Lions return to scene of painful loss to Cowboys

Jared Goff could have earned the nickname “Mr. Perfect” after his last outing. The Detroit Lions quarterback completed all 18 of his pass attempts against Seattle and even caught a touchdown pass from his favorite target, receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown.Goff had extra time to reflect on his performance as Detroit’s bye week came up early on its schedule. The Lions (3-1) next travel to Arlington, Texas, to face Dallas on Sunday.For Goff, his NFL record-breaking performance in the 42-29 home victory over the Seahawks on Sept. 30 wasn’t an all-time best.”There are other games that I felt like I’ve played even better,” he said. “We just had no incompletions, which is rare. I felt good, but I’ve had games where I feel even better, and things are clicking even more. I think we can get there. We can do even better and continue to improve.”The Lions’ last trip to the Cowboys’ home stadium, on Dec. 30, 2023, was memorable in a different way. Goff completed an apparent, go-ahead two-point conversion pass to lineman Taylor Decker in the closing seconds. However, Decker was deemed to be an ineligible receiver and Detroit lost 20-19. It was a controversial ruling that left the Lions fuming at the time.Goff said there is a revenge factor but not because of the officials’ call.”I don’t want to dwell on something that was eight months ago or whatever. I don’t think we got screwed intentionally,” he said. “I think it was just a mistake that the officials made, and it happens. That type of stuff happens, and you move on, but no, I don’t think we take it personally. Yeah, of course I think it’s more on the lines … we haven’t beaten these guys two years in a row and that’s more in our heads of like, ‘All right, it’s time to try and stop that.'”The Cowboys (3-2) are still looking for their first home win. They bounced back from two consecutive home defeats with tight victories over the New York Giants (20-15) and Pittsburgh Steelers (20-17)Slowing down Goff and the versatile Detroit offense will be the key to getting that elusive home win.”As an offense, they’re really in sync,” Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy said. “Those guys have been together a couple of years now and they’re playing with a lot of confidence.”Goff’s counterpart, Dak Prescott, threw for 352 yards against the Steelers but he didn’t rely on his top receiver, All-Pro CeeDee Lamb. Jalen Tolbert led the receiving corps with seven receptions for 87 yards and the game-winning touchdown with 20 seconds left in regulation.

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