Dak Prescott Says Cowboys Are 'Pissed Off' After Lions Game, Talks 'Bad' Pickens OPI

The Dallas Cowboys' uphill battle to make the playoffs looks more difficult now after a 44-30 loss to the Detroit Lions on Thursday night.

Dak Prescott told reporters afterward that the Cowboys are "pissed off" in a way that can be used to their benefit over the final four games of the regular season:

"I think guys are pissed off right now. I don't think it's any deflated moment like, oh, hands are up, we're done. No. No. Absolutely not. I think you're going to get a team that's pissed, especially as we talk about a team that's kind of changed since the bye week. This is the first time this group, to an extent, suffered this. So hopefully it pisses people off the right way, we use it as fuel, and I know, starting with myself, I'll make sure we have a great week of prep for the next one."

One specific play that particularly frustrated Prescott was what he called a "bad" offensive pass interference call against George Pickens late in the third quarter that helped stall a drive when the Cowboys were trailing 27-16.

That call didn't necessarily cost the Cowboys anything because the completion to Ryan Flournoy went for no gain, so it would have been fourth-and-9 without the penalty. They still came away from it with a field goal from Brandon Aubrey that made it a one possession game.

▶️ Full Cowboys-Lions Recap

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The Cowboys were flagged seven times for 76 yards in the loss. It was their most penalty yardage in a game since Week 8 against the Denver Broncos (80 yards on nine penalties).

Thursday's game also marked the worst defensive performance by the Cowboys since acquiring Quinnen Williams on Nov. 4. Their 44 points allowed tied a season-high and 408 yards allowed was their most since the Broncos game.

Coming off a three-game winning streak, the Cowboys entered Thursday with a 6-5-1 record and an outside shot at making the playoffs. Those chances took a significant hit with a loss to a Detroit team that was already ahead of them in the standings and now holds a head-to-head tiebreaker.

The Cowboys are two losses behind the San Francisco 49ers for the No. 7 seed in the NFC. They are 10th overall in the conference standings going into Week 15 against the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday Night Football.