Lions catch breath before making playoff push with games against Rams, Steelers, Vikings and Bears

DETROIT (AP) — The Detroit Lions are getting a brief break.

Detroit earned a desperately needed 44-30 win over the Dallas Cowboys on Thursday night, going 2-1 in a three-game stretch of home games over 12 days.

“We handled our business,” Lions coach Dan Campbell said. "Now, we get a little breather. We get a couple of days here to catch our breath and then we get ready for the Rams.”

The Lions (8-5) would not be in the playoffs if they started next week, but the two-time defending NFC North champions have a chance to play their way in.

It won't be easy, especially after Pro Bowl safety Brian Branch tore his left Achilles tendon against Dallas.

Detroit’s playoff probability is 54%, according to the NFL, with four games left in the regular season.

The banged-up Lions will have the weekend off before reporting to the team's training facility on Monday to begin preparing to face former Detroit quarterback Matthew Stafford and the Los Angeles Rams on the road Dec. 14.

Detroit plays the Pittsburgh Steelers in its home finale on Dec. 21 before visiting Minnesota on Christmas Day and closing the regular season at Chicago — potentially with a lot at stake.

“We want to kind of be on this up ramp by the time we hit the playoffs, where we’re this dangerous team who can kind of go toe to toe with anybody,” Lions quarterback Jared Goff said. “That’s what you want and we’re right there.”

Jahmyr Gibbs had 120 yards of offense and three scores in his latest sensational performance. He joined Hall of Famers Barry Sanders, Eric Dickerson and Earl Campbell as the four players in NFL history with 4,500 yards from scrimmage and 45 touchdowns during the first three seasons of a career.

Detroit didn't adequately replace veteran guard Kevin Zeitler when he left in free agency to sign with Tennessee and that has become a glaring problem.

Christian Mahogany had the first opportunity to fill the role before breaking his leg last month. Against Dallas, the Lions rotated 27-year-old Trystan Colon and fifth-round pick Miles Frazier into the game and they had mixed results.

“There were some mistakes certainly that want to be cleaned up, but for the most part did a good job,” Campbell said.

Jameson Williams is coming off the most productive games of his career, matching a career high with seven catches for 96 yards against the Cowboys a week after setting career highs with seven receptions and 144 yards along with a touchdown in a loss to Green Bay.

Injuries in the secondary are piling up. Branch tore his left Achilles tendon, according to a person familiar with the situation. Tests revealed the significant injury on Friday, the person told The Associated Press. The person spoke on condition of anonymity because the results were not announced.

Free safety Thomas Harper, filling in for injured All-Pro Kerby Joseph, suffered a concussion in the first quarter against the Cowboys. Cornerback Terrion Arnold was put on injured reserve earlier this week.

Branch's injury is a big blow for a team that counts on the hard-hitting defensive back with coverage skills. Receiver and punt returner Kalif Raymond has missed two straight games. Brock Wright, filling in for injured tight end Sam LaPorta, was put on injured reserve on Thursday.

58 — The Lions will play their 58th game without losing back-to-back regular-season games at Los Angeles, the league's longest run since San Francisco's 60-game run without dropping consecutive games from 1995 to 1999, according to Sportradar. The Rams have the second-longest active streak, going 24 games without losing two in a row in the regular season.

Rest from a grueling, three-game stretch and recover from injuries to get healthy for the final part of the season.

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Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell speaks during a press conference following an NFL football game against the Green Bay Packers in Detroit, Thursday, Nov. 27, 2025. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

Detroit Lions quarterback Jared Goff works out prior to an NFL football game against the Dallas Cowboys Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (1) is stopped short of the goal line by Dallas Cowboys defensive end James Houston (53) during the first half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Dallas Cowboys wide receiver Ryan Flournoy (19) takes a hit from Detroit Lions safety Brian Branch (32) during the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)

Detroit Lions running back Jahmyr Gibbs (0) runs for a touchdown against the Dallas Cowboys during the second half of an NFL football game Thursday, Dec. 4, 2025, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) — Afghanistan’s Taliban government accused Pakistan’s military Friday of targeting homes in overnight airstrikes in Kabul and other areas of the country, saying at least six civilians were killed and more than a dozen injured, as fighting between the neighbors entered its third week.

