ORCHARD PARK, NEW YORK – The Dallas Cowboys (10-4) lost to the Buffalo Bills (8-6) and lost their first place in NFC East after taking first after last Sunday’s win over the Eagles.
This Cowboys team has found a way to dominate at home, blowing teams out of the water, on the road is a different story. They struggle on the road against good teams and that’s been a trend this entire season. Sunday afternoon was just another example. Dallas got embarrassed once again on the road and not much went right for the team.
The good news is before kickoff the Cowboys secured a playoff spot after the Falcons and the Packers both lost earlier in the day and the Lions winning on Saturday.
Three takeaways from the loss to Buffalo:
- Run defense
Dallas started on defense and the lack of effort showed the entire game. The run defense in particular needs some work. They gave up 179 yards and one touchdown to Bills running back James Cook and 266 total rush yards, while the Cowboys only had 89 total rush yards. The run defense has been an issue for Dallas and it really showed on Sunday.
- Offensive line
The offensive line struggled against the Bills and it showed in their quarterback getting sacked on multiple occasions. It also did not help that RG Zack Martin left the game early with a thigh injury and did not return. QB Dak Prescott was sacked three times and had little to no time in the pocket to find his receivers. The receivers all had quiet nights including WR1 CeeDee Lamb. He led in receiving with seven receptions for 53 yards and one touchdown. Lamb has now scored in the last six straight games.
- Dak Prescott
QB Dak Prescott has had a tremendous season and has been in the talks for MVP, rightfully so, when playing against good defenses he tends to not produce as well. He finished the night 21-of-33 for 134 yards and one interception. Only having one interception was a blessing, seeming he almost got picked off on multiple occasions. The rainy weather was definitely a factor in this game and not ideal but the offensive productivity really lacked in this game. The Cowboys only had 195 total yards of offense, 106 passing and 89 rushing. Dallas can’t expect to win games with numbers that low.
The remaining games on Dallas’s schedule do not get any easier, they have Miami next Sunday and Detroit the following Saturday. With this loss it gives the Eagles room to not have to win every remaining game on their schedule because at the end of the season if both teams have the same record Philly will have more NFC wins and will take the East.
The Cowboys will head back to Frisco to prepare for Tyreek Hill and the Miami Dolphins, who just blew out the New York Jets 30-0 earlier today. Both teams are coming into this game with a 10-4 record.
