By the end of December, the Cowboys hadn't lost a home contest all season at 7-0, while Detroit was coming off an emotional win at Minnesota where it clinched the NFC North title for the first time in 30 years while trying to secure one of the top two seeds in the NFC.

The Detroit Lions and Dallas Cowboys are the top two teams in the hunt for an NFC wild card and are still holding on to hopes to compete for division championships.

The Lions took control of the game early, keeping their offense in a decent rhythm and letting the defense play aggressively. The win keeps the Lions firmly in the Wild Card playoff race, and they still have the slightest chance of winning the NFC North if given a wild turn of events with their division rivals.

The Detroit Lions got a much-needed win on Thursday night over the Cowboys, 44-30 at Ford Field. This was a high-leverage game, one that would leave the loser with only a long shot at making the playoffs. And it didn’t disappoint, with a back-and-forth slugfest worth staying up for.

This outcome changed the entire playoff seeding, turning the Packers from a Wild Card contender into a division leader, and simultaneously created a three-way logjam at the top of the NFC North/wild card race with the Bears and the Detroit Lions (8-5).

Where do the Cowboys turn from here? After the loss, quarterback Dak Prescott said the locker room isn't happy with the performance and plans to use Thursday night's setback as fuel down the stretch.

The Dallas defense regressed, as did the protection for quarterback Dak Prescott, in a game the Cowboys badly needed to win to maintain any realistic hopes of making the playoffs

Keisean Nixon intercepted Caleb Williams in the end zone with 22 seconds left to thwart the Bears' comeback hopes.