Unbeaten Lions seek to keep roll going vs. Cowboys

“It’s really part of the deal in the NFL,” Cowboys coach Jason Garrett said. “You have to play well in quarters one through three. But regardless of how well or how poorly you play, typically these games come down to how you perform in the fourth quarter.”

The bigger challenge for Dallas the past two weeks has been dealing with injuries, primarily on offense.

Tony Romo has won the past two games while playing with a cracked rib, and many of his most talented teammates are sidelined or also playing through pain.

“I’m not back to where everything is back to normal yet, but it’s definitely on its way,” said Romo, who expects to be wearing a protective vest and to take painkilling medication before kickoff.

Both teams have something to look forward to after this game. For Dallas, it’s a bye week to get healthy. For Detroit, it’s three straight games at home, an opportunity to continue what’s already been the franchise’s best start since 1980.

In just a few weeks, the Lions have notched their largest-ever margin of victory in a regular-season game and their biggest comeback win on the road.

They’ve also stretched their road winning streak to four straight, their longest since 1969-70. More amazing is that it immediately follows a 26-game road losing streak, the longest in NFL history.

The previous time Detroit lost on the road happens to have been at Cowboys Stadium. Jon Kitna was filling in for Romo then, and Shaun Hill was filling in for Stafford.

It was a weird game that included a hair-pulling tackle, a 97-yard punt return and the Lions being the Lions _ well, the old Lions _ by folding when things started going against them.

Detroit coach Jim Schwartz compared that to the way his team rallied to win in Minnesota last weekend, despite penalties and mistakes.

“We didn’t turn the ball over,” he said. “We didn’t give up any long touchdowns off the returns and things like that. We were able to hang in that game, keep it manageable and then once we started playing better in the second half, we were able to get back in that game and obviously take it to overtime and win.”

Having Stafford leading things makes a difference, too.

The former No. 1 overall pick in the draft, the only question about him is durability because he’s missed a lot of time with injuries.

Stafford has the third-best passer rating in the NFL, behind only Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady, and ahead of Drew Brees. Only Brady has thrown more touchdown passes than Stafford’s nine.

This weekend, he may also be among the league leaders in tickets purchased. He estimates springing for 25.

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