Week 17 Game Recap: Detroit Lions 39, Dallas Cowboys 31

What you need to know

Detroit Lions

The Lions saved their best scoring output for the last game of the season. In doing so, they ended Dallas’ chances of winning the NFC East and cost themselves the first pick in the draft.

Mike Furrey had a career high 11 receptions and finished with 98 grabs on the season. Furrey caught one touchdown pass and had 102 yards. Roy Williams joined him in the 100 yard club and caught two touchdowns on the day. Both receivers finished above the 1,000 yard mark on the season.

Jon Kitna passed for 306 yards and four touchdowns on the day. He eclipsed the 4,000 yard passing mark during the game for the first time in his career. Kitna also set the Lions’ single season completion mark with 372 completions for the season.

Return man Eddie Drummond helped Detroit to an early 13-0 lead. His 40 yard punt return set up a field goal. After his 32 yard return on Dallas’ next punt, Detroit had the ball at the Cowboy 21 yard line. Two plays later, Kitna hit Roy Williams for a 20 yard touchdown.

The Lions were opportunistic in the game. Four Dallas turnovers and a muffed punt led to 17 points for Detroit. The defense surrendered 365 total yards, but stopped Tony Romo at the one yard line on a fourth and goal play to seal the victory.

Detroit rushed 25 times for only 85 yards. The Lions finished last in the league in rushing yards and set a new NFL record for fewest running attempts in a season. Aveion Cason and Arlen Harris each had ten rushing attempts. Cason gained 31 yards, while Harris had 29. Each had long gains of nine yards. Quarterback, Jon Kitna was Detroit’s most effective rusher with 25 yards on five scrambles. Several times, Kitna was able to convert first downs with his runs.

Detroit led all NFL teams with 16 players on injured reserve this season. During the game, rookie right tackle, Jonathan Scott was carted off the field with a hip injury.

Dallas Cowboys

The Cowboys limped into the playoffs losing their final three home games and winning only once in their last four overall. In the lackluster NFC, however, a 9-7 record guarantees them a playoff spot. Dallas will have to travel to Seattle as a wildcard team.

In this game, the Cowboys were doomed by a key penalty, turnovers, and a suspect pass defense.

Roy Williams intercepted Jon Kitna’s pass attempt on the first play of the game. Williams returned it 51 yards for a touchdown. However, a personal foul penalty on Terence Newman nullified the play and helped the Lions march downfield for a field goal. The net effect of the penalty was a ten point swing in Detroit’s favor.

Newman later made another costly mistake. With time in the first half winding down, he muffed a punt. The Lions recovered the football at the Dallas 40 yard line. Jon Kitna hit Roy Williams for a 14 yard touchdown pass two seconds before halftime to give Detroit a 20-14 lead.

Tony Romo threw one interception and lost two fumbles. Those turnovers led to ten Detroit points.

Finally, the Cowboys were torched by the Lion passing game. Despite five sacks, Jon Kitna passed for 306 yards and four touchdowns. Both Roy Williams and Mike Furrey had 100 yard receiving games.

Offensively, the Cowboys were ineffective on the ground with only 58 yards rushing on 21 tries. Julius Jones led them with only 27 yards on ten attempts. With the running game struggling, Dallas turned to Tony Romo, who had a pretty good passing day. Romo finished 23 of 32 for a career high 321 yards passing. Romo threw touchdown passes to Patrick Crayton and Terrell Owens. He was intercepted once. However, Romo did not do a good job taking care of the football. He fumbled four times (including twice when he dropped the ball without being touched) and lost two of them.

Terence Newman helped to make up for his earlier miscues with a 56 yard punt return for a touchdown early in the third quarter.

What you ought to know

QB Jon Kitna, Pass: 28 - 42 - 306 - 4 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 5 - 25 - 0

During the game, Kitna surpassed the 4,000 yard passing mark for the first time in his career. His 306 yards gave him a total of 4,208 yards for the season. Kitna’s season high four touchdown passes left him with 21 for the year. Although Kitna threw only one interception, he could have had three others. Roy Williams intercepted Kitna’s pass on the first play of the game and returned it for a touchdown. However, the play was overturned by a penalty. Williams later dropped an easy interception in the end zone after the Lion receiver had fallen down. Bobby Carpenter also had a potential interception sail off his fingertips.

Considering that he was given little help with the rushing offense, Kitna had a pretty effective game. After throwing one interception in the first half and nearly throwing two others, Kitna took care of the ball and led the Lions to the victory. He was 15 of 23 for 176 yards and two touchdowns after halftime.

Kitna showed the ability to run the ball and pick up first downs when necessary. He scrambled five times for 25 yards and was able to keep several drives moving with his feet.

RB Arlen Harris, Rush: 10 - 29 - 0, Rec: 4 - 38 - 0 (4 targets)

Harris did not start at tailback, but split attempts evenly with Aveion Cason. Harris gained 29 yards on his ten carries with a long run of nine yards. Harris was Detroit’s third leading receiver with four grabs for 38 yards.

