Instant observations: Lions drop stunner on another controversial penalty in Dallas

ARLINGTON, Texas — Another prime-time game in Dallas.

Another piece of laundry on the field that drove a stake into the heart of Detroit.

Left tackle Taylor Decker caught what appeared to be a go-ahead 2-point conversion pass with 23 seconds left — yes, you read that correctly — that could have sent the Lions to the No. 2 seed in the NFC. But the officials penalized Decker for illegal touching, apparently insisting he did not report as an eligible receiver. Jared Goff protested their case, and so did Dan Campbell, who was more visibly heated than at any other moment in his time in Detroit.

It was to no avail.

The Lions still tried to go for the win after that, and a Cowboys penalty gave them two shots at it. But they couldn’t punch either play into the end zone, and Detroit was sent home with a wild 20-19 loss on Saturday night against the Dallas Cowboys at AT&T Stadium.

Detroit is no stranger to controversial penalties in Dallas. Perhaps you’ll recall the officials assessing a defensive pass interference against Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens in the 2014 playoffs, before moving the ball back to the original line of scrimmage and waving off the penalty. That sent off a firestorm back in Detroit, and the NFL later acknowledged a penalty should have been assessed on the play.

Instead, the Lions were forced to punt away the football. They shanked that punt, allowed a go-ahead touchdown on the following series, and still haven’t come that close to winning in the playoffs since.

This loss deals a blow to their postseason chances too. Detroit (11-5) would have controlled its destiny for the No. 2 seed with a win against the Cowboys, and been in play for the No. 1 seed too. Instead, it now falls a half-game behind San Francisco (11-4) and Philadelphia (11-4) heading into Sunday’s games, plus is in a head-to-head tie with Dallas (11-5) that it would lose based on tonight’s result.

The good news is the Lions can fall no lower than the No. 3 seed, their best positioning since 1993. They would host the No. 6 seed in a wild-card game at Ford Field.

Detroit wraps up the regular season next week against the Minnesota Vikings, and will look to avoid its first losing streak of the season heading into the playoffs.

The Lions struck first in Dallas, driving deep into Cowboys territory to open the game before stalling and settling for a 41-yard field goal by Michael Badgley. But their offensive rhythm died after that, punting twice and throwing a pick over their next four possessions while struggling to contend with the speed of the Cowboys defense.

They used a fake punt to drive inside Dallas’ 5-yard line on their other possession during that stretch, but Campbell elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal from nearly the 5-yard line. Goff was under heavy duress on the play, and couldn’t connect with tight end Sam LaPorta streaking across the middle of the field.

But the Lions remained in the game thanks to more excellent defense from Aaron Glenn’s resurgent unit. They’ve played better in recent weeks, and the rise of Ifeatu Melifonwu has been a big reason for that. He’s been especially good on the blitz, then iced Detroit’s first division title in 30 years with a game-clinching pick last week in Minnesota. He opened this one in similar fashion, stepping in front of a Dak Prescott pass intended for CeeDee Lamb, killing a promising Cowboys scoring opportunity.

Cornerback Kindle Vildor forced a Lamb fumble that bounded into the end zone and out of bounds, killing another excellent Cowboys scoring opportunity, while Aidan Hutchinson racked up two sacks to kill two more drives late in the first half.

Other than a 92-yard touchdown catch by Lamb — on a play where Derrick Barnes didn’t hit Prescott despite rushing clean on a blitz, and then Vildor falling in coverage in the back end — the defense was nearly flawless for three quarters.

Finally the Lions offense woke up in the third quarter, and David Montgomery rushed seven times for 44 yards on a single drive, the last 3 of which came on a punishing plunge into the end zone. That gave Detroit a 10-7 lead midway through the third quarter.

But Dallas kept coming, booting a 51-yard field goal that tied the game, then later added an 8-yard touchdown catch by Brandin Cooks that pushed them ahead late in the fourth quarter.

Detroit’s offense had a chance at a response, but Goff couldn’t connect with Amon-Ra St. Brown on third-and-5, and the Lions were forced to punt away the football with about 6 minutes left.

Detroit needed stops, and suddenly, it couldn’t find any. Not even on third-and-10, as Prescott found Lamb working against safety Kerby Joseph for 22 yards.

Aidan Hutchinson finally broke through with a sack on third-and-5, his third of the game, and the Lions got the ball back one last time with 2:33 left. Jared Goff has thrived in situations like that all season, but after connecting with LaPorta to open the drive, he was picked while trying to find his rookie tight end again by safety Donovan Wilson.

Dallas added a 43-yard field goal that stretched the lead to 20-13 with 1:41 left, but also gave the Lions one final shot at a comeback. And this time, Goff moved the offense skillfully, again relying on his rookie tight end, hitting LaPorta twice for 35 yards to get near midfield, then hit him again for 15 yards on third-and-10. And just like that, the Lions were in the red zone with 28 seconds left.

After stopping the clock with a spike, Goff threw wide right to Amon-Ra St. Brown, and the dazzling third-year receiver turned upfield for a touchdown that gave Detroit the opportunity to knot up the game.

But Campbell already turned down the opportunity to kick a field goal inside the 5-yard line, and even with the game hanging in the balance, decided to go for two points and the win.

They appeared to stun the Cowboys with a pass to Decker.

