Lions vs. Cowboys Week 11 Scouting Report: Dak Prescott challenge

Jesse James – On one hand, it’s hard to assign much blame to James since the Lions passing game has flourished this year with Stafford at the helm and only so many targets to go around. On the other, James’ play has been so uninspiring that one has to wonder if he will ever come close to living up to his large contract.

He couldn’t haul in his only target last week and has played less than 40% of the offensive snaps in each of the past four games. Should Driskel start again, he could look to James on shorter throws more often to offset his lack of downfield arm strength. Whether that approach would benefit the Lions’ offense at this point is anyone’s guess, but it could be worth a shot.

Jarrad Davis – Coming off of his best game of the season, the much-maligned Davis will likely be relied upon heavily again this week due to the Lions’ banged-up front line. The Lions may again experiment with limiting his playing time and taking a more situational approach; Sunday marked the first time since his rookie season that he played less than 80% of the defensive snaps in a game.

Additionally, in last year’s loss in Arlington, with the Lions in the lead, Davis was beaten by Elliott on a wheel route for a key late-game reception. This set up Maher’s game-winning field goal as time expired. Davis was particularly hard on himself after that defeat and is likely looking forward to a chance at redemption this Sunday.