The Detroit Lions currently have a 4-3 record on the season, the same as their opponents on Sunday, the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas and Detroit have played 24 times, and Dallas leads the all-time series 13-11.
Similar records and a close all-time series suggest this is going to be a great game. The Cowboys are currently ranked 4th in the NFC and the Lions are 6th. The Cowboys are one step ahead of Detroit, and there are a few reasons why the Lions won’t be able to rise to the occasion:
1. Matthew Stafford vs. Tony Romo
Stafford is
n't quite at Romo's level so far this season. The Lions quarterback has a 62.8 completion percentage and 12 touchdowns, compared to Romo’s 70.2 completion percentage and 14 touchdowns. You can tell the two quarterbacks aren’t too far apart statistically, but Romo has been the more effective quarterback this year and will continue the Cowboys' two-game winning streak.
2. Calvin Johnson vs. Dez Bryant
Two explosive receivers, one competitive game. Bryant has 459 yards, which outshines Johnson’s 337 yards, but both players have six touchdowns. Johnson missed his first game since 2010 this year due to a knee injury. He'll be back in action for Sunday's game, but the knee could still cause 
issues. On the Cowboys side, DeMarco Murray is recovering from a knee injury and still questionable, and if the Cowboys don't have Murray on the field, Bryant could see the ball more often. Bryant has talked about the upcoming game to the media, and he says he believes he is the best at what he does, and can be just as good as Johnson.
3. Detroit D vs. Dallas D
The Lions defense, ranked below the defensive league average, hasn't performed as well as the Cowboys. Cowboys DE DeMarcus Ware is out with an injury, and while this could cause a significant dent in their performance, they seemed to hold up fine without him in last week’s game.
4. Extras
Joseph Randle stepping in for DeMarco Murray worked well for the Cowboys, and the new confidence they've built could lead them to another victory. The main advantage for the Lions will be the location of the game - they're 2-1 at home on the year.
The two teams are neck-and-neck in stats, and have both shown significant improvement over last year. The Cowboys have had a strange but exciting season, scoring 48 points in a loss and winning last week's game with just 17 points on the board. This will be a close game, but if we take recent momentum into account, the Lions (coming off a close home loss to Cincinnati) will come up short again.
Prediction: Cowboys win, 28-27
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