Early misses in the red zone

ARLINGTON, Texas – The Cowboys were no match for the Lions, who dominated this game from start to finish.

Any chances the Cowboys had to make this a game came in the first half. Nevertheless, it would have been a tough fight in this one-sided competition.

Here are five plays you may forget that could have helped the Cowboys keep things from getting out of control early in the game.

Cowboys fail to score touchdown on first drive The whole reason to take the ball early in the game is to get some momentum early and of course score an early touchdown. The Cowboys were able to get the ball to the Lions' 18-yard line, but on the second play, Dak Prescott threw a pass into the end zone to CeeDee Lamb, who was momentarily dragged by the arms and couldn't get it up was able to make the catch in the end zone in time. The Cowboys had to settle for a field goal, and that obviously wasn't enough on a day like this.

Lions strike early on third down – On the Lions' first drive of the game, the Cowboys forced Detroit to a third-and-5 and Jared Goff passed to Tim Patrick, who was pushed by Amani Oruwariye. At the last second, Patrick found the ball and caught the pass right next to the turf, completing the shot from 42 yards. What looked like a stop for the Cowboys defense was instead a first down for the Lions at the Dallas 23-yard line. Two plays later, Detroit was in the end zone with a 7-3 lead.

Second-down tackle against Ferguson in the open field – On the second drive of the game, the Cowboys were already down 7-3 and found themselves once again in the Lions' red zone. On second-and-11 from the 13-yard line, Prescott found Jake Ferguson in the right flat with plenty of room to maneuver. But Lions cornerback Amik Robertson made a great open-field tackle on Ferguson at the 6. That set up a third-down pass that was intercepted by Brian Branch, eliminating the chance for decisive points when the game was still uncertain.

Ferguson dropped the pass – Early in the second quarter, trailing 10-3, the Cowboys tried to mount a drive. On second-and-5 at their own 35-yard line, Prescott rolled right and threw deep back to the left side, where Ferguson was double-teamed. He still positioned himself to make the catch, but dropped a big gain that likely would have given the Cowboys at least field goal position, if not more. But another mistake led to a punt.

Fourth-down miss against Turpin – With the score at 20:3 towards the end of the first half, hopes of a comeback quickly faded. But the Cowboys apparently still had a chance to get back into the game. With a fourth-and-2 at their own 38-yard line with 2:45 left in the half, the Cowboys went for it. A diagonal pass to KaVontae Turpin failed. Although it appeared Turpin was interfered with before the ball reached him, there was no call and the Lions took over. Detroit extended the lead to 27-3 and eventually led 27-6 at halftime.