3 Lions to Watch Sunday vs. the Cowboys

Here are three Lions players to keep your eye on going into Sunday's matchup with the Cowboys

The Dallas Cowboys (5-4), losers of four of their last six, come into Ford Field Sunday for a Week 11 contest with the Lions (3-5-1). 

Matt Patricia & Co. will need a lot to go right in order to knock off the Cowboys. 

Jerry Jones' squad has averaged the sixth-most points per game (27.9), and has limited opponents to the seventh-lowest points total per game (18.9). 

There is no doubt that Jones' squad, which sits atop the NFC East along with the Philadelphia Eagles, is far superior to Martha Ford's.

If the Lions want to have any chance of upsetting Dak Prescott & Co., these following three Lions players need to have big games:    

1.) WR Kenny Golladay 

Golladay has posted at least one touchdown catch in each of the last three weeks, including one TD reception in Week 10 against the Bears with backup Jeff Driskel under center.

While having Driskel start instead of Matthew Stafford likely will limit the amount of balls and the amount of yards the third-year pro accumulates vs. the Cowboys, he's still a threat to score each week he suits up. 

The Northern Illinois product has caught 38 balls for 697 yards and eight TDs in 2019.       

2.) DE Trey Flowers 

Man, the Lions have needed to find a bright spot on defense all year long, and finally have found it in the form of Flowers. 

It took the former standout Patriots defender long enough to heat up, but he definitely has in recent weeks. 

In fact, he's recorded at least one sack in three straight weeks, ramping up his sack total to five on the season.

He's never had more than 7.5 in a campaign -- occurred a season ago in New England.  

As our Logan Lamorandier penned in his latest piece, the fifth-year pro possesses the longest active sack streak among all NFC defensive ends. 

He'll have his work cut out for him this week, though, facing a Cowboys offensive line that has permitted just 11 sacks to Prescott through nine games.

More than likely, Flowers' sack streak comes to an end in this Week 11 tilt.   

3.) TE T.J. Hockenson 

Based on early results, Hockenson has not lived up to the bill of being the No. 8 overall pick in the 2019 NFL Draft. 

However, he has been featured more prominently the past two weeks in the passing game. 

In fact, in Weeks 9 and 10 -- for the first time in his career -- he was targeted more than five times in back-to-back games.

He was targeted seven times in Wk. 9 and six times in Wk. 10.  

Weeks 9 and 10 -- against the Raiders and Bears, respectively -- also marked the first time in which the Iowa product logged more than 45 reception yards in consecutive weeks.

While the rookie's production has been far from great on a weekly basis, he has averaged 7.4 yards after the catch. 

According to Pro Football Focus, it's a mark that is good for third-best among the 40 tight ends that have seen at least 20 targets so far in 2019.

PFF also has him graded as the 11th-best rookie with a 63.8 mark.

"Hock" by no stretch has been the best player of the 2019 class of first-year pros. 

However, he's been catching on -- no pun intended -- in recent weeks, and should be in store for a steady diet of targets as long as Driskel's under center.     

More: Flowers Now Looking Like Player Lions Envisioned