DALLAS — The playoff-bound Dallas Cowboys were embarrassed by the Buffalo Bills in a 31-10 blowout loss in their Week 15 showdown against an AFC team with their backs against the wall.
In a role reversal from how Dallas handles their business at home, it was the Cowboys who got bullied and ran through on their way to getting beat down.
After five straight weeks of downhill running and dominant victories, the Cowboys finally met their match in the Bills.
The Week 15 loss was their first road contest in close to a month, and Dallas showed in this game why they still cannot be trusted to win a big game away from AT&T Stadium just yet.
It’s well known at this point that the Cowboys can dominate at home -- they've won all seven games at AT&T Stadium this season, six of which have come by at least 20 points -- but head coach Mike McCarthy’s group needed to show that they could beat a good team on the road. And the Cowboys failed yet another test there, making them 3-4 on the road overall this season.
This game was ugly from the beginning, and it never seemed to turn around for the Cowboys. The Bills did to the Cowboys what Dallas does to other teams at home -- get a double-digit lead, and then play from out front.
If it wasn’t clear from their three previous losses on the road, it was obvious once again here: The Cowboys are frontrunners who don’t like playing from behind. They don’t have the ability to take a punch, then stand there and go blow for blow.
The Bills ran right at the Dallas defense on Sunday, daring them to stop it -- and Dan Quinn’s defense couldn’t do it. The Cowboys allowed Buffalo to go right down the field and score on the opening possession, a sign of things to come. Aided by a roughing the passer penalty on defensive end DeMarcus Lawrence, the Bills got out to a 7-0 lead. That play came on third-and-goal when Lawrence’s hit on Bills quarterback Josh Allen drew a flag. The penalty was questionable, propped up by some nice selling by the QB, but the call staked Buffalo to four extra points.
Unfortunately, that wasn’t the only time undisciplined play came back to bite the Cowboys in the loss. The next scoring drive for the Bills was also courtesy of a mental mistake. The defense had gotten one of their few stops in the game and forced a punt when defensive end Sam Williams got a roughing the kicker penalty that gave the Bills a new set of downs.
After a season of sterling special teams work, it was an uncanny play from Williams, who had the punt all but blocked, but for some reason lunged at the punter instead of just reaching out to block the kick. The leap caused him to miss the ball and hit the punter for the penalty. Buffalo cashed in with a touchdown to take a 14-0 lead.
The Cowboys’ offense finally got a drive going in the second quarter that produced a field goal to give them some life, but the next defensive series saw another costly penalty. In a 14-3 game, Allen's pass went incomplete and the Bills offense was facing a third-and-19 -- except Dallas safety Jayron Kearse was called for an unnecessary roughness penalty that provided a new set of downs, and eventually, another touchdown.
The Cowboys were now down 21-3 near half, and all three scores were aided by penalties.
Dallas welcomed a cold, wet and miserable afternoon in Buffalo with a disastrous first half of football.
It didn’t get much better in the second half, where the Bills decided it wasn’t necessary to throw the ball to win. Running back James Cook ran for 179 yards and added an insulting somersault score in the fourth quarter to the proverbial injury. The Cowboys hadn’t allowed a 100-yard runner all season, but that streak was broken by Cook by the end of the first half.
Dallas’ defense surrendered a season-worst 266 yards on the ground and Cook ran for over seven yards per carry in the game. It was an embarrassing display of controlling the ground game in the Dallas unit’s first outing without defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins in the lineup.
Allen -- near the top ten in average yards per game among active QBs -- threw for only 94 yards in the demonstrative win. It was clear that he didn’t need to do much as the game plan called for the running game to gash the Cowboys.
Ultimately the loss can’t be pinned squarely on the defense. Dallas’ offense didn’t show up either. The group struggled to score and put up a measly 195 yards of total offense. Quarterback Dak Prescott wasn’t sharp, but the offensive line also struggled mightily, especially after All-Pro Zack Martin left the game following a quad injury late in the first quarter.
Getting pushed around on both sides of the ball wasn’t what the Cowboys expected. Many had felt that the team had turned the corner after the last five games. Last week’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles felt like it could’ve been a springboard for the rest of the season.
Instead, in their first chance to show that they could handle success and compete in a big game on the road, the Cowboys did what they’ve been known for in these moments: They flopped.
The beating in Buffalo was one of the team's worst losses of the season, and it looked an awful lot like the Cowboys' Week 5 road loss to the San Francisco 49ers.
Ironically, even in defeat, the Cowboys clinched a playoff berth. But they’ll take no pride in that.
Once again, on a big stage, the Dallas Cowboys spit the bit.
Wash, rinse, repeat.
The only surprise is that more was expected this time around.
Do you think the Cowboys will be able to overcome their road woes? Share your thoughts with Ben on Twitter at @BenGrimaldi.