NFL highlights on Dec. 30: A roller-coaster loss for Lions to Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys edged the Detroit Lions 20-19 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas, on Saturday, securing their 11th win of the season and remaining hopeful for the National Football Conference title.

Cowboys wide receiver CeeDee Lamb broke two franchise records for receiving in the game. He surpassed Michael Irvin in both career catches (122) and receiving yards (1,671) after posting 227 yards and 13 catches.

The team's quarterback (QB), Dak Prescott, completed 26 of his 38 passes for 345 yards and two touchdowns with one interception. His biggest highlights happened in the first and fourth quarters of the game. The Cowboys had to begin their second drive at 11 yards from their side, but after running back Tony Pollard was tackled by cornerback Kindle Vildor to cost them another three yards, Prescott was basically cornered.

Prescott's first pass targeting tight end Jake Ferguson was incomplete. The Lions launched a blitz against him when he retreated to the end zone. They almost got him for a two-point safety, but Prescott managed to get clear of the defenders and then found Lamb, who was unmarked in the front field. With one deep pass, the two connected to score a 92-yard touchdown and placed their side on a 7-3 early lead.

The five drives Prescott ran after that ended with three punts, one fumble and one field goal. During that period, the Lions scored one field goal and one touchdown to gain the lead. Then came the second explosion by Prescott. He completed two scoring drives with one touchdown and one field goal in a bit more than 10 minutes in the fourth quarter, gaining the lead for the Cowboys (20-13) with only 101 seconds to go and no timeout for the Lions.

Then there was the most dramatic part of Saturday's game. The Lions' QB Jared Goff, who had thrown fewer than 200 yards, no touchdown and two interceptions before this drive, took the team 75 yards forward with nine plays in 78 seconds and passed to wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown to score a touchdown and cut their deficit to one point (20-19).

Instead of shooting for an extra point to tie the score, the Lions decided to go for a two-point conversion. Goff first connected with offensive tackle Taylor Decker to score, but that play was negated by penalty of illegal touching. He targeted St. Brown in the second attempt. The pass was intercepted, but it was negated again for offside on the Cowboys' linebacker Micah Parsons. Then, on his third try, Goff's pass to tight end James Mitchell was incomplete, which sealed the loss for the Lions.