The Cowboys had several miscues Thursday night against the Lions that will likely linger in the back of their minds for days.
Tight end Jake Ferguson had a costly fumble, wide receiver George Pickens couldn’t prevent a Dak Prescott interception and rookie cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. got picked on for a quick Detroit touchdown.
It was pretty much over for Dallas when star receiver CeeDee Lamb headed for the locker room to be evaluated for a concussion less than three minutes into the second half. There were, however, a few panic-struck scores that gave this team new life, a theme for the 2025 Cowboys, but operating in a frenzy tends to come with poor results. Detroit did enough to hold on for a 44–30 victory and strengthen its playoff hopes.
As for the Cowboys (6-6-1), they went from beating both of last season’s Super Bowl representatives in a four-day span to having their playoff hopes on life support a week later. Never say never, but Dallas now has a 9% chance of making the postseason after the letdown in Detroit, according to The Athletic’s playoff simulator.
That’s how quickly things can change in Dallas. Defensive coordinator Matt Eberflus spent the offseason casually installing a defensive scheme designed to feature star edge rusher Micah Parsons. But on a Thursday in late August, Eberflus was forced to frantically draw up plays for how to create pressure without his best defender because Parsons was sent packing to Green Bay less than a week into the regular season. Two months later, Eberflus suddenly had to install another scheme because his historically bad defense received reinforcements with the trades for linebacker Logan Wilson and defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.
The Cowboys going from beating the Eagles and Chiefs in four days, only to have their playoff hopes vanish in Detroit seemed so rushed, but perhaps a fitting ending to a 2025 season filled with hasty decisions. There’s irony with Dallas’s dire situation because the 40–40 tie to Parsons’s Packers in Week 4 is why Jerry Jones’s team needs a miracle to make the playoffs.
In reality, the Cowboys won’t be thinking that long about Thursday night’s miscues when compared to the golden opportunity they missed out on when Prescott had his offense on Green Bay’s 5-yard line to open overtime. The drive was derailed by a Parsons sack, leading to the two teams trading field goals and settling for an ugly tie. Jones took a half victory lap when his team didn’t lose to Parsons and completed the jog when the arrival of Williams led to a three-game winning streak.
But the good times didn’t last because Jones put his team at a disadvantage for the first two months of the season without Parsons. Everything shouldn’t have been on a line for a Week 14 game, but that’s what it came down to because the defensive reinforcements arrived too late for a team that started 3-5-1.
With the current seventh seed in the NFC already having nine wins—the 49ers at 9–4—Thursday night’s matchup was essentially a loser-elimination game. The Lions (8–5) still have plenty of work to do, trailing the Packers (8-3-1) and Bears (9–3) in the NFC North. Still, they’re in the mix because they put the Cowboys in an early hole they couldn’t dig out of—you know, how Jones did that to his team with the rash Parsons trade. And there wasn’t as much on the line for Detroit because it didn’t have an annoying tie attached to its record.
Even if the Cowboys win their final four games, and they very well could with matchups against the Vikings, Chargers, Commanders and Giants, that would bring their final record to only 10-6-1. That likely won’t be enough in the competitive NFC, and it’s hard seeing the Eagles (8–4) having a total collapse in the NFC East with upcoming games against the Raiders and Commanders twice. If we’re looking to give the Cowboys some hope, the 49ers, who are on a bye week, face the Titans before a tough three-game stretch against the Colts, Bears and Seahawks. But it’s tough to bet against an experienced and star-driven San Francisco squad.
Cowboys coach Brian Schottenheimer will have his team prepared for the final stretch because he’s gotten them to overcome several obstacles in his first season as the coach. However, it’s a shame that a sudden Parsons trade in August is why this team won’t be playing for much in the final four games.
There’s plenty to like about this team’s future, especially with how well Eberflus’s defense has played since the arrival of Wilson and Williams, outside of the 40-burger allowed in Detroit.
Still, we can’t ignore the fact that Jones’s rash decision to trade Parsons ended up costing this team in the end. Parsons’s Week 4 sack in overtime will be lingering in the minds of the Cowboys throughout the offseason. Oh, what could have been for America’s Team in 2025.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Micah Parsons Trade, Not the Lions, Cost the Cowboys Their Season.
