Quick hits, key stats and instant analysis of Cowboys 26-15 loss to Bills

The Cowboys dropped their second straight game, falling 26-15 to the Buffalo Bills on Thanksgiving Day.

The Cowboys latest struggles continued against Buffalo, falling to 6-6 on the season after their 26-15 Thanksgiving loss. Things started well enough, with Dallas scoring a touchdown on their opening possession. From there, Jason Garrett’s seat only got hotter as the Bills scored 26 unanswered points.

It was over when . . .

. . . Josh Allen ran 15 yards for his eighth rushing touchdown of the season, putting the Bills up 23-7 with 3:37 left in the third quarter. The score put Dallas in a familiar, insurmountable hole, around the same time Cowboys Nation hit their collective food coma.

Game balls:

RB Ezekiel Elliott

He reeled off the longest run on the season, with a 30-yard scamper on the team’s second drive. Early on, it looked like it was going to be Elliott’s best game of the season, but the run game was largely abandoned after the Cowboys fell behind. He took 12 carries for 71 yards, and also chipped in seven catches for another 66 yards.

WR Amari Cooper

Following his zero-catch game against New England, the Cowboys made a concerted effort to get him involved early. He was targeted three times on their opening drive, recording a 16-yard reception and drawing an illegal contact penalty. Cooper took a nasty fall halfway through the fourth quarter, ending his day at eight catches for 85 yards.

WR Ventrell Bryant

Ventrell Bryant was added to the Dallas active roster in Week Seven, and on Thanksgiving Day, recorded his first reception in the NFL: a 15-yard touchdown pass from Dak Prescott. While it was an unforgettable game for many, the moment will last forever for the 2019 UDFA.

Key stat: 110

Making his return to Dallas, Cole Beasley sauced the Cowboys for 110 yards (a season high) and a touchdown. It marked the first time he’s gone over 100 receiving yard sin a game since Week 6 of the 2018 season, a pain worse than 80 Stings.

Quick Hits:

  • Two offensive turnovers committed within four snaps of each other signaled the kind of day it was for the Cowboys. Dak Prescott added a third turnover in the second quarter, but it was mercifully erased due to a penalty. For as well as the Dallas offense has played this season, the wheels have completely fall apart at various times, costing them in big moments.
  • Following last week’s missteps, Jason Garrett made another baffling series of coaching decisions, including ending the first half on a missed field goal with a timeout left in his pocket, and converting a 4th and 1 from his own 19 yard line. It was an overall sloppy effort by his team, featuring plenty of penalties, missed tackles, and surrendering a touchdown off a trick play

  • Dak Prescott’s MVP candidacy took a hit following two tough matchups with AFC East defenses. He fumbled twice and threw an interception in a 355 yard losing effort.
  • The Cowboys defense had success sending pressure at Josh Allen, sacking him four times in the game. DBs Darian Thompson and Jourdan Lewis each picked up sacks as blitzers.
  • Buffalo DTs Ed Oliver (two sacks) and Star Lotulelei (interception, blocked field goal) each had a huge impacts, winning the game in the trenches for the Bills. Dallas guard Connor Williams, just two weeks removed from arthroscopic knee surgery, came in and out of the game, and committed a false start on 3rd and 14 which led to a missed Brett Maher field goal attempt.
  • The NFC East is suddenly a lot tighter, with just four games remaining for the Cowboys. They’ve left themselves no margin for error, heading into a December slate featuring Philadelphia and the Los Angeles Rams. They next face the Chicago Bears in a Thursday Night NFC showdown.

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