The Dallas Cowboys entered Sunday on a five-game winning streak and with a guaranteed playoff spot as they faced the Buffalo Bills in Week 15. However, that streak went down in flames as Buffalo punched Dallas over and over and over again with their running game en route to a 31-10 win.
Buffalo outgained Dallas 351 to 195, a gap of 156 yards made up of mostly the Bills' 266 yards on the ground. Sunday marked the first time under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, since 2021, in which the Cowboys defense allowed over 250 rushing yards. The star of the show this week up in Orchard Park wasn't quarterback Josh Allen, who completed just 7 of his 15 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, as well as running for 24 yards and a score.
No, the Bills' standout on Sunday was running back James Cook. The second-year, second-round pick totaled a career-high 179 rushing yards on 25 carries with a touchdown, a 24-yarder. That comes out to a 7.2 yards per carry average. Cook also tallied 42 yards receiving on two catches, including an 18-yard receiving score in the second quarter. That performance makes Cook the first Bills player with 200+ scrimmage yards (221), one or more rushing touchdown and one or more receiving touchdowns in a game since Hall of Fame running back Thurman Thomas did so back in the 1991 season.
Both of the Bills' first two touchdowns came following critical Cowboys personal foul penalties. Following a roughing the passer penalty committed by Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, the Bills cashed in on the second chance two plays later with a Latavius Murray 2-yard touchdown run to cap their opening drive.
Two drives later, Dallas gifted the Bills another extra opportunity. Cowboys defensive lineman Sam Williams collided in mid-air with Bills punter Sam Martin on fourth-and-8, resulting in a roughing the kicker penalty to extend the Buffalo drive.
That's two unnecessary roughness penalties by the Cowboys that extended drives, two touchdowns following those penalties by the Bills. Six plays later, Allen hit Cook, who was wide open in the right corner of the end zone, for an 18-yard touchdown. That put the Bills up 14-0 with 12:52 left in the half.
Cowboys rookie kicker Brandon Aubrey connected on a 32-yard field goal after Dallas' third drive stalled out for their lone points of the half. Aubrey improved to an NFL record 31-for-31 on field goals to begin his career.
Allen and the Bills clapped right back with an 11-play touchdown drive. Allen concluded the possession with a 1-yard rushing score on the quarterback sneak. That put Buffalo up 21-3 Buffalo with 1:36 left in the half. The Bills scored touchdowns on three of their first four drives. Buffalo put in the backups midway through the fourth quarter.
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who entered Sunday near the top of the NFL MVP conversation, completed 21 of 34 passes for 134 yards and an interception. Cowboys head coach Mike McCarthy left his starters in late, and they eventually came through with a touchdown thanks to a CeeDee Lamb's three-yard rushing touchdown on a wide receiver reverse.
Dallas' 10 points scored matches their season-low that they first put up in a 42-10 Week 5 loss at the San Francisco 49ers. Key injuries up front to defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, who was ruled out before the game with knee and ankle injuries, and to right guard Zack Martin, who suffered a thigh injury, played a major role in the Cowboys losing the battle along the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball.
Buffalo dominated Dallas on both sides of the line of scrimmage and in time of possession. The Bills had the football for over 10 minutes longer than the Cowboys (35:05 to 24:55) and doubled up Dallas in first downs (28 to 14).
James Cook also did his best Thurman Thomas impersonation. Winning in such a dominant fashion when Josh Allen only has seven completions speaks volumes about the job the Bills' run game and defense did on Sunday.
Dallas allowed over 250 yards rushing for the first time under defensive coordinator Dan Quinn, and they allowed James Cook to be the first player since former Rams running back Todd Gurley in Week 4 of the 2017 season to rack up over 200 scrimmage yards on them.
Offensively, they struggled mightily to move the ball without six-time First-Team All-Pro right guard Zack Martin, who left the game with a thigh injury in the first half. The Cowboys are at their best when they get an early lead, which then allows Micah Parsons and their defense to tee off on opposing quarterbacks.
They allowed the Bills to score an opening drive touchdown, and they were never able to adjust to playing from behind. Some of that has to do with playing some defensive backs in linebacker spots thanks to injuries. It also is simply a style of defense they don't enjoy playing. This is a loss in which Quinn and the defensive staff will be forced to look inward and do plenty of soul-searching.
