DETROIT – Well, if there was any question about whether the Detroit Lions were still mad about what happened against the Cowboys last season, we now have our answer.
Clearly, they did not forget.
It’s not just that the Lions went into Dallas this weekend and showed no mercy in a 47-9 drubbing. Heck, it’s not even that the starting offense continued to throw passes with a 31-point lead in the fourth quarter.
Nah, what really gave it away was how the Lions tried to completely humiliate the Cowboys. Like a cat playing with its food.
It began in the middle of the third quarter, with the game already over, at 34-9. The Lions were on the 2-yard line. Taylor Decker and Dan Skipper both reported as eligible, and I’m pretty sure everyone in the stadium knew what was coming.
OK, let’s back up for a second, just in case you haven’t been paying attention for the past 10 months. Last year, in a Week 17 matchup with massive seeding implications, the Lions appeared to beat the Cowboys in Dallas on a last-second two-point conversion pass to Decker.
But the play was called back by a penalty for an ineligible player downfield. Essentially, the officials said the Lions were being too sneaky, and they deemed Skipper was the one who officially reported, not Decker.
“Decker reported” has become something of a rallying cry since then, so the Lions were obviously going to try something in this game.
So on first and goal, even though Decker was well covered, Jared Goff tried to squeeze a pass into a tight window for a touchdown. It actually hit Decker’s hands, but the defender broke it up, and the pass fell incomplete.
You might have thought, “Ah, OK, they took their chance. It was cute. Now they’ll move on."
Nope. Not even close.
On the very next drive -- now up 37-9 -- the Lions faced a second and 8 from the 10-yard line. Goff passed to Amon-Ra St. Brown, who lateraled to Penei Sewell, who lumbered 9 or 10 yards and dove for the goal line.
Whether he actually made it, we’ll never know. Because the play was called back. For an illegal man downfield (Frank Ragnow).
Once again, the Lions settled for a field goal.
After the Lions let Goff throw one more touchdown pass to make it 47-9 early in the fourth, Hendon Hooker took over at quarterback. On a fourth down play at the Dallas 31-yard line, guess who reported as eligible and lined up at wide receiver.
Dan Skipper. And the Lions were clearly going to try to get him the ball, too. But the play was well defended, and Hooker got sacked.
Most teams would have already moved on from what happened last season. A few might have tried one trick play to make a statement.
But the Lions clearly went into Dallas on a mission not only to win the game in blowout fashion, but to stick the Cowboys' nose in it, too.
None of passes to linemen worked, but hey, I’m guessing the Lions will take the 38-point win.
