Potential elimination game awaits limping Lions, climbing Cowboys

THERE IS A playoff atmosphere around Detroit as the Lions prepare to play the Dallas Cowboys at Ford Field on Thursday night.

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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.

“You can’t worry about the other teams that are out there, the other teams that are in front of you or what it looks like in the NFC. Just can’t,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. “And it doesn’t matter. And shoot you win out, you might not get in. You don’t know. Maybe it only takes 11 (wins) to get in. I don’t know. But I know this: we've got to win this one.”

Must-win is the scenario for Dallas, too, even after three straight wins to get to 6-5-1. The Cowboys beat the Chiefs on Thanksgiving Day, following up wins over the Philadelphia Eagles and Las Vegas Raiders.