4 Takeaways From the Lions' Win Over the Cowboys

A week after Thanksgiving, the two NFL teams that are perennial holiday hosts gathered on another Thursday with so much on the line.

The Detroit Lions got a much-needed win on Thursday night over the Cowboys, 44-30 at Ford Field. This was a high-leverage game, one that would leave the loser with only a long shot at making the playoffs. And it didn’t disappoint, with a back-and-forth slugfest worth staying up for.

Here are my takeaways:

It’s Detroit, it’s a primetime TV game, so what better to remind America that Motown hasn’t gone away than to bring out The Temptations at halftime?

The Lions’ message in a must-win game, both before and after the halftime show, was easily understood: Get ready, ‘cause here we come.

Had the Lions lost to the Cowboys, their playoff chances would have dwindled to just 12% according to The Athletic’s playoff simulator. That’s not quite eliminated, but it leaves no margin for error and would mean they need a lot of help to sneak into the playoffs.

Instead, after an impressive win over the Cowboys, they’re up at 45% and back to threatening the Bears and Packers at the top of the NFC North standings. Detroit is 8-5, which means it’ll be within a game of Sunday’s Bears-Packers loser for second place, where they could be a dangerous wild-card team.

The Lions offense, which averaged 16.5 points in recent losses to the Eagles and Packers, was back on track, with Jared Goff avoiding mistakes and finding open receivers downfield. Running backs Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery remain one of the league’s best 1-2 combos, with three touchdowns and nearly 200 yards between them Thursday.

This was very much a loser-goes-home type elimination game, which is rare for Week 14. The Lions came into this season