Keyword: Resilience. That’s been the theme for both the Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys this season. Whether it’s Tony Romo’s ribs or falling behind by 20 points on the road, both teams have shown a flare for dramatics.
Both teams are also nicked up. Miles Austin is out as is Justin Durant for the Lions. While I think Austin is a guy who could have given the Lions some big problems, the absence of Durant may have the biggest impact. The Lions might just have the best starting 11 on both sides of the ball in the entire league. But who are the guys behind them? Former Cowboy Bobby Carpenter will replace Durant today and Dallas won’t be shy to test him. He’ll share duties trying to stop Jason Witten and will have his hands full limiting Felix Jones. Dallas let Carpenter go because they didn’t think he could handle tasks like these. As we get deeper into the season and the injuries begin to add up, we’ll find out if the rest of the Lions backups are up to the task as well.
The play of the Detroit offensive line last week is reason enough to be concerned this week. They were overwhelmed at times by the Vikings and Dallas is just as dangerous in their pass rush, if not more. They’ll need to re-group today.
Another week, another huge NFC match up for the Lions. Each game is more telling than the next as the circumstances dictate what the outcome truly means. The Lions have to run the ball much more effectively. If they can do that, coupled with some old school harassment of Tony Romo, then they will take care of business.
Prediction: Lions 31 Cowboys 30
Players to watch: Lions Special Teams, Demarcus Ware
No comments:
Post a Comment