DETROIT — It was now or never for the Detroit Lions in Thursday night’s game against the Dallas Cowboys at Ford Field.

And they chose now.

Detroit entered the pivotal must-win matchup with its hair on fire, scoring 10 first-quarter points and holding off a ferocious comeback attempt from the red-hot Cowboys in a 44-30 victory.

With the win, Detroit (8-5) staved off the Cowboys (6-6-1) from climbing back into the NFC playoff race and improved its own playoff chances from 30% to 45%, according to the New York Times’ playoff simulator. A loss would have dropped Detroit’s playoff odds to 13%.

The Lions put the ball in the air for most of the first half and took it to the ground for the second, executing a perfect game plan to put the Cowboys away.

Lions running back David Montgomery, who’

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