Cowboys defensive lineman Sam Williams' roughing the punter penalty. Buffalo lead 7-0 late in the first quarter, and the Dallas defense just forced a punt after Williams' pressure on Allen led to an incompletion. However, he jumped and collided in the air with Bills punter Sam Martin in an attempt to block the kick.
Six plays after the penalty, Allen threw his 18-yard touchdown pass to Cook to put the Bills up 14-0. The game then continued to slip away from the Cowboys from that point on.
Cook's 24-yard touchdown run. He was the best player on the field, and this was far and away his most impressive play. He swiftly wove through the initial wave of Dallas defenders after taking the shotgun handoff from Allen, made just one cut to avoid a final diving defender and flipped into the end zone. This play encapsulated everything that went right for Buffalo as well as everything that went wrong for Dallas.
The 8-6 Bills hit the road in Week 16 to face the rudderless Los Angeles Chargers in their first game after firing head coach Brandon Staley and general manager Tom Telesco. The 10-4 Cowboys will continue their AFC East road trip with a Christmas Eve matchup at the 10-4 Miami Dolphins.
Fourth and five near midfield, and quarterback Dak Prescott overthrows Brandin Cooks, resulting in an interception by Bills cornerback Christian Benford. Bills take over at their own 48 up four touchdowns, 31-3. Buffalo subs backup Kyle Allen into the game.
James Cook is the first Bills player with 200+ scrimmage yards, 1+ rush TD and 1+ rec TD in a game since Hall of Famer Thurman Thomas in 1991.
The Cowboys have now surrendered their season-high in rushing yards (252) as Bills running back James Cooks increases his rushing yards total to 179 after his 24-yard rushing score. He is averaging a jaw-dropping 7.2 yards per carry. Despite Josh Allen only having seven completions, the Bills lead 31-3 with 12:30 left in the game.
Dak Prescott is sacked once again on third down. Third down and nine turns into fourth down and 18 for another punt. Six of the Cowboys' seven drives have ended in punts. Bills take over at their own 33 up by 21, 24-3, with 35 seconds left in the third quarter.
Bills connect on a 23-yard field goal after their first drive of the half. A drop by James Cook on third and goal was the reason they ended up settling for the kick from the Cowboys' five. 24-3 Buffalo leads Dallas with 2:36 left in the third quarter.
The game is in the third quarter and Bills running back James Cook already has a career-high 134 rushing yards on his 21 carries. That's an average of 6.4 yards per carry.
Both Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson and Cowboys linebacker Damone Clark have returned to action after checking out of the game in the second quarter.
Dak Prescott gets crushed on his play-action dropback on third down and one. The sack results in a loss of 10 and a Cowboys punt after only picking up one first down on the six-play drive. Dallas' punt goes 61 yards to the Bills' 10, and it gets returned for a gain of 20 out to the 30. Buffalo leads 21-3 with 10:58 left in the third quarter as their offense takes the field for its first drive of the second half.
The Cowboys can only muster one first down on what appears to be their final drive of the first half. Punter Bryan Anger drills a 56-yard punt down to the Bills five with 19 seconds left in the half. Buffalo outgained Dallas 210-89 in the first half and picked up 13 more first downs, 19-6.
Josh Allen caps off the Bills' 11-play drive with a one-yard rushing score on the quarterback sneak. 21-3 Buffalo leads with 1:36 left in the half. Running back James Cook is already up to over 100 yards, 104 on 15 carries. That's an average of 6.9 per carry. The Cowboys are clearly missing starting defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, who missed the game with knee and ankle injuries.
Cowboys safety Donovan Wilson and Cowboys linebacker Damone Clark have suffered injuries on each of the last two plays.
Looks like Stefon Diggs may have fumbled on the previous play to Allen being sacked, but Mike McCarthy doesn't challenge the call. Instead of a turnover, the Bills remain on the field. After the unnecessary roughness penalty on safety Jayron Kearse, Buffalo is across midfield late in the first half.
Cowboys rookie kicker Brandon Aubrey connects on the 32-yard field goal after the Cowboys' drive stalls out after Tony Pollard was stuffed for a loss of three on second down and Dak Prescott's pass was deflected at the line of scrimmage on third down. Bills lead 14-3 with 7:13 left in the half after the Cowboys' most productive drive of the game so far. Aubrey improves to an NFL record 31-for-31 on field goals to begin his career.
