Lions Defeat Cowboys in Thriller 31-30

In what might be the game of the year in the NFL, the Lions shocked the Dallas Cowboys 31-30, with Matthew Stafford scoring on a one-yard rush with 12 seconds to play in regulation.

Calvin Johnson had a career day for the Lions, coming up with 12 receptions, 329 yards and a touchdown.  The first half of the game was the Johnson vs. Bryant show, as Cowboys wide receiver Dez Bryant looked to back up his statements made earlier in the week.  Bryant finished the day with 72 yards and two touchdowns for the Cowboys.

In three quarters, the game seemed to be sloppy and relatively unexciting, with the score 13-7 in favor of Dallas.  The Lions had already turned the ball over four times, and had made no exceptional plays on defense themselves.

Nearly all of the highlights came in the fourth quarter, as a combined 41 points were scored. The Lions cut Dallas’ lead to three with a David Akers field goal and the Cowboys responded immediately with a touchdown. The Lions were able to stay in the game, scoring a touchdown of their own via a one-yard rush by Joique Bell. But on the very next drive Tony Romo converted a 50-yard touchdown pass to Bryant.  After quarterback Matt Stafford and the Lions failed to convert on fourth down, the game appeared to be over.  In fact, Fox commentator Brian Billick had already awarded Dallas with the W.

The Lions held the Cowboys to a 22 second drive which ended in a field goal, giving themselves just over a minute to score, trailing at the time 30-24.  Stafford then took over.  In six plays, the Lions went 80 yards to score on what looked at first to be a spike to stop the clock, when Stafford jumped and reached the ball across the goal line.  See all of the stats for this game here.

The Lions will be riding high off their emotional victory Sunday, as they have a bye week to rest up.  They return to the field on Sunday, Nov. 10 at Chicago.

Impact Stat: Calvin Johnson tied the record for most 200-yard receiving games, earning his fifth on Sunday.

Bradley Allen is a multimedia Journalist for Impact Sports.