Cowboys who fought Lions

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ARLINGTON, Texas – Whenever the Dallas Cowboys and Detroit Lions face off, there is never a shortage of fireworks, in whatever form. So many of their contests have come to an end in previous seasons, and the 2023 version included a controversial decision by Dan Campbell with the game on the line that resulted in a penalty that helped the Cowboys to a one-point victory .

This time the Lions came up big, and the Cowboys suffered from injuries that sidelined Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence, Brandin Cooks and Eric Kendricks – four key players who are vital to what the Cowboys are trying to accomplish on both ends are the ball.

Last week in Pittsburgh there were several who made a big effort to get the upset win.

There were some who did their utmost to keep the Lions at bay and while it wasn't meant to be a complete defeat, they deserve a lot of credit for leaving it all on the field.

There wasn't much to say in terms of the Cowboys' offense for most of the contest, but Tolbert worked hard to parlay his career day from Week 5 into injecting some energy into a unit that desperately needed it. Tolbert was targeted just twice in the first two quarters, managing both for a total of 30 yards. That included a 26-yard highlight catch on 2nd-and-2, with the Cowboys only trailing by four points at the time. Tolbert came out obviously ready to cook. It literally took the sun to stop him as the game progressed.

He's a mainstay on this list because of his lethal ability to set records and his ability to produce when little else is going well in the Cowboys' offense. It was another week where butter made it big. He scored all of Dallas' nine points and recovered well from the blocked field goal suffered against the Pittsburgh Steelers a week earlier. There was no doubt that he would do this – because of course he would.

In Kendricks' absence, it was a call for Clark to step up and show Mike Zimmer that he should get more reps in the future after not seeing much action in the first five games. The former fourth-round pick did exactly what was asked of him, making an impact on the game in both run defense and pass rush (including in coverage with a PBU in the end zone). He worked hard throughout the game and was rewarded with his first sack (0.5) of the 2024 season and his career, sharing it with Chauncey Golston on 3rd-and-9 to force a field goal with the game deadlocked until then He was within reach before it was no longer the case and also led the team in tackles.

It's the second week in a row that Golston is on my list, struggling to give the Cowboys some semblance of a pass rush while Parsons, Lawrence and Kneeland are all out. His combined sack with Clark defined a push for the needy Cowboys defense. Golston, like many others on defense, eventually faded as the Dallas offense failed to extend plays, but he looked good before being completely drained by the time the possession battle came.

By all accounts, including my own perspective, Turpin is starting to play some role on offense and that should help them find pay dirt more often, even if that wasn't the case against the Lions. But while Turpin, who was arguably hampered on a potential third-down conversion (inside slant), didn't get going on that side of the ball, he was able to impact the game on special teams. He completed a 79-yard kick return in the second quarter, starting a drive that again ended without a touchdown.

The number of miscommunications between Lamb and Dak Prescott remains concerning and could well be a holdover from the training camp break, but there were positive moments as the All-Pro receiver led all Cowboys wideouts in yards gained against the Lions. However, he had to earn every one of them, and there was nothing nice about how hard he had to fight the current as the boat hit the rapids of a stream whose name rhymes with “splits.”