The reigning NFC North champions had lost three of their previous five games, dropping to third place in the division behind the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers, who face each other on Sunday, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.
With the win, the Lions improved to 8-5, strengthening their playoff bid, while the Cowboys, who had entered the game on a three-game winning streak, fell to 6-6-1, putting their postseason chances in jeopardy with a month remaining in the regular season.
“They’re as hot a team as there is in this league,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said of the Cowboys. “Maybe we can become that now.”
Goff added that he noticed an “uptick of urgency” from teammates following their loss to Green Bay last week. “It was good,” he said. “It felt like we got back to kind of who we are.”
Goff completed 25 of 34 passes for 309 yards and a touchdown -- a 12-yard scoring pass to Isaac TeSlaa that put Detroit up 27-9 in the third quarter after Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott threw an interception to open the second half.
Dallas sliced the deficit to 30-27 on Prescott's 42-yard touchdown pass to Ryan Flournoy followed by a two-point conversion.
But Gibbs's second touchdown pushed the lead back to 10 and his third TD, a 13-yard run, was the final dagger with 2:19 left to play.
Gibbs now has 47 career touchdowns, tying Barry Sanders for the most in NFL history for a player before his 24th birthday.
David Montgomery added a 35-yard rushing touchdown and Detroit's defense forced three turnovers, including Derrick Barnes's second-half interception of Prescott.
"Man they showed up," Lions coach Dan Campbell said. "The work was there all week. It always is but the intensity, the urgency ... the guys don't get panicked. They just go to work, and they did it again."
Cowboys kicker Brandon Aubrey became the first in NFL history with at least three field goals of 55 yards or more in a single game, booting field goals of 57, 42, 55, 63 and 29 yards.
But Dallas didn't score a touchdown in the first half.
Prescott was sacked five times and in the face of stiff pressure threw two interceptions.
"Talk about takeaways," Campbell said. "We got three of them, turned into 14 points."
The Cowboys also lost receiver CeeDee Lamb to a concussion in the third quarter.
Lamb had leapt for a pass from Prescott in the end zone and came down hard on the turf, unable to make the play.
He was examined in the sideline medical tent and ruled out for the rest of the game.
