Brandon Carr

The Dallas Cowboys tame the Detroit Lions, 42-21

Updated Mar. 4, 2020 2:39 p.m. ET

Fansided, Steven Mullenax/FanSided via The Landry Hat

The Dallas Cowboys dominated the Detroit Lions in the second half of their Monday Night Football matchup, winning the Week 16 contest, 42-21.

With their place in the playoffs already assured, as well as both a first round bye and home-field advantage, there wasn’t much motivation for the Dallas Cowboys to defeat the Detroit Lions on Monday. The same could not be said for the Lions, we were playing for their postseason lives. But if you watched this game, you’d likely swear it was the Cowboys who were fighting to get into the playoffs, as Dallas scored 28 unanswered points in a decisive 42-21 victory.

As it’s been all season, the Cowboys offense was lead be the spectacular play of two rookies. Quarterback Dak Prescott completed 15 of 20 passes for 212 yards and three touchdowns. Rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott carried the ball only 12 times for 80 yards and two scores.

Despite the excellent play of their young dynamic duo, the game was really a showcase for wide receiver Dez Bryant. The seventh-year wide out had four catches for 70 yards and two touchdowns. Bryant also completed his first NFL pass attempt for a score to tight end Jason Witten.

Defensively, the Cowboys were led by safety Barry Church in total tackles with 12. Defensive ends Benson Mayowa (1.5), David Irving (1.5) and rookie defensive tackle Maliek Collins (1.0) all recorded sacks. Safety J.J. Wilcox recorded his first interception of the season off a tipped pass by cornerback Brandon Carr.

The Cowboys now head into the final week of the regular season at 13-2, and could set a franchise record for wins with a victory over the 6-9 Philadelphia Eagles at Lincoln Financial Field on New Year’s Day at noon CT.