Alas. Another piece of laundry on the field, and more heartbreak in Dallas.

Letls get to some more observations:

— Amon-Ra St. Brown finished with six catches for 90 yards and the final touchdown, running his career total to 308 receptions. That ranks third among all players through three seasons in NFL history. The only players with more are Justin Jefferson (324) and Michael Thomas (321). He’s currently second in the NFL this season, trailing only CeeDee Lamb.

— Jameson Williams has been coming for weeks. In Dallas, he arrived. The speedy wideout ran over the top of the defense in the fourth quarter, and Jared Goff stood tall against a big hit to deliver a strike to Williams for 61 yards. That’s the sort of possibility we’ve been dreaming about since the Lions traded up for the former Alabama star with the 12th overall pick in last year’s draft. But the progress has been slowed by injury and suspension, and Williams was more of a project once he finally did hit the field than expected. But he’s earned the trust of coaches with improved route running in recent weeks, and his playing time has spiked because of it. Goff has looked for him more too, including in tight windows. And finally, they broke a big one in Dallas. It came at a huge moment too, with the Lions locked in a 10-all game in the fourth quarter on the road against the mighty Cowboys defense. Detroit wound up kicking a go-ahead field goal, and taking a 13-10 lead with 12:18 left.

— There is nothing iffy about Iffy Melifonwu, the breakout star of the defense this season. He finished last week’s game by picking off a title-clinching pass, then opened this one by picking off a Dak Prescott pass on the very first drive of the night. Prescott had escaped pressure and was looking for top target CeeDee Lamb. Melifonwu showed great instincts by jumping the pass, killing a promising scoring drive for Dallas and setting the tone for the Lions defense early.

If you watched the film from the last month, you’d have no idea Melifonwu spent the previous 2.5 seasons bouncing from cornerback to safety without breaking through anywhere on the field. Injuries had a lot to do with that too. But he’s finally remained healthy this season, and was showing some special stuff on the blitz in practice. Now he’s cracked the starting lineup for the first time in his career, and instantly racked up three sacks in four games, added two picks and defended a whole bunch of passes — all from a guy who was averaging less than one defensive snap per game over the previous two months. That’s stunning stuff, and a huge reason the Lions defense is playing some of its best ball of the season. With Ceedy Duce due back next week, here’s betting Kerby Joseph is the man who comes off the field. How can you take Melifonwu off the field when he’s doing stuff like this every week?

— Where would this team be without David Montgomery? Yes, Jahmyr Gibbs has been the best big-play threat in the league out of the backfield. But when Detroit has needed tough yardage this season, no one has been better or more consistent than the veteran pounder. And with the Lions still stuck on three points in the third quarter, Montgomery put the Lions on his impressive shoulders, running seven times for 44 yards on a single drive, and finished off things himself with a 3-yard touchdown blast that pushed Detroit back ahead 10-7. On a night where Gibbs was wrapped up in the backfield by the speed of the Cowboys defense, Montgomery’s contributions were essential, finishing with 14 carries for 65 yards on a night where Dallas confounded the rest of Detroit’s running game.

— Aidan Hutchinson woke up from his late-season slumber by taking down Dak Prescott twice late in the first half. Both plays were big too, thwarting Dallas opportunities to break through in a 7-3 game just before halftime. Hutchinson added a third sack in the second half to help Detroit’s defense get off the field. He’s been one of the most productive pressure generators in the league this season, but had just 6.5 sacks to show for it heading into the weekend, and just one in his last four games combined.

— Another week, another batch of records for the amazing Sam LaPorta. He caught seven passes for 84 yards against Dallas, passing Jeremy Shockey for second place on the all-time rookie tight ends catch list. He also passed Brandon Pettigrew for the franchise yardage record by any tight end, rookie or otherwise. That’s supposed to be one of the most difficult positions in the game for a rookie, and no one — no matter how experienced — has ever had as many yards in a season for this team as Samuel Joseph LaPorta.

— Since Dan Campbell took over in Detroit, no one has stolen more possessions with fake punts than that guy. He did it again in Dallas, with an excellent play design that used the film against Dallas. The Lions have already attempted two fakes by having Jalen Reeves-Maybin run on after taking a direct snap. They set up a similar play against the Cowboys, with Reeves-Maybin taking a direct snap and working right — then when the Cowboys swarmed him, he lofted a lollipop over the defense for Khalil Dorsey. They play went for 31 yards, and helped set up an excellent scoring opportunity inside the 5-yard line. But Campbell elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal, and this time, the gamble didn’t pay off. Jared Goff was under heavy pressure in the backfield, and couldn’t connect with Sam LaPorta working over the middle of the field. There’s a lot to like about Campbell’s aggressiveness — again, no one has stolen more possessions than that guy — but the go-for-it felt like a bit too much even before the play misfired. In a 7-3 game, points were at a premium, and Detroit came away with none at all.

As for the two-point conversion attempts — even after the penalty — well, your guess is as good as mine at this point. Campbell clearly wanted to go for the win, and even when they were backed up to the 7-yard line because of the penalty assessed against Decker, Campbell stuck with that mind-set rather than play for overtime. You have to wonder if he was concerned about playing bonus football this late in the season, and the toll that it could take on a team that is already playoff-bound.