The Dallas Cowboys saw their winning streak come to an end on Thursday night against the Detroit Lions. Looking to keep their playoff hopes alive, Dallas could not overcome a poor first half as they lost 44-30. While the last two victories showed improvement in many areas, the Cowboys went right back to their old, bad habits.
Dallas made several mistakes at key moments, which included turnovers and committing costly penalties. There is plenty of blame to go around after a loss that essentially ruins this team's playoff hopes. Let's take a look at which players deserve the most blame.
3 Cowboys who deserve blame for ugly Lions loss
1. Jake Ferguson
Thursday night was a nightmare for Jake Ferguson. He finished with over 50 yards receiving, but the statistics will not be remembered by fans. What most will remember from this game are the mistakes he made at critical points of the game.
Ferguson's bad night began with a familiar mistake. Down 10-6 midway through the second quarter, the offense finally started showing signs of life. However, the drive ended when Ferguson was stripped of the ball trying to get extra yardage. The fumble looked very similar to the one he had against Arizona. It also marked his seventh fumble in his last 25 games. Ball security needs to be something Ferguson works on the rest of this season.
Ferguson also contributed heavily to Dallas' penalty issues for the night. His first penalty came later in the second quarter when he was called for a "hands to the face" penalty. The penalty offset another one committed by Detroit that would have given Dallas a first down inside the five-yard line.
George Pickens was interfered with by D.J. Reed going for a deep ball. Had Ferguson not committed that penalty, the Cowboys have a goal to go situation and likely would have finished off the drive with a touchdown. That would have made it 17-13 and put them in better position to make a comeback instead of settling for a field goal.
The last costly mistake by Ferguson came with some controversy. Down by 10 with less than five minutes left, Dak Prescott went looking for Ferguson for a touchdown, but it appeared he was interfered with by Alex Anzalone. The flag came in, but the officials called the penalty on Ferguson for offensive pass interference. Needless to say, most would call this penalty questionable.
While the last mistake can be debated on whether it was right or not, it does not take away from the other mistakes Ferguson made in this game. The Cowboys extended him this offseason with a four-year, $52 million contract. For a tight end that Dallas is tagging as its franchise player at his position, those mistakes have to be corrected.
Ferguson deserves the most amount of blame for this loss.
2. Dak Prescott
Prescott was facing a lot of pressure all night from the Lions' defense. After only accumulating four sacks in their last few games, Detroit had five against the Cowboys. Tyler Guyton being out led to Nate Thomas struggling to handle Aidan Hutchinson. While the offensive line deserves some blame for not protecting Prescott well, the quarterback needs to share more of the blame between the two parties.
The game started that way when he nearly gave points to the Lions on a sack that looked like a safety. While he caught a break, a veteran quarterback like him needs to know when to try to get rid of that football and live to play another down.
Another ugly moment came when he faced pressure again and tried to hit Ferguson on a short route to his left. Unfortunately, he threw the ball backwards, and it would have been a fumble had Ferguson not picked up the ball. The play ended up being a 15-yard loss that threw the drive completely off schedule. An experienced quarterback should know better than to throw anything backwards when his feet are not set.
3. Shavon Revel Jr.
Rookie Shavon Revel Jr. has finally gotten back on the football field over the last few weeks. With Trevon Diggs still out, Revel has played a lot opposite DaRon Bland the last three games. He showed growth in the Eagles and Chiefs games, but against the Lions, he showed his inexperience.
Jared Goff picked on Revel most of the night, no matter who he had to line up against. With seconds left in the first half, Goff looked for Amon-Ra St. Brown on a deep pass on third down, but it fell incomplete. However, Revel was called for pass interference, which led to a field goal. With the ball at the 43-yard line, the attempt would have been harder if the pass had not connected.
Things only got worse for Revel after Prescott's first interception. Isaac TeSlaa blew right by him for an easy touchdown catch to start the 3rd quarter. Dallas' attempt at a comeback got even harder after that score.
Revel's journey back to the field coming off a torn ACL he suffered in college is one of the better storylines for this team in 2025. The Cowboys took a gamble drafting an injured player, but Revel has upside.
As a rookie only playing about half this season, he can only get better. However, those are mistakes he has to learn not to make if he wants to remain a starting corner.