DALLAS — There ain't no rest for the wicked, folks!
Last week, the Cowboys dominated the Eagles with the defense leading the way -- and Dak Prescott taking the lead in the NFL MVP race.
Now we get to see Prescott face off against star Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen.
Don't expect Prescott to ever look at it that way, though.
"This is the furthest thing from me versus him," Prescott said this week. "Especially with the way our defense is playing."
So how about that Cowboys defense?
Dan Quinn's crew is coming off a dominating outing against the Eagles, where they kept Philly's offense out of the end zone for the entire game. Hey, you can't win if you can't score, and the Cowboys grounded Jalen Hurts and company, forcing three turnovers.
Now Micah Parsons and company will face a similar, if not tougher, challenge. Allen is 6-foot-5, 237 pounds -- and he's not nursing a sore knee like Hurts was.
"So, I never told Josh this, but I'm a little jealous because he was on the cover of Madden," Parsons said this week of the Bills signal-caller.
I doubt the video game cover jinx will be in effect this week. Allen can beat you with his cannon arm, but he's also dangerous with this legs. He leads the league with 35 total touchdowns (25 passing, 10 rushing). He's racked up 374 yards as a runner this season, too, averaging more than five yards a pop.
This matchup will be intriguing because the only thing that really worked for the Eagles on Sunday night were designed runs for Hurts. His first three totaled 30 yards, but he lost yardage on the fourth and got up gingerly, and the that facet of their offense went away.
It won't be the same against Allen.
The Cowboys' defense won't be the same this week, either. Defensive tackle Jonathan Hankins, the prime man in the middle against opposing run games, figures to be unavailable this week with a high ankle sprain. He will be missed.
Rookie Mazi Smith will see more playing time in his absence. The Cowboys' first round pick in this year's draft has been a disappointment to this point. He's averaged fewer than 17 snaps a game, only getting on the field 26% of the time. He's only managed two tackles for loss, and many times has struggled to play with the proper technique. Look for the Bills to try and exploit this with running back James Cook and Allen on the ground.
As much of a talent as Allen is, though, there are many times he's just not sure what to do with that ability. In the last three seasons Allen has lead the NFL with 43 interceptions. In that same time span, Dan Quinn's defense has forced a league-leading 88 turnovers.
Bottom line: Allen is going to throw the Cowboys defense the ball; they just have to be ready to catch it and make a play.
Unfortunately, we have been robbed of what would have been the most talked-about matchup in this game. Cowboys cornerback Trevon Diggs tore his ACL in September, so he won't be able to line up against his brother Stephon, who is an All-Pro receiver.
Diggs will be instead shadowed by 2019 defensive player of the year Stephon Gilmore, who is coming off his best game as a Cowboy. Eagles receiver A.J. Brown made the mistake of calling Gilmore old on Sunday night -- and the 33-year old defender responded by turning back the clock, and playing like a version of himself that Cowboys fans would love to see more often.
A Quick Look at the Weekend Ahead
- Who: Dallas Cowboys at Buffalo Bills
- When: 3:25 p.m. on Sunday, December 17, 2023
- Where: Highmark Stadium (Orchard Park, NY)
- Weather: Light rain. Temperatures in the high 40s to low 50s with 10 to 20 mph winds.
- Watch: FOX (Kevin Burkhardt, Greg Olsen, Erin Andrews, and Tom Rinaldi)
- Listen: KRLD-FM 105.3 The Fan (Brad Sham, Babe Laufenberg, Kristi Scales)
- Last Meeting: Buffalo 26 - Dallas 15 (November 28, 2019, at AT&T Stadium)
- Series Record: Dallas leads 8-5
X's and Joes
Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott and head coach Mike McCarthy deserve credit.
We'd been waiting to see how this offense would operate against a good team, and it was near flawless in the first half against Philadelphia. In four possessions, they scored three touchdowns and a field goal to take control of the game and the defense took care of the rest.
Dak has another chance this week to show he can outplay one of the league's best quarterbacks and further cement his status as the MVP favorite.
Prescott has been on a tear the last eight games. Since the Cowboys' Week 5 loss to the 49ers, he's completed 69% of his passes, averaging 305 yards per game with 23 total passing TDs and just two interceptions.
Those are remarkable numbers.
The Bills will counter with a defensive line that will apply pressure. Leonard Floyd leads the way and gets plenty of help from Ed Oliver (a Texas native) and A.J. Epenesa.
The Bills like to play a lot of zone defense, and they have veterans in the secondary that allow them to mix up coverage.
I can't wait to see this matchup because Prescott has feasted on man-to-man coverage during his hot streak. There will be more calculus than basic math Sunday -- another chance to show how much the Cowboys' offense has evolved.
Dak will have to be patient and not force things.
And should the Cowboys' offense sputter on the plus side of the 50, not to worry -- because Brandon Aubrey has been a force.
The Plano native has been setting NFL records left and right. He became the first kicker in NFL history to hit multiple field goals longer than 59-yards in the same game against the Eagles. He was 4-for-4 against Philly with a 60-yarder in the first quarter, and hit a 59-yarder later in the game.
The 28-year old rookie played soccer at Plano High school before continuing his soccer career at Notre Dame. He then gave place-kicking a shot and was part of a pair of a USFL championships with the Birmingham Stallions. He's yet to miss in 30 career NFL attempts -- the most ever to start an NFL career, shattering the old mark of 18.
The final X-factor? That would be the weather. The forecast has deteriorated all week and now calls for rain and temperatures in the 40s.
To counter that, the Cowboys worked with wet ball drills during the week to simulate the feel.
But things will get slick, and ball security will be at a premium, in this one.
Random Stat of the Week
We're going really random here, but when you'll see why in a moment.
Earlier this year, Casino.org put together a ranking of the "boujiest" NFL stadiums, looking at factors like building cost, capacity, concessions, quality of toilets and the like.
Coming in as the second boujiest in the league is AT&T Stadium, which received good grades for having the highest capacity, as well as the largest big screen, providing all the comforts of home.
Contrast that with the second least boujiest stadium, Buffalo's Highmark Stadium. To put it plainly, it's dumpy and there's a good reason the team is moving to a new home projected to open in 2026.
(So-Fi Stadium ranked No. 1 by the way. With a price tag of $5.5 billion and being in the shadow of Hollywood, that's no surprise.)
Bandwagon Meter
Prediction Time: Joestradamus speaks!
The sloppy conditions and Bills defense will put a Cowboys offense that's been rolling to the test.
I think Dak and company are ready for it.
And, perhaps more importantly, I think Micah Parsons and the Cowboys defense will make Josh Allen pay if he's careless with the ball.
The Bills are a 2.5 point favorite. You won't need the points.
Cowboys for the win, 30-27.