Pic 6: Special teams struggles, turnovers limit Cowboys in 44-30 loss to Lions

Field Position Battle

The Cowboys' special teams coverage unit, especially on kickoff returns, did not have their best day on Thursday night. Outside of the final drive, the Lions' average starting field position was their own 42-yard line. Brian Schottenheimer knows that can't happen.

"We certainly didn't cover very well, Schottenheimer said. "I thought that kind of flipped the field, gave them a bunch of short fields, and we have to look at why that was. And we'll do that, certainly an area for us to clean up."

On eight kickoff returns, the Lions gained 261 yards, good for an average of about 32 yards per return.

Poorly Timed Penalties

Penalties have continued to be an issue for the Cowboys this season, and came at some inopportune times for Dallas on Thursday against Detroit.

On Dallas' second drive of the game, KaVontae Turpin was penalized for an illegal fair catch signal, his second such call in as many weeks, and a holding call stacked on top of that caused the Cowboys to start the drive at their own five. Dak Prescott was nearly brought down for a safety on third down, but was able to keep the ball out of the end zone while sacked by Jack Campbell, allowing Bryan Anger to come on and punt.

Another instance came while the Cowboys were moving down the field approaching the two-minute warning in the first half. George Pickens beat his defender deep, drawing pass interference that would've set Dallas up with goal-to-go. It was nullified by a Jake Ferguson hands to the face penalty, as both fouls offset.

Those were just a pair of examples, as Dallas finished the night with seven penalties for 76 total yards. One call that they didn't believe went in their favor was a Jake Ferguson offensive pass interference penalty, which cost them potential points.

"I'm sorry, that was bad," QB Dak Prescott said of the call postgame. "I got to look at the film, maybe I can see it from their vantage point. I know I talked to the ref after, he said [Ferguson] aggressively pulled through. I've never seen a call like that."

Turnover Struggles Continue

Brian Schottenheimer was very unhappy earlier in the week that his team was -5 in turnover margin coming into Thursday night against the Lions. The Cowboys did not help themselves in that category, falling to -8.

Jake Ferguson fumbled trying to gain extra yards on third down and long in the second quarter, giving the Lions the ball at their own 47-yard line. Four plays later, they scored a touchdown to 17-6.

With the Cowboys getting the ball coming out of the second half, it couldn't have started off much worse as Dak Prescott's pass to George Pickens ricochetted off his chest and into the air. Lions LB Derrick Barnes was right there waiting for the ball, and intercepted it, returning it to the Dallas 14 yard-line and Detroit would find pay dirt two plays later to go up 27-9. Prescott would throw his second interception during Dallas' final drive facing a two-score deficit, as DJ Reed ripped the ball from a Cowboys receiver as he was going to the ground and before he had possession.

The Cowboys fumbled three times on Thursday night, including Ferguson's, as Dak Prescott threw a backwards pass while under pressure, which was recovered by Ferguson, and Pickens fumbled after converting a fourth-and-five from the Detroit nine-yard line with Tyler Smith diving on the ball to save the day.

Williams Blocks Again

For the second time this season, Sam Williams came up with a block on special teams to set Dallas up in optimal field position. It's Williams' third block kick of his career, and that's good for half of Dallas' blocked kicks since 2022, as they've had six total.

As Jake Bates came on the field to attempt a 52-yard field goal that would've made it a 14 point Lions lead, Williams was able to get a hand up and tip the ball, giving the Cowboys the ball at their own 42. The next drive would result in a field goal for Dallas, which ended up being an important three points at the time.

His first block on special teams came against the Arizona Cardinals on a punt, which bounced all the way into the back of the end zone and was recovered by Marshawn Kneeland for a Dallas touchdown.

Another Big Day for Aubrey

On a day that was filled with plenty of special teams woes, Brandon Aubrey was a bright spot for Dallas, making all five of his field goal attempts, including another from 60+ with a 63-yarder in the third quarter.

Additionally, Aubrey had makes from 29, 42, 55 and 57, accounting for half of Dallas' total points in the 44-30 loss to the Lions on Thursday night.

Aubrey's 63-yarder was his third 60+ yard field goal of the season, which is the most in a single season by any kicker in NFL history.

Flournoy Steps Up

Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb left the game early in the second half with a concussion, and was quickly ruled out. Following the game, head coach Brian Schottenheimer confirmed that Lamb is in concussion protocol.

In his absence, Ryan Flournoy stepped up and delivered his second 100+ receiving yard performance of the season, hauling in nine receptions on 13 targets for 115 yards and a touchdown. Both he and Lamb finished with 100+ yards, as Lamb caught six of his eight targets for 121 yards before leaving the game. The bright side for Dallas is that they now have 10 days between games, giving Lamb a little extra time to clear the NFL's concussion protocol.