed in front of their home crowd with a 47-9 loss to the Detroit Lions. Expectations were already dampened when a very good Lions team came to town. Unfortunately, things went as badly as you would expect and the Cowboys are once again left with a lot of questions. Here are 10 thoughts on Sunday's very shocking loss.

1. What a mess

It was a mismatch from the start. Everyone knew the Lions' offense would be difficult to stop, and with the Cowboys' defense weakened, things had to line up perfectly for Dallas to have a chance. That wasn't the case. Things resolved themselves fairly early on. The offense was unable to score and the defense was unable to prevent the Lions from scoring. The Lions managed 492 yards of offense, which was almost twice as much as the Cowboys.

2. No touchdowns for you!

The Lions don't have a great defense, but you wouldn't know that by how the Cowboys' offense played. The Cowboys never found the end zone in this game. What's sad is that they moved the ball down the field a few times, but similar to last week, they couldn't turn it in. Whether it's settling for field goals or throwing picks in the end zone, the Cowboys' offense is very bad at scoring points in the red zone. When the field shrinks, the offense slows down.

3. Dak was bad

In a game where they needed a great play from their quarterback, Prescott was not up to the task. He finished the game 17/33 for 178 yards and two interceptions. There actually could have been more picks as the passes were deflected and in the air to win them. Too often Prescott threw into tight windows or simply let the ball pass him. This is what 2022 looks like again. Should we be worried? We know Dak is capable of more, but he didn't look good on Sunday.

4. Negligent ball security

The Cowboys offense turned the ball over five times in this game. It wasn't just the Dak picks. Cooper Rush also got in on the action when he intercepted his own pass in the end zone. The Cowboys kept giving it away with a lost fumble by Ryan Flournoy and KaVontae Turpin. Five giveaways are really bad. The Cowboys' offense hasn't been this sloppy since 2014, when Tony Romo threw four interceptions and Dez Bryant and Felix Jones each lost a fumble.

5. Admit you have a problem

For some reason, Mike McCarthy loves taking the ball early in the game. It would be smart if they could implement a great offensive plan, but they can't. The team's running game is hanging by a thread, but the coaching staff is completely unaware of it. You start the game trying to achieve some balance, but it never works. Instead, they stand still and put too much pressure on the passing game. The Cowboys will either need to improve their rushing attack or deviate from it to have a chance to contend.

6. No protection in the middle

While everyone was worried that the tackles would hold up in this game, there was a lot of pressure coming from within. Defensive tackle Alim McNeil was a beast as he was able to break away from Prescott in this game and sack him twice. The Lions were good at masking their pressure and Dak often had defenders in his sights in this game. This is a bad situation because they had to rely so much on their passing game.

7. The Lions were happy about the defense

Many will point to the 184 yards the Cowboys defense allowed on the ground as the big problem for the defense. And they are right. David Montgomery and Jahmry Gibbs stepped up and each averaged over five yards per carry. But the defense also fell victim to too many breaches in coverage. Whether it was trick plays or all-day throws, the defense allowed passes of at least 35 yards to four different Lions receivers. However the Lions offense wanted to attack, the Cowboys had no answers.

8. It was over at halftime

The last four home games have been a difficult time for the Cowboys. For some reason they struggle early on and never get out of the rut. They keep getting into deep holes before the first half is over.

This is very strange. They simply weren't ready to play on their own turf and kept getting themselves into difficult situations before halftime was even over.

9. A clever return

After the Lions scored a touchdown with 36 seconds left in the second half to take a 27-3 lead. McCarthy used two of his timeouts to squeeze out as little time as possible so the offense had a chance to score points before the end of the half. And it was a good thing he did, because special teams had a nice fake reverse that went just enough the wrong way for KaVontae Turpin to release it 79 yards. Unfortunately, the Cowboys were only able to score a field goal, but the excitement lasted while it lasted.

10. The Lions hold a grudge

Everyone remembers how the game ended last year when these two teams faced off. The Lions nearly escaped with a win when a two-point conversion was negated by a penalty because an offensive lineman failed to declare himself eligible to play. We knew the Cowboys were on the line when the Lions sent backup offensive lineman Dan Skipper onto the field on the Lions' first offensive play. They tried to make nice with their lineman two more times, first with a pass attempt to Taylor Decker and then later when Penie Sewell nearly scored on a side pass, only to be negated by another penalty. The Lions' coaching staff insisted on giving the Cowboys a message and showing them how things ended last year.