RB Aveion Cason, Rush: 10 - 31 - 0, Rec: 2 - 18 - 0 (3 targets)

Cason started the game at tailback, but shared carries evenly with Arlen Harris. Cason rushed ten times for 31 yards. His long run was a nine yard gain. Cason had receptions of 14 and four yards.

RB Cory Schlesinger

Schlesinger was used only as a blocker on offense. However, he hustled downfield and recovered the football after Terence Newman muffed a punt.

WR Mike Furrey, Rec: 11 - 102 - 1 (14 targets)

Furrey led the game in targets and receptions. He finished the season with 98 receptions, trailing only Andre Johnson among all NFL pass catchers. Over the final six weeks of the season, no player had more catches than Furrey’s 49. During the contest, Furrey surpassed 1,000 yards. He finished with 1,086 yards for the year. His 13 yard touchdown catch marked the sixth time he found the end zone this season. Furrey made a couple of particularly nice catches when he was able to get his toes down in bounds. After he was ruled out on the second occasion, he implored the coaches to challenge the play. They did and the play was overturned in Detroit’s favor.

WR Roy Williams, Rec: 6 - 104 - 2 (11 targets)

Williams caught six balls for 104 yards and two touchdowns. He lost an 11 yard reception to a holding penalty. Williams led the NFL with six 100 yard receiving games this season. He finished with 82 catches for 1,310 yards and seven touchdowns and has moved into the elite receiver neighborhood.

Williams’ first touchdown catch was a pretty reception where Williams did an amazing job of getting both feet in bounds. Kitna threw the ball high in the end zone and Williams was able to easily snare his second touchdown just before halftime.

WR Mike Williams, Rec: 2 - 28 - 1 (4 targets)

Williams had two receptions for 28 yards, including a 21 yard touchdown catch. It was his second career touchdown catch and the first since the first game of his NFL career. He was the target of Detroit’s only two point try of the season, but the pass was incomplete. Williams finished a disappointing second season with eight catches for 99 yards.

WR Devale Ellis, Rec: 1 - 3 - 0 (1 targets)

Ellis had a three yard reception. It was the fourth catch of his rookie season.

WR Corey Bradford, Rec: 1 - 6 - 0 (3 targets)

The disappointing Bradford caught one pass for a six yard gain. He dropped one of his opportunities on pass attempt that was behind him, but was catchable. Bradford had only 14 catches on the season.

TE Sean McHugh, Rec: 1 - 7 - 0 (2 targets)

McHugh’s third reception of the season went for seven yards.

TE Dan Campbell (1 targets)

Campbell was targeted once. Kitna overthrew him on a relatively deep pass down the middle. Campbell finished the season with 21 catches for 308 yards and 4 touchdowns.

PK Jason Hanson 4 - 4 FG, 3 - 3 XP, 15 points

The Lions’ career scoring leader had a perfect day to close out the season. Hanson hit field goals of 33, 25, 26, and 23 yards. He finished the 2006 campaign by hitting his final 14 field goals. Hanson hit all three of his extra point tries. He finished his fifteenth campaign with 114 points and an 88 percent success rate on field goals (29 for 33).

DET Rush Defense

The Detroit rush defense never allowed the Dallas rushing attack to establish itself. Dallas rushed for only 58 yards on 21 attempts for a 2.8 yard average. Marion Barber had a one yard rushing touchdown, but otherwise had little success. Julius Jones was held to 27 yards on ten carries.

DET Pass Defense

The Lions’ defense allowed Tony Romo to pass for a career high 321 yards. Romo burnt them for his two longest career completions, a 56 yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens and a 54 yard pass to Terry Glenn. Romo completed almost 72 percent of his passes. Detroit sacked Romo four times. Romo fumbled four times and the Lions recovered two of them. Kenoy Kennedy notched his second interception of the season. Cory Redding, Corey Smith, and Kalimba Edwards each had sacks. The defense was credited with a fourth sack when Romo fumbled without being hit. Edwards and Paris Lenon each had fumble recoveries.

QB Tony Romo, Pass: 23 - 32 - 321 - 2 TD / 1 INT, Rush: 4 - 16 - 0

Romo passed for a career high 321 yards to close out the regular season. He threw his two longest career completions, a 56 yard touchdown pass to Terrell Owens and a 54 yard pass to Terry Glenn. Romo completed nearly 72 percent of his passes, but did not protect the ball well. He overthrew Anthony Fasano and was intercepted by Kenoy Kennedy. He also fumbled four times and lost two of them. One of the fumbles killed a Dallas drive deep in Detroit territory. On the play, Romo scrambled to buy time; he was rolling left and looking for an open receiver when he was hit from behind and fumbled; Romo was guilty of holding the ball both too long and two carelessly. Romo fumbled on two other occasions without being touched. On the first occasion, he dropped the ball in his own end zone. He maintained his cool, picked the ball up, and completed a pass to Terrell Owens that converted a first down. However, the second unforced fumble was recovered by Kalimba Edwards and led to a Lions’ field goal that gave them an eight point lead with just over one minute to play.

