In addition to our game previews below, be sure to keep an eye on our NFL injury report and the latest fantasy football news. For player usage updates and roster context, check out RotoWire's NFL depth charts, and don't miss the weekly projections to see how this week's matchups shape up.
THURSDAY NIGHT
Dallas (+3) at Detroit, o/u 54.5 – Thursday, 8:15 p.m. EST
The Cowboys are doing their best to make the NFC East interesting, at the same time as the Eagles are doing their worst. Brian Schottenheimer's crew has won three consecutive games, including back-to-back three-point victories against the two teams that played in last season's Super Bowl, and all of a sudden Dallas is just two wins back of Philly and holds the tiebreaker edge thanks to a better division record. If the Eagles pull out of their death spiral there won't be much the Cowboys can do about it, and a wild-card berth seems like a much longer shot, but hey, playing meaningful games in December is a heck of a lot better than it seemed like they were going to be doing back when they were getting lit up by Russell Wilson. Dak Prescott has an 8:2 TD:INT, 69.4 percent completion rate and 8.7 YPA during the win streak as CeeDee Lamb and George Pickens take turns tormenting secondaries, and the reinforced defense has given up a respectable 21.7 points and 312.3 yards of offense per game since Dallas' Week 10 bye, with three takeaways and eight sacks. If nothing else, this is a dangerous team that is full of confidence, and if the Cowboys come out of this one with a win, their remaining schedule has only one more playoff-caliber team on it — a Week 16 road trip to face the Chargers.
With injuries piling up on both sides of the ball once again, the Lions are struggling just to keep pace with the Packers and Bears in the NFC North, and if the regular season had ended after last week, they would have been on the outside of the playoff picture looking in. Jared Goff's tossed multiple TDs in four of the last five games and Jahmyr Gibbs has gone off for 668 scrimmage yards and six TDs in the last four, but that hasn't been enough to overcome a defense struggling to generate splash plays. Now Goff's most reliable target, Amon-Ra St. Brown, is uncertain for this one, and Detroit's already missing Sam LaPorta. Top corner Terrion Arnold's also done for the year, and even the attempt to bring Frank Ragnow out of retirement to bolster a banged-up offensive line ended before it began when he couldn't pass the physical. The Lions have yet to lose a game this season to a team that isn't a divisional foe or which didn't play in the Super Bowl last season, but being 0-2 against KC and Philly while Dallas is 2-0 isn't exactly encouraging.
Key Info
DAL injury report: LT Tyler Guyton (out, ankle), EDGE Jadeveon Clowney (questionable, hamstring), CB Trevon Diggs (IR, knee), S Malik Hooker (questionable, back), S Juanyeh Thomas (NFI, migraines)
DET injury report: WR Amon-Ra St. Brown (questionable, ankle), WR Kalif Raymond (doubtful, ankle), TE Sam LaPorta (IR, back) TE Brock Wright (questionable, neck), LT Taylor Decker (questionable, shoulder), LG Christian Mahogany (IR, leg), LG Kayode Awosika (questionable, foot), C Graham Glasgow (questionable, knee), RT Penei Sewell (questionable, shoulder), CB Terrion Arnold (IR, shoulder), S Kerby Joseph (questionable, knee), S Brian Branch (questionable, toe)
Slight lean: WR CeeDee Lamb (DET 24th in DVOA vs. WR1)
Strong lean: WR Jameson Williams (DAL 30th in DVOA vs. WR1)
Slight fade: RB Javonte Williams (DET seventh in rushing DVOA, fifth in YPC allowed, t-fifth in rushing TDs allowed to RBs)
No DET fades, at least not from the matchup with the DAL defense anyway
Watch: Stream NFL games on Sling
NFL weather report: indoors
The Scoop: Javonte W churns out 80 combined yards. Prescott throws for 270 yards and three touchdowns, two to Lamb (who tops 100 yards) and one to Jake Ferguson, while KaVontae Turpin takes a kickoff to the house. Gibbs erupts for 140 scrimmage yards and two TDs, one rushing and one receiving. Goff throws for 260 and two more scores, finding Jameson W (who also tops 100 yards) and Isaac TeSlaa. Lions 34-28
Last week's record: 11-5, 10-5-1 ATS, 11-5 o/u
2025 record: 127-66-1 (.658), 103-85-6 ATS (.548), 92-101-1 o/u (.477)
