The Detroit Lions will enter Cowboys Stadium on Sunday as one of only three undefeated teams in the NFL. As much as I hate to say, they will leave Cowboys Stadium about four hours later still undefeated. With the Dallas Cowboys absolutely depleted with injuries, there’s no way Tony Romo and company can keep pace with the Lions’ high-powered attack.
The Lions pose so many threats on offense that an injury-plagued unit like Dallas can’t keep up. If the Cowboys were healthy, I’d say Dallas wins this battle. However, cornerback Terence Newman is already injured again after making his 2011 debut last week and Orlando Scandrick will miss the contest with a high ankle sprain. Without its secondary at full power, Dallas will have a very tough time stopping the Lions’ powerful passing game.
Now when I say heartbreaker, I don’t mean a last-second, game-winning play to crush the Cowboys’ hearts. I mean a hard-fought game that leaves you feeling like you gave your absolute all and you still come up short. That’s what I’m painfully foreseeing on Sunday.
The Lions’ defense has played outstanding so far this year and a banged up Cowboys offense just makes this matchup that much worse. I’m telling you; if the Cowboys were healthy, I’d pick the home team here. However, injuries just are too much to overcome this week. Running back Felix Jones is fighting a separated shoulder, receiver Miles Austin is out with a pulled hamstring and receiver Dez Bryant is questionable with a bruised thigh. Romo is still introducing himself to some of his receivers.
I mean the Cowboys quarterback is literally telling his receivers what routes to run on almost every play. It was miserable to watch in the Cowboys’ 18-16 win over the Washington Redskins on Monday night. Newly-signed receiver Laurent Robinson was catching Romo passes and then watching them sail by him after he ran the wrong route just moments later. Why wasn’t Jesse Holley in the game? He was the Week 2 hero, but he didn’t see an offensive snap against Washington.
If that doesn’t change this week, Detroit will steal one in Dallas. The Cowboys will show heart, grit and determination, but it won’t be enough to beat a young, talented team that’s on a hot streak. I hope these two teams meet again in the playoffs and both are healthy because that will be a heck of a ballgame. This week, injuries will prevent that. My prediction: Lions 27, Cowboys 21.
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