DETROIT LIONS (11-5) | WC | DALLAS COWBOYS (12-4) |
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Date: | 4 January 2015 |
Location: | Arlington, TX |
Time: | 3:30 PM Central | Stadium: | AT&T Stadium |
TV: | FOX | Radio: | XM 85/225 (DET/DAL) Sirius 85/93 (DET/DAL) Sirius/XM 88 (National) |
TV Announcers: | Joe Buck Troy Aikman |
Know Thy Foes: |
Pride of Detroit Blogging the Boys |
Weather: | Indoors | ||
Line: | Dallas -7.5, Over/Under 49 (Thanks to the SB Nation Odds page) | ||
Chris' Prediction: | Cowboys 27, Lions 20 | ||
Final Score: |
The last game of Wild Card Weekend should prove to be a pretty good one, as the Detroit Lions make their way down to Jerryworld to take on the Dallas Cowboys.
When the Cowboys have the ball, it should be what the late, great Gorilla Monsoon may have referred to as the unstoppable force versus the immovable object. The Dallas offense, led my the trio of Tony Romo, DeMarco Murray, and Dez Bryant, was one of the NFL's best this season, putting up an average of 29.2 points a game. They've increased that number in December to a cool 41.3 points per contest. The Lions, on the other hand, were third in the NFL in points allowed this season (just 17.6/game) and second in yardage allowed, including sporting the NFL's best run defense.
The Detroit offense hasn't really gotten on track this season. Some of that can be chalked up to Calvin Johnson missing some time, but even when he's been available the Lions really haven't lit up the scoreboard. The Dallas defense has been just about average this season in pretty much every respect. In the end, I think the Cowboys' offensive line will keep the pressure off of Tony Romo, and he'll be able to make the plays needed to give Dallas a victory in this one.
We won't know the NFC matchups for the divisional round until this game is over. If Detroit wins, they get a trip to Seattle next Saturday to take on the Seahawks and the Carolina Panthers will take on the Green Bay Packers on Sunday. If the Cowboys win, then they'll earn the trip to Lambeau Field to take on Green Bay and Carolina will have to head out to the west coast.
Hope you've enjoyed your playoff football weekend, Vikings fans. Even though our team hasn't been involved in this year's post-season tournament, playoff football is still pretty awesome.