Lions hand Cowboys big surprise

IRVING, Texas – No, losing to the Detroit Lions does not revoke the playoff spot the Dallas Cowboys had already clinched.

It just means they’re in a mess of trouble heading into what Bill Parcells likes to call “the tournament.”

Done in by repeated mistakes from Tony Romo and a few more by Terence Newman, the Cowboys blew their chance to stay alive in the NFC East race and build some much-needed momentum for the playoffs with a 39-31 loss to the lowly Lions on Sunday.

“I can’t tell you how disappointed I am. I really can’t,” Parcells said, his tone more deflated than irate. “This is the low point for me in a long time.”

The Lions (3-13) couldn’t refuse all the gifts the Cowboys gave them, from a penalty on Newman wiping out an interception return for a touchdown on the game’s first snap to Romo failing to scramble into the end zone from the 6-yard line on the final play that mattered.

In between, Romo threw an interception and lost two fumbles, Newman muffed a punt and there were plenty more mental errors by their teammates.

Dallas goes into the playoffs on its first two-game losing streak of the season and having dropped three of four. Detroit’s Jon Kitna was 28 of 42 for 306 yards and four touchdowns with one interception. He set the club record for completions in a season and joined Scott Mitchell as the only Lions quarterbacks to throw for 4,000 yards in a season.