Last week, the NFC North won all three of their games. Thus far through Week 6, they have done the same. Meanwhile, the Detroit Lions have had no choice. but to sit on their hands and watch. Detroit is at 3-1 on the season, but since their Week 4 bye, they’ve seen the division tighten up significantly. Entering Sunday afternoon’s game against the Dallas Cowboys, here’s where the Lions stand in the NFC North :

1. Vikings: 5-0
2. Lions: 3-1
3. Packers: 4-2
4. Bears: 4-2

Just five losses between the four teams. If Detroit beats the Cowboys, they’ll hold onto their spot at second in the division, with a chance to take the top spot next week with a big game against the Minnesota Vikings. If they lose, though, Detroit will fall all the way to the bottom of the division with a 3-2 record.

That’s just a fraction of the stakes in this game. The Lions have revenge on their mind from last season’s controversial loss to the Cowboys. Even though Lions players and coaches have tried to downplay that narrative, even coach Dan Campbell admitted they look for little sparks of motivation like that for every opponent.

So can the Lions finally get on the winning side of things against the Cowboys, or are they doomed to drop their seventh in a row in the rivalry?

We’ll be tracking the entire game right here, including scoring updates, highlights, and live injury news. Just show up here around kickoff (4:25 p.m. ET), and refresh the page to watch the updates come in!

First quarter

The Cowboys won the toss and elected to receive. They quickly got into Lions territory with a pair of plays. The first was a deflected pass that landed right into the arms of Rico Dowdle. The other was a one-handed grab by CeeDee Lamb that he took and ran for 27 yards.

Then on third-and-6, Dak Prescott threw an interception, but it was negated by a holding penalty on Alex Anzalone, giving Dallas a first down in the red zone. However, Detroit stiffened up there, forcing a short field goal, and a 3-0 Cowboys lead.

The Lions avoided a quick three-and-out when Jared Goff connected with Tim Patrick on a 45-yard bomb all the way inside the Cowboys’ 30-yard line.

Two plays later, David Montgomery—fresh off his extension—powered his way into the end zone for a 7-3 Lions lead.

The Cowboys went right back to business, with Prescott connecting with Jalen Tolbert for a 26-yard gain into Lions territory.

An Aidan Hutchinson sack was erased by another defensive hold—this one on Jack Campbell. And on third-and-6, Prescott found KaVontae Turpin to set Dallas up with a new set of downs just outside the 10-yard line. But a few plays later, Brian Branch picked off Prescott in the end zone to end the drive.

Note: On this drive Lions nose tackle Kyle Peko suffered a pectoral injury and was ruled OUT for the rest of the game.

Detroit’s offense took over and went to the ground to move the ball. Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs split carries and steadily moved into Cowboys territory. A jet sweep to Jameson Williams picked up an additional 11 yards, as well. William dropped a pass on the next play, but Goff went right back to him for a 15-yard gain, moving the Lions down the Dallas 22-yard line.

Second quarter

Detroit’s offense immediately stalled out of the break, and they ultimately had to settle for a 40-yard field goal attempt. Jake Bates nailed it for a 10-3 Lions lead early in the second.

Detroit’s defense responded with a three-and-out thanks to a pass breakup from Anzalone, who nearly picked Prescott off.

After a bad punt, the Lions took over with good field position (own 37-yard line). Amon-Ra St. Brown got his first touch of the game, earning 10 yards to get the Lions right near midfield. But then offensive coordinator Ben Johnson reached into his bag of tricks with a reverse flea flicker for a 52-yard touchdown pass to Sam LaPorta. 17-3 Lions.

The Lions defense held strong again. The Cowboys again failed to earn a first down after Alim McNeill bursted through the line and sacked Prescott on third down.

Fueled by more hard running from Montgomery, the Lions drove right back into scoring position. However, Kalif Raymond was stopped just short of a first down on third-and-9. Detroit opted to pass on a 43-yard field goal to go for it on fourth-and-2. Gibbs got just enough to move the chains. But the Lions would actually end up having to attempt an even longer field goal after Goff took a sack on the next set of downs.

Bates nailed it from 48 yards to make it 20-3 Lions with just under four minutes left.

Dallas was forced into a desperate situation on the next drive: fourth-and-2 from their own 38-yard line. They opted to go for it, but Terrion Arnold batted down the pass, and Detroit took over nearly in scoring position already.

The Lions successfully added to their lead and milked most of the rest of the clock in the half. First, Goff completed an 18-yard strike to Patrick. Then he hit St. Brown to set Detroit up first-and-goal from the 9-yard line. From there, Patrick got the Lions inside the 1-yard line, and Montgomery plunged in from there to make it 27-3 Lions with 36 seconds left.

Unfortunately, the half wasn’t over. Turpin took back the ensuing kickoff all the way to the Lions’ 30-yard line.

A second McNeill sack forced the Cowboys to use their final timeout. Dallas settled for a field goal, ending the half 27-6 Lions.