Well, that was ugly.
The Cowboys lost on Sunday for the fourth time this year – all four coming on the road. It was the third time it was basically over by halftime.
The first time, at Arizona, the Cowboys came out flat on both sides of the ball.
They trailed 21-10 at halftime and even though the cut the lead to five, they never looked like a serious threat to the Cardinals in a 28-16 loss.
Then came the San Francisco slaughter. Again, Dallas looked flat and the 49ers rolled to a 42-10 victory.
Dallas (10-4) rebounded by winning seven of their next eight games. Even the loss in Philadelphia was competitive at least.
After they laid down the law on the Eagles at AT&T Stadium in a 33-13 win, it seemed like this team had finally taken an important step.
Watching the Cowboys' effort in Buffalo was disappointing to say the least. Every time this franchise gets us to believe this is the year they put it all together we get a game like this.
They had a chance to make a statement: Go on the road to beat a solid team and put heavy pressure on the struggling Eagles tonight in Seattle.
Instead, after having clinched a playoff spot a half-hour before taking the field, we got this.
- A defense that got Buffalo off the field in three of its first four drives only to have two dumb penalties and not throwing a challenge flag on an obvious fumble extend them instead.
- An offense that couldn't get out of its own way for most of the game.
- And a coaching staff seemingly unable, if not unwilling, to make any adjustments.
The same formula we saw in Arizona and San Francisco. That formula has been around in Dallas far too long as it is.
What Were You Thinking?
DeMarcus Lawrence knows better.
The Cowboys had a chance to get off the field down just 3-0 – assuming a made field goal – after forcing Josh Allen to make a bad pass on third down.
But instead of the field goal, Lawrence plowed into Allen well after the ball was thrown. The flag flew and Buffalo had a first down.
Yes, Allen flopped to sell the hit. But if Lawrence doesn't make contact, there's no flag.
Then, the offense got in on the fun.
After Dak Prescott had scrambled for a first down, he was hit late by a Bills' player. The flag flew.
But instead of an additional 15 yards, Zack Martin came flying in and leveled the offending Buffalo player and drew his own 15-yard penalty.
Instead of a first down in Bills' territory Dallas eventually punted.
Later, the Bills were forced to punt for a second time. But Sam Williams' attempt to block the punt ended up in a clean miss of the ball.
He solidly nailed the Bills' punter however. The Bills kept the ball and drove for a touchdown.
They should have been down 3-0 instead of 14-0. And the hits kept coming.
The Bills' third scoring drive of the half should have ended with a Dallas fumble recovery.
For some reason, Mike McCarthy didn't throw the challenge flag, Buffalo kept a ball they clearly had fumbled away, and basically sealed the win a few plays later.
A few weeks ago, McCarthy refused to challenge a ball spot in the loss against Philadelphia.
That drive eventually resulted in an Eagles' touchdown. Dallas lost that game by five points, in case you forgot.
A turnover at that point against the Bills on Sunday might have turned the game around.
Either way, the coaches and players need to quit making dumb mistakes in critical situations.
Championship teams don't make those.
Going Forward
The NFC East was not lost on Sunday, nor was the Cowboys' shot at the No. 1 seed for that matter. But both are on life support after Sunday.
The Eagles are a trainwreck and they could easily get upended by Seattle tonight. And Eagles' wins over the Cardinals and Giants are not assured.
But Dallas has to rebound in short order and beat a Miami team that is a nightmare matchup for most teams.
Then the Cowboys have a home game against the solid Lions.
Assuming Dallas wins both of those games – and this is not an assumption easily made – who knows which Dallas team shows up in D.C. against the Commanders?
One thing is certain. The Cowboys cannot afford to show up and play like they did on Sunday for the rest of the regular season.
Otherwise it's another wildcard berth, likely against whichever NFC South team fumbles away the division less than the others.
Even with their road woes, they should be able to beat any team from that division.
But that sends them on the road in the divisional round again – likely against the 49ers, Eagles, or Lions. We've seen how that movie ends.
And nothing we saw from Sunday's loss gives me much hope that a trip to the NFC Conference championship is in the cards.
The Cowboys' coaching staff and players have a lot of soul searching to do – hopefully they started while on the flight home last night.
Because they cannot have a fourth game like this for the rest of the year.
Against Buffalo
Dallas has now lost three straight games to the Bills. They have been outscored 73-31 in those losses.
The loss dropped the Cowboys to 6-6 overall against Buffalo in regular season games. The Bills are 4-3 against Dallas at home.
The last time the Cowboys defeated Buffalo was back in 2011. Dallas rolled to a 44-7 win at AT&T Stadium.
The Cowboys have beaten the Bills twice in the Super Bowl however.
Against Miami
Dallas is 7-7 in regular season games against Miami. The only playoff meeting was a Cowboys win in Super Bowl VI.
Dallas has won the last four meetings with the Dolphins. Miami's last win came at Texas Stadium in 2003, a 40-21 victory.
The Cowboys are 3-2 in games played at Miami.
About Those Folks In The Striped Shirts
This is getting ridiculous.
One week after the Chiefs lost a game, thanks in part to a correctly-called offsides, the officials called off a Denver Broncos' touchdown on an offsides call.
Only thing was, no one for Denver was anywhere near being lined up offsides.
It did not cost the Broncos the game. But the officiating this year has been at an all-time level of horrible.
It may be time for the NFL to seriously consider expanding the replay system to review every play, including the officials' calls.
There have been too many games impacted, if not outright decided, by bad calls. It needs to stop.
