Monday Night Football prediction Lions fall to Cowboys cant clinch playoff spot

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When the head to Dallas to take on the on Monday, they'll know two things: Their Week 17 game against the will decide the NFC North regardle s of what happens Monday.They can clinch a playoff spot with a win or a tie against the Cowboys.Meanwhile, when the Cowboys host the Lions, they'll know these two things: They've already locked up homefield advantage regardle s Thurman Munson Jersey of what happens Monday.On Saturday, the lost and the lost to injuries on fairly innocuous plays, both of which ruined their seasons.The point being, the Cowboys have absolutely nothing to play for on Monday night, but they have everything to lose, evidenced by what happened to Mariota and Carr. But the Lions have everything to play for, because there's no guarantee they can beat the Packers in Week 17, and if they lose their final two games, they could be sitting on the sidelines during the playoffs.With all that being said, I'm taking the Cowboys to win this game, even if it doesn't matter much to them. For as much as folks like to talk about desire and who wants/needs to win more, something other than desire is almost always more important: talent. And the Cowboys are the more talented club.The pick: Cowboys 34, Lions 24The Cowboys and Lions are a combined 21-7, so Week 16 of "Monday Night Football" should be a good Reggie Jackson Jersey one. Onto the stats ... 1. since his finger injuryIn the early going of the Lions' win over the on Dec. 11, Matthew Stafford Here's his stat line in the past two games compared to the first 12 games of the year:Comp. %YPATDsINTsPa ser RatingVs. Bears606.371264.3Vs. Giants61.57.000171.8Games 1-1267.27.45215100.5Maybe Stafford's recent slide is unrelated to his injury. Maybe the Giants shut him down because they're a pretty good defense. Or maybe Stafford is having i sues with his finger.Either way, Stafford has not played like the MVP-caliber quarterback he was at the beginning of the season. The sample size of his slump is small, but if he struggles against the Cowboys, it might be time for Detroit to begin worrying. Their quarterback is trending the wrong way. 2. , are trending upRemember when Dak Prescott struggled against the Giants (45.4 pa ser rating) and the idea of inserting into the starting lineup was raised? So much for that. Prescott put an end to the controversy with a tremendous outing in a win over Sonny Gray Jersey the . In all, he went 32 of 36 for 279 yards and a 99.0 pa ser rating, and he scored a touchdown on the ground. It was exactly the kind of performance Prescott needed.Meanwhile, Ezekiel Elliott is also trending in the right direction. After three straight games of failing to reach the 100-yard rushing mark, Elliott's averaged 133 yards in his past two games. But you already knew that Prescott and Zeke were tearing it up this season. So, let's look at how they can attack the Lions' defense. The short answer is that they should see plenty of succe s. Detroit's defense, ranked 31st in (only the are worse), isn't particularly good at anything. They allow 4.2 yards per rush (18th) and 7.4 yards per pa s (20th). According to Pro Football Focus, the Lions have allowed a 102.1 pa ser rating to opposing quarterbacks. They're Lou Gehrig Jersey tied for 27th with 14 takeaways. So yes, they can be beat -- both in the air and on the ground. Look for the Cowboys' unstoppable duo to continue their stellar seasons.3. The Lions' red zone woesOne area the Lions will need to improve in if they want to keep up with the Cowboys is the red zone. It's been an i sue all season long. They're scoring a touchdown on just of their red zone trips. the Lions have kicked six field goals, scored three touchdowns, and turned the ball over three times in their past 12 red-zone trips. On the other side, the Cowboys' defense is allowing a touchdown This isn't looking like a favorable matchup for the Lions.4. The Cowboys' overachieving defenseThe Cowboys' defense isn't talked about much because of their dominant offense, but they've been better than most expected. They're actually tied (with Denver!) for the fourth-fewest points allowed per game (18.4).In their past three games, they've been effective at getting after the pa ser, registering 10 sacks. That's an important sign, because if there's one thing that can get teams far into the postseason, it's a menacing pa s rush. 5. What Adam Lind Jersey if Tony Romo plays?So, here's the thing about the Cowboys: Having Tony Romo and Dak Prescott on the same roster was the greatest po sible outcome -- dumb controversy aside. Just ask the the Raiders and Titans, whose seasons ended to Aroldis Chapman Jersey varying degrees due to quarterback injuries. But if the Cowboys lose Prescott to an injury at some point, they'll be just fine -- perhaps even better -- with Romo under center.Here's why this is relevant for Monday night: At some point, the Cowboys might want to give Romo some reps for the first time since the preseason, both to help him shake off some rust so that he's ready to go in the event Prescott goes down, and to give Prescott some rest so that he can avoid what happened to Carr and Mariota.So, will Romo sub in for Prescott against the Lions? That remains to be seen (he won't start, of course), but there's definitely a chance he could see the field now that the Cowboys have clinched everything they can clinch. "We haven't really talked about any of the roster stuff or guys playing," said offensive coordinator Scott Linehan, "Of course, we would love to see our guys get reps and things like that. But it's really more on what we've got to do to get ready for Detroit right now. We haven't talked about that yet."But if Romo does play, don't expect the Cowboys' performance to drop off. It won't be a reason to think the Lions should suddenly be favored. In 2014, when Romo started 15 games with a dominant ground game led by DeMarco Murray, he posted a higher completion percentage, touchdown percentage, yards per attempt, and pa ser rating than Prescott has this year.The point being, the entire "Dallas Dellin Betances Jersey might rest their key starters" argument for liking the Lions to win might go out the window if it's Romo, who is looking to impre s offseason suitors, under center for a portion of Monday night. The Lions wouldn't nece sarily be catching a break if they dodge Prescott for a half or quarter.
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