'MNF' takaways: Gutsy Dan Campbell, Dak Prescott-CeeDee Lamb connection highlight Cowboys win
A 92-yard touchdown. Three two-point conversion attempts on the same drive. Jimmy Johnson's Ring of Honor induction. "Monday Night Football" on a Saturday had it all. Let's take a look at the main takeaways from the Cowboys' wild 20-19 win over the Lions.
Dan Campbell is a madman or a genius: The Lions' gutsy head coach took NFL fans on a wild ride Saturday night. Early in the second quarter, he called a successful fake punt from inside his own 30-yard line and followed that with a failed fourth-down conversion attempt from the Cowboys' five-yard line on the same drive. However, that was just the amuse-bouche to the spectacular finale. After Detroit scored a touchdown to pull within one, 20-19, Campbell called for three two-point conversions after penalties knocked out the first two.
Tackle Taylor Decker's successful conversion on the first try was controversially called back for illegal touching. The replay showed him walking over to an official, seemingly to declare himself eligible. After that, an offsides penalty against Dallas wiped out an interception. The final two-point attempt was a poor pass by Jared Goff that fell incomplete. While it's fair to criticize Campbell for the final two two-point conversions – NFL Next Gen Stats suggested he should have kicked the extra point – his bold decisions are what turned the Lions around in the first place.
And for a brief moment following Decker's reception, it looked like his riskiness had paid off with another win.
Cowboys must overcome Mike McCarthy's decision-making: If Dallas is going to lift the Johnson curse, it will do so without any favors from McCarthy. His latest dumbfounding decision came after the two-minute warning on a second-and-14 from Detroit's 33-yard line and nearly cost the Cowboys the game. With the Lions only having one timeout, McCarthy called a low-percentage deep sideline fade that fell incomplete. Had McCarthy called two running plays or high-percentage pass plays, the Lions wouldn't have had time to nearly pull off the comeback.
The Dak Prescott-CeeDee Lamb connection is thriving: Patrick Mahomes and Travis Kelce. Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill. Prescott and Lamb reminded everyone why they belong in the conversation for the best quarterback-wide receiver combo on Saturday. Their connection was strong all night, highlighted by this 92-yard touchdown in the first quarter on a busted play.
Lamb finished with 13 receptions on 17 targets for 227 yards, giving him 122 receptions and 1,651 receiving yards on the season, both the most in franchise history.
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