Romo scrambled four times for sixteen yards. He was forced to run on Dallas’ last gasp fourth and goal play from the six, but was stopped at the one yard line.

RB Marion Barber III, Rush: 7 - 15 - 1, Rec: 5 - 23 - 0 (5 targets)

Barber rushed seven times for only 15 yards and closed out his last two games by gaining only 18 yards on his last 13 attempts. Barber’s one yard touchdown run gave him 14 rushing touchdowns for the season, however. He finished tied for third in the NFL with 16 total touchdowns. On the season, Barber averaged 4.8 yards per attempt and totaled 654 rushing yards.

Barber was credited with a two yard loss on his first reception on what appeared to be a backwards pass. He was swarmed by the defense and did a nice job to avoid a much bigger loss on the play. In all, he caught five passes for 23 yards in this game and totaled 23 grabs for 196 yards on the season.

RB Julius Jones, Rush: 10 - 27 - 0

Jones led the Cowboys with a paltry 27 rushing yards in the game. He had a long run of ten yards, but gained only 17 yards on his other nine attempts. Jones eclipsed the 1,000 yard mark in week 14, but finished the season with only 81 yards over his final three games. He averaged 4.1 yards for the season and totaled four rushing touchdowns. Jones was not targeted in the game and caught only nine passes this season.

RB Lousaka Polite (1 targets)

Fullback, Lousaka Polite, had no carries and was targeted once unsuccessfully.

WR Terrell Owens, Rec: 6 - 117 - 1 (9 targets)

Owens had a game high 117 yards receiving on his six catches. His 56 yard reception gave him an NFL leading 13 touchdown grabs for the season. Owens led the league in another category this season: dropped passes. He added to that total early in the game, when he was unable to hold a short Romo pass. In his defense, however, he was hit just after the ball arrived. Owens did made a nice one handed grab on a crossing route pass that Tony Romo threw behind him.

Owens finished the season with 85 catches for 1,180 yards. Owens now has seven career 1,000 yard seasons. He has totaled over 1,000 yards receiving in six of the last seven years. He was on pace to eclipse the mark last year as well, but was instead sent home by the Eagles in response to his inappropriate behavior.

WR Terry Glenn, Rec: 6 - 109 - 0 (10 targets)

Glenn led the Cowboys with ten targets. He caught six passes for 109 yards. Tony Romo hit him deep downfield on a flea-flicker play for a 54 yard gain. Glenn finished with 1,047 receiving yards for his second consecutive 1,000 yard season and the fourth of his career. Glenn was targeted twice in the end zone, but did not have a touchdown reception. He finished the season with six touchdown catches.

WR Patrick Crayton, Rec: 2 - 10 - 1 (2 targets)

Crayton was targeted only twice, but made the most of his opportunities. He was stopped by two defenders at the Detroit one yard line, but was able to reach the ball across the goal line for a touchdown in the second quarter. Late in the game Crayton’s four yard catch converted a first down and stopped the clock. For the season, Crayton caught 26 balls for 516 yards and four touchdowns.

TE Jason Witten, Rec: 4 - 62 - 0 (5 targets)

Witten contributed four catches for 62 yards. His long gain went for 24 yards. For the season, Witten hauled in 64 passes for 754 yards, but had only one touchdown catch.

TE Anthony Fasano (1 targets)

Fasano was the targeted receiver on Tony Romo’s interception, but the ball was thrown over his head. The rookie tight end did not have a catch. He caught 14 passes for 126 yards on the season.

PK Martin Gramatica 1 - 1 FG, 4 - 4 XP, 7 points

Gramatica hit all four of his extra point attempts and nailed a 39 yard field goal on his only try. After converting seven of his nine field goal attempts on the season, he appears to have resurrected his career.

DAL Rush Defense

The Cowboys held the Lions to 85 yards rushing on 25 attempts. However, Detroit entered the game last in the NFL in rushing offense with under 70 yards per game. Nevertheless, the Lions never established a consistent rushing attack and were forced to go to the air frequently. Aveion Cason led the Lions with 31 running yards. Jon Kitna’s 12 yard scramble was the game’s longest run. Bradie James led the defense with eight solo tackles and two assists.

DAL Pass Defense

Roy Williams intercepted Jon Kitna’s first pass of the game and returned it 51 yards for a touchdown. The play was nullified, however, by an unnecessary roughness penalty on Terence Newman. Detroit then drove downfield for a field goal. As a result, the Cowboys found themselves trailing 3-0 rather than enjoying a quick seven point lead. Kitna went on to pass for a season high four touchdowns and totaled 306 passing yards on the day. Mike Furrey and Roy Williams each enjoyed 100 yard games. Pat Watkins had the lone Dallas interception. Roy Williams dropped an easy interception in the end zone. Bobby Carpenter also had a chance for an interception, but the ball sailed through his hands.

The Dallas defense did a good job of pressuring Kitna throughout the contest and sacked him five times. DeMarcus Ware led the charge with three sacks. His 11.5 sacks set a new Cowboys' single season mark for linebackers. Stephen Bowen and Kenyon Coleman had the other two sacks.