Afghan government spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid said on X that Pakistani aircraft also struck fuel depots belonging to the private airline Kam Air near the airport in Kandahar in southern Afghanistan. “This company supplies fuel to civilian airlines as well as to United Nations aircraft,” he said.

Meanwhile, Pakistan’s state-run television reported that the country’s armed forces carried out “successful airstrikes inside Afghanistan” as part of the ongoing operation, targeting what it said were four alleged militant hideouts and their support infrastructure in Afghanistan.

The developments come amid a dramatic increase in tensions between the two countries which Pakistan has referred to as “open war. ” They are adding to concerns about the stability in the region as the U.S.-Israeli war against Iran continues with no end in sight, generating great uncertainty.

The dispute is rooted in Pakistan's belief that Afghanistan’s Taliban government is harboring militant groups that stage attacks against it and also of allying with its archrival India. The Taliban deny harboring the militant groups.

Pakistan and Afghanistan have been targeting each other’s military installations since late February, when Kabul said it struck Pakistani posts in response to Pakistani attacks along the border. Pakistan’s military has said its operations targeted the Pakistani Taliban and their support networks along the border.

Both sides have claimed to inflict heavy losses in what has become their deadliest fighting in years.

In Kabul, the Defense Ministry said Afghanistan’s air force responded to Pakistan's attacks by targeting Pakistani military installations in the Kohat district, causing heavy losses.

Pakistan’s Ministry of Information rejected the Afghan Defense Ministry’s claims as baseless. In a statement, it said the Pakistani Taliban attempted to deploy three rudimentary drones in Kohat, but Pakistani forces shot them down. Two civilians were injured by falling debris, it said.

In his posts on X, The Afghan government spokesman, Mujahid, alleged that Pakistani strikes hit multiple civilian sites and uninhabited locations in Afghanistan’s Paktia and Paktika provinces, as well as other areas. He said the attacks “will not go unanswered.”

Kabul police spokesman Khalid Zadran said at least four civilians, including children, were killed in the city and 15 others were injured.

Additionally, Afghanistan’s Department of Information and Culture in Nangarhar province said a Pakistani mortar shell killed a woman and a child there.

The total number of casualties around Afghanistan was unclear.

The latest Pakistani strikes came a day after China’s special envoy, Yue Xiaoyong, arrived in Islamabad and met with his Pakistani counterpart, Mohammad Sadiq, following a visit to Kabul.

Sadiq, Pakistan’s special envoy for Afghanistan, said he and Yue “discussed threats posed by terrorist groups" and agreed on the need for collective efforts to ensure lasting peace and stability.

Repeated calls from the international community for restraint have had little effect. Pakistan has previously said its strikes along the border and inside Afghanistan are aimed solely at Khawarij, a phrase Islamabad uses for the outlawed Pakistani Taliban, also known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan, or TTP.

On Friday, a roadside bomb targeting a police vehicle killed six officers in Lakki Marwat, a district in northwest Pakistan, police official Sajjad Khan said. No one claimed responsibility but suspicion is likely to fall on TTP which often claim such attacks.

Since the Afghan Taliban returned to power in 2021, the TTP has intensified attacks inside Pakistan and along the border. Islamabad says its military operations will continue until Kabul takes verifiable steps to curb the TTP and other militants operating from its territory.

A Qatari-mediated ceasefire ended the intense fighting in October, but several rounds of peace talks in Turkey in November failed to produce a lasting agreement.

Ahmed reported from Islamabad. Associated Press writers Riaz Khan and Rasool Dawar in Peshawar, Pakistan, contributed to this story.

Residents inspect the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)

Residents inspect the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)

Residents and Taliban police gather the remains of a projectile at the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)

Residents inspect the site of a strike in Kabul, Afghanistan, Friday, March 13, 2026. (AP Photo/Barackatullah Popal)