Jerry Jones celebrated his 82nd birthday on Sunday. To say that the day was unforgettable for his Dallas Cowboys would certainly be the least.

“Least” is apparently what the Cowboys offered, as they let the Detroit Lions score almost as many points as Jerry Jones has in years. From the start, the Lions dominated the Cowboys with touchdowns, field goals and great plays everywhere.

It wasn't a game but an exhibition for the Lions as they improved to 4-1 on the season and looked like the juggernaut we feared them to be. Unfortunately, the Cowboys also looked just like we imagined when we predicted the consequences of offseason inactivity.

The Cowboys are 3-3 and are now officially on their bye week. All of their goals remain technically possible and lie ahead of them. But they seem very worryingly lost and disjointed.

Here's our recap of what happened Sunday afternoon, written as it all unfolded. We have rearranged it chronologically so that it can be read in the correct order.

1st quarter

The Cowboys won the toss and elected to receive again this season. Mike McCarthy clearly wants to set the tone early.

After an interesting drive that started with a ball that stayed with the Cowboys… Dallas was able to secure points with a field goal from Brandon Aubrey. It was the first lead Dallas held in their home game this season. CeeDee Lamb had a lot to offer on the trip in case you missed it.

The good mood didn't last long, I'm afraid.

Detroit marched down the field (all 70 yards) in 5 plays. The drive was capped off with a touchdown by number 5 himself, David Montgomery.

For the Cowboys, this was probably the third of three home games in which the guests scored a touchdown on their first drive. Not great!

But the Cowboys got back to work and Jalen Tolbert picked up where he left off in Pittsburgh with a big catch on the next drive.

The drive continued and even included an impressive 3rd-and-6 conversion where Dak Prescott found KaVontae Turpin. But then another third down came and it wasn't so great.

Dak Prescott looked for CeeDee Lamb in the corner of the end zone and was picked off by Brian Branch.

The quarter ended with Detroit near the redzone.

2nd quarter

The second quarter started with Detroit very close to the redzone and fortunately the Cowboys were able to keep them relatively at bay. Ultimately, the Lions scored a field goal, meaning all three teams that visited AT&T Stadium that season (the New Orleans Saints and Baltimore Ravens as the others) scored on their first two possessions. However, unlike the Saints and Ravens, the Lions did not score any touchdowns on those two possessions.

It was short-lived for the home team, however, as the Cowboys went straight back to Detroit after a three-and-out.

At this point, things were going the way Detroit thought they would. Some pre-snap moves (uh oh!), a flea flicker, and all sorts of eye candy led to a huge touchdown from Jared Goff to Sam LaPorta.

One would hope that the Cowboys would have recovered after falling into another deep hole at home. Unfortunately, I have to inform you that this was not the case. For the second straight possession, they struck after a three and one out.

As far as trends go, Detroit has kept up. They scored again for the fourth straight possession, although it was just another field goal instead of a touchdown thanks to a third down sack by the Cowboys.

This time there is no longer any hope that you would think The pressure would have been on the Cowboys to score, and it appeared that was the case. How do we know this? After failing to convert a first down on the first three plays, the team tried on 4th-and-2 from their own 38-yard line. Unfortunately they failed.

The Lions are a real offense and took advantage of the opportunity Dallas gave them. They scored another touchdown to extend their winning streak.

KaVontae Turpin had an amazing return and gave the Cowboys some hope of scoring before halftime, but Dak Prescott was sacked on the first play, making things even more difficult. It was 3rd and 19 and that hope was gone in an instant.

On the down in question, CeeDee Lamb picked up eight yards, giving Brandon Aubrey another chance. He was good from 47 yards out and that was basically half of it.

3rd quarter

The quarter began with the Lions receiving the ball and again processing it quickly. Just like their first drive, they covered 70 yards in five plays, but this time Jameson Williams trotted into the end zone.

It wasn't until the next possession that the situation changed in several directions. With Cowboys morale as low as it gets, Lions pass rusher Aidan Hutchinson sacks Dak Prescott to nearly end the offensive drive. Unfortunately, Hutchinson appeared to be seriously injured and was even taken away. Our best thoughts are with him.

Shortly after the Hutchinson situation, Dak Prescott threw an incomplete pass and the notable thing was that he appeared to hit a finger of his throwing hand on a helmet. Prescott clearly favored the following plays and tried to help him. The entire situation felt similar to Tony Romo in 2008.

Dak pushed through a bit and the Cowboys managed to score…on a Brandon Aubrey field goal. Trailing 34-6, they made a serious field goal. It was good.

The Lions kicked a field goal of their own and again reduced the deficit to 28 points. Prescott and the starters returned, it was amazing to wonder whether that would happen or not midway through the third quarter, and he soon found Ryan Flournoy for his first career reception.

Unfortunately there was a fumble. One of those days.

The quarter ended with Detroit facing a third down in the redzone.

4th quarter

The quarter started with the Lions scoring another field goal. More points.

Moments later, Dak Prescott threw an interception. He looked into the sun at AT&T Stadium, only to be full of irony and knife-wielding. Detroit scored a touchdown shortly thereafter.

At that point, it was Cooper Rush's time, and although he helped engineer a somewhat successful drive, it too ended in a turnover when he threw an interception in the end zone.

Everything in the rest of the game was rather procedural and mostly about using up time. The party in Detroit was on. Why shouldn't it be like that?

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Notable breaking news

It was noted on Saturday afternoon that Dallas will not sign DaRon Bland for Sunday's game against Detroit, although there is a possibility of doing so earlier in the week.

Additionally, it was reported shortly before kickoff on Sunday that Tyler Guyton would not start for Dallas and that Tyler Smith would start at left tackle while TJ Bass handled left guard duties.

Injury updates

There have been no changes since the last injury report this week, but keep in mind that linebacker Eric Kendricks was not accounted for.

NFL news relevant to the Cowboys

The San Francisco 49ers defeated the Seattle Seahawks on Thursday night.

Next up are the Cowboys

After Sunday's game, the Cowboys have their bye, and it's a much-needed one. Players like Micah Parsons, DeMarcus Lawrence and DaRon Bland, to name a few, can all benefit from the extra week of rest.