There is a playoff atmosphere around Detroit as the Lions prepare to play the Dallas Cowboys at Ford Field on Thursday night.

It's a mixture of excitement and doom surrounding the second consecutive weekday game for teams on the periphery of the NFL playoff picture when kickoff time arrives.

Dallas (6-5-1) remains in a very precarious playoff position despite a three-game winning streak, while injury-riddled Detroit (7-5) is attempting to stop its slide down the NFC standings as the Lions have alternated wins and losses over their past eight games.

ODDS & TRENDS

The Lions are a consensus 3.0-point favorite, essentially due to being at home. With the teams entering this pivotal matchup with a clear difference in momentum of late, the Cowboys have been backed by 64% of the spread-line mo

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