Lions at Cowboys
THE STORY: Matthew Stafford probably has waited his entire adult life for this week to arrive. Meanwhile, fans of the Detroit Lions haven’t seen their football team look this good since before Stafford was born. Stafford leads the surging Lions, who are 3-0 for the first time in 31 years, into his hometown Sunday to face Tony Romo and the banged-up Dallas Cowboys. Detroit suffered through an 0-16 season in 2008, but Detroit has won seven straight dating to last season, proving they are no longer pushovers. The 23-year-old Stafford, who led Highland Park to a Texas Class 4A state championship as a senior, will be looking to impress family and friends in his homecoming. He missed Detroit’s 35-19 loss in Dallas last November with a separated shoulder. Romo helped Dallas eke out an 18-16 win over Washington on Monday night, one week after suffering a fractured rib and a punctured lung. Dallas has won two straight and five of the last six meetings.
TV: FOX, 1 p.m. ET. LINE: Dallas -1, O/U 46
ABOUT THE LIONS (3-0): Detroit is off to its best start since the 1980 Lions opened the season with four straight wins. Stafford threw two touchdowns and Detroit ended a 13-game road losing streak to Minnesota last week by rallying from a 20-point deficit. Stafford is fifth in the league in yards (977) and tied for second in the NFL in touchdown passes (9). WR Calvin Johnson leads all non-quarterbacks with six touchdowns. Johnson is the first player in league history to score at least two touchdowns in his team's first three games. The Lions lead the league with a plus-six turnover differential.
ABOUT THE COWBOYS (2-1): Dan Bailey tied a league rookie record with six field goals, including the game-winner Monday night. It was the Cowboys' NFL-record ninth straight game decided by three points or less (5-4). Romo wore a Kevlar vest and received two pain-killing injections prior to Monday night’s win. Injuries to the receiving corps and rookie center Phil Costa’s premature snaps had Dallas’ offense out of sync most of the night. RB Felix Jones ran for a career-high 115 yards on just 14 carries. Romo missed last season’s contest against Detroit with a broken collarbone.
EXTRA POINTS:
1. Cowboys LB DeMarcus Ware recorded his league-best fifth sack Monday night. His 85 sacks in 99 games are second to only Hall of Famer Reggie White (105) in that span.
2. Detroit has won four consecutive road games for the first time since 1970.
3. "When I saw the schedule for this year, I was like, 'Yes!'" Stafford said in a conference call. "I was excited to come back to Dallas. It was tough to miss that game last year, but it's going to be fun to be back home playing."