Tag: dallas cowboys vs. buffalo bills

Cowboys guard Zack Martin suffers leg injury vs Bills

The Cowboys’ top lineman left the game in the first quarter after getting hit in the leg while blocking.

Update: Zack Martin has been ruled out for the remainder of the game.

This has been a disjointed affair thus far for the Dallas Cowboys. Their trip to Buffalo saw their defense get marched down the field on the opening drive and two offensive possessions that end in punts. The most concerning thing though is that right guard and perennial All-Pro Zack Martin left the game during that second possession after getting hit in the leg.

Martin went into the the blue medical tent for further evaluation. Reports say when he returned from the tent he was still being worked on, on the sideline.

Cowboys clinch playoff spot before taking field against Bills

The Cowboys have earned their third consecutive playoff berth.

The Dallas Cowboys have a lot of work to do in order to secure their sixth