The Lions and Cowboys were built for a deep run this season, not a “last chance at life” game in December.

For Detroit, this feels like déjà vu. Last year they went into the playoffs with sky-high Super Bowl odds and still crashed out in shocking fashion against Washington. Then they lost both coordinators, and the offseason was full of “one-year wonder” talk. Instead of folding, the Lions answered with another strong year… only to end up here again, with their playoff future hanging by a thread and their implied odds ready to plummet to 20% with a loss tonight.

Dallas took a different but equally dramatic path. They swung big on offense by adding George Pickens, then stunned everyone by sending Micah Parsons to Green Bay in a blockbuster early in the season. The defense looked broken until another splash move brought Quinnen Williams from the Jets and gave them a new identity up front. On the right night, this Cowboys team still looks scary. On the wrong night, they look like a talented roster that never quite figured it out. A loss here would drop their playoff chances to just 9%, basically ending the Quinnen-era experiment before it really starts.

So tonight isn’t just Lions vs. Cowboys. It’s two high-upside, all-in franchises fighting to keep their windows open. The winner walks away with renewed life and a path back to being the team nobody wants to see in January. The loser is staring at a long offseason full of “what if” and “should we blow this up?”

When the dust settles, which fanbase would melt down harder after an L. Lions or Cowboys, and why?