NFC Playoffs: Lions (11-5) at Cowboys (12-4)

[gettlemanjack]

Dallas is 4-4 at home (8-0 on road)

Detriot is 4-4 on road (7-1 at home)

ESPN

Cowboys are 2-7 in the postseason since winning Super Bowl

XXX after the 1995 season.

ESPN

Lions have lost 7 straight playoff games. Their last playoff

win was in 1991 vs Cowboys (Barry Sanders: 99 yds, 1 TD)

1991:

-The USSR fell, Gorbachev resigns, Soviet bloc countries gain

independence

-Dead Sea Scroll was discovered

-Jeffrey Dahmer is arrested

-Former U.S. postal worker Joseph Harris kills four at the post office

in Ridgewood, New Jersey which resulted in the phrase "going

postal"

[gettlemanjack]

Dallas holds the all-time regular season edge over Detroit, 12-11-0. In the postseason, they are 1-1 against each other

[gettlemanjack]

AP All-Pros this season:

DALLAS

QB Romo

WR Bryant

RB Murray

OT Smith

OG Martin

C Frederick

DETRIOT

DT Suh

ILB Levy

S Quin

[gettlemanjack]

Pro Bowlers this season:

DALLAS

QB Romo

WR Bryant

RB Murray

OT Smith

OG Martin

C Frederick

DETRIOT

WR Megatron

DT Suh

S Quin

[gettlemanjack]

The Lions tied an NFL record for the most games (14) holding

opponents to less than 100 rushing yards in a season.

[gettlemanjack]

DET WR Golden Tate led all NFL receivers with 720 yards after the catch this season, which ranked third among all players behind running backs Le’Veon Bell (841) and Matt Forte (837).

[gettlemanjack]

Romo is playing lights out right now. He’s 4-0 over the last month and has a 133.7 passer rating in those games with 12 TDs and 1 INT

[gettlemanjack]

DetroitLions.com:

"Stafford has never played with a defense as good as the one he has now and everything isn’t on his shoulders this time around like it was in 2011 vs. New Orleans.

...

Stafford has one of the best defense's in the league to support him. Romo doesn’t.

...

He needs to take advantage of..an average Dallas defense -- and don’t make mistakes."

[gettlemanjack]

The Lions allowed only one 100-yard rusher all year long and only two teams (Jets and Packers) reached the 100-yard benchmark as a team all year.

Murray led the NFL with 1,845 rushing yards, the most in a single season in Cowboys franchise history, and had 12 100-yard rushing games, surpassing Pro Football Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith (11 games) for the most 100-yard rushing games in a single season in Cowboys history.

[gettlemanjack]

Dez Bryant set a Cowboys franchise record with 16 touchdowns this season, #1 in NFL. Since 2012, he leads the league with 41 touchdowns and is the only player with at least 12 touchdowns in each of the last three seasons.

[gettlemanjack]

Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate were one of only three pass-catching tandems this year to each record 1,000 yards receiving. There will be plays to be made against the Cowboys and their 26th ranked pass defense. Could we see them both reach 100 on Sunday?

In his last game vs. Dallas CB Brandon Carr in 2013, Calvin Johnson had 14 catches for a franchise-record 329 yards and a touchdown.

Expect the Lions to attack whichever Lions receiver is on Carr more than fellow CB Orlando Scandrick. There are plays to be made. Can Johnson, Tate and Stafford make them?

in his only playoff game in 2012 (against the Saints), Megatron had 12 catches for 211 yards and two scores.

[gettlemanjack]

The Cowboys have three Pro Bowlers along their offensive line in Martin, Frederick and tackle Tyron Smith.

Suh leads the Lions with 8.5 sacks and his 21 TFL are #3 in the NFL. He’s going to see plenty of Martin, and Frederick is likely going to shift his focus on the double team to Suh.

Suh has a unique opportunity today. If he dominates that game, it’ll be against two Pro Bowl offensive linemen. That will cement his reputation as one of, if not the, best defensive lineman in the game.

Right in time for free agency, too.

[gettlemanjack]

Lions DE Jason Jones vs. Dallas RT Jeremy Parnell

Ndamukong Suh and Ziggy Ansah have been important pieces to the Lions defense all year long, but Jones' name should be spoken in the same breath along with those guys. His ability to go inside and outside and be disruptive doing both has been one of the more under-appreciated aspects of the Lions defense this year. He has 5.5 sacks and three forced fumbles this season.

Parnell will likely fill in for Doug Free, who is listed as doubtful with an ankle injury. Parnell has started five games this year, including the last two, but he’s still a backup.

[gettlemanjack]

Lions DE Ziggy Ansah has 7.5 sacks, 3 FFs this sesson. Unfortunately, he’ll be matched up against one of the best in the NFL in Tyron Smith. This will be a good test for Ansah to see how far he’s come and how much farther he has to go as a pass rusher in this league.