ARLINGTON, Tex. - DeMarcus Lawrence sacked and Matthew Stafford fumbled the Dallas Cowboys to a 24-20 victory over the Detroit Lions in an NFC Wild Card game on Sunday night.
Dallas secures their first playoff victory since after the 2009 season, outscoring the Lions 17-3 in the second half after trailing the visitors 17-7 at the halftime intermission.
Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo threw two touchdowns to Terrance Williams, including an 8 yarder with 2:32 left in the game for their first and final lead.
His 76 yard bomb to Williams gave the Cowboys their first points in the second quarter. They had 80 yards of offense before that play and a two-touchdown deficit. Williams finished with 92 yards on 3 receptions.
DeMarco Murray added a 1 yard touchdown rush on a 4th-and-Goal call in the third frame that brought the Cowboys within 6. The league's best rusher ended the night with 75 yards on 19 attempts.
The Cowboys opened the second half with an interception of a tipped Matthew Stafford pass, though would come away with nothing after Dan Bailey's kick slid wide right.
Though, sadly, it would be a peculiar call against the Lions that would shape the contest.
The fourth quarter found a pass interference call go against Cowboys linebacker Anthony Hitchens on Lions tight end Brandon Pettigrew, though the flag would be picked up suddenly without explanation. Detroit would then suffer a shanked 10 yard punt that led to the Cowboys' go-ahead touchdown.
Tony Romo finished 19-of-31 on 293 yards passing in his second career postseason victory. Ndamukong Suh sacked Romo on successive plays on the game-winning drive before the quarterback found Jason Witten on a 4th-and-5 conversion for 21 yards.
"It doesn't end after the first quarter or second quarter," Romo said afterwards. "You just have to keep calm. I've played enough games to understand that. Maybe I didn't do that as well when I was younger. I think it's just poise, our team did a great job."
Detroit, still without a postseason victory since after the 1991 season, jumped out to a quick 14-0 lead on Matthew Stafford's 51 yard touchdown to Golden Tate and Reggie Bush's 8 yard rush on a 99 yard scoring drive.
Matt Prater would provide the Lions with their final points on two field goals over the second half as their early game dominance evaded them.
The Cowboys will travel to Lambeau Field to face the Green Bay Packers for the NFC Divisional game next Sunday, their first postseason trip there since the Ice Bowl of 1967.
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