The Bills pick up their second unnecessary roughness penalty for a hit on Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott. This time it's on linebacker Tyrel Dodson. Dallas gets a first down out near midfield.
Two unnecessary roughness penalties by the Cowboys that extend drives, two touchdowns following those penalties by the Bills. This time, Josh Allen hit running back James Cook, who was wide open in the right corner of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown. 14-0 Bills with 12:52 left in the half.
Cowboys defensive lineman Sam Williams collides in mid-air with Bills punter Sam Martin, resulting in a roughing the kicker penalty. That's going to extend the Buffalo drive. It's the second one that extended a drive today. The first was DeMarcus Lawrence being called for a roughing the passer penalty on third down near the goal line. The Bills cashed that gift in for a two-yard rushing touchdown two plays later.
Cowboys right guard Zack Martin walks off the field under his own power after a collision with Dallas left tackle Tyron Smith. Three consecutive incomplete passes by Prescott result in a three-and-out. Bills back on the field up 7-0.
Dallas defense' bows up and forces a three-and-out after their offense did the same on the opening drive. Cowboys will start drive number two on their own 34 with 3:04 left in the first quarter.
The Cowboys cannot overcome left guard Tyler Smith's holding penalty. They lose a combined 11 yards after the penalty between Rico Dowdle's loss of two on second and 12 and Dak Prescott being sacked by Leonard Floyd for a loss of nine on third and 14. Bryan Anger's punt travels 43 yards to the Bills' 13 where it is fair caught. Bills lead 7-0 with 4:01 left in the first quarter.
Penalties are called on both teams after the play is dead. Bills safety Taylor Rapp is called for unnecessary roughness on the hit of Prescott, and Cowboys right guard Zack Martin is called for unnecessary roughness after shoving a Bills player after the play's sequence of events.
Quarterback Dak Prescott scrambles ahead for the first down on third-and-six, and now a scuffle is occurring after Prescott felt he got hit late after sliding down at the end of his run.
Following a roughing the passer penalty on third down committed by Cowboys defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, the Bills cash in on the second chance two plays later with a Latavius Murray two-yard touchdown run. Buffalo leads 7-0 after the opening drive. Cowboys offense will take the field for the first time next.
Stefon Diggs wins that round vs. Stephon Gilmore, smooth gain of 18 on the crossing route.
Cowboys won the coin toss and defer to the second half as usual. So it will be Micah Parsons and the Cowboys defense against Josh Allen and the Bills offense to start the game
On the other side of the formation from Gilmore, second-year corner DaRon Bland has allowed a passer rating of 28.5 when targeted this season, the second-lowest of any player in the NFL (min. 50 passes against). He also leads the NFL in interceptions (eight) and has already set the league's single-season, all-time record for pick-sixes (five).
Allen's top target, Pro Bowl Stefon Diggs, is having another solid season. His 87 catches (tied for seventh-most in the NFL) and 993 receiving yards (12th in the NFL) have him in line for his fourth consecutive season with over 100 catches and 1,000 receiving yards, tied for the second-longest streak in NFL history.
However, he'll likely be matched up 33-year-old cornerback Stephon Gilmore, the 2019 NFL Defensive Player of the Year. Gilmore has turned the clock back with his play in Dallas this season.
With the Cowboys getting ready to attempt to corral the dual-threat dynamo that is Bills quarterback Josh Allen, Dallas All-Pro edge rusher Micah Parsons, who leads the NFL in quarterback pressures and pressure rate, describes Allen's play style as a "crazy frat guy."
The Dallas Cowboys have clinched a spot in the postseason before even kicking off on Sunday. With losses by the Atlanta Falcons (9-7 at the Carolina Panthers) and the Green Bay Packers (34-20 vs. the Tampa Buccaneers) and a Detroit Lions victory (42-17 vs. the Denver Broncos), the Cowboys are postseason bound for the third consecutive season under head coach Mike McCarthy.
Dallas last accomplished this feat in six seasons in the 1990's: 1991-1996. They won Super Bowls in 1992, 1993 and 1995.
When Prescott and the Cowboys' offense fail to score a touchdown and they're within just about midfield, they can rely on 28-year-old rookie kicker Brandon Aubrey, who is 30-for-30 on field goals this season. He and Prescott met prior to Dallas signing Aubrey this offseason.
With Dak Prescott playing some of the best football of his career, he credits the Cowboys' intangibles as a critical reason for his and the team's success. Here's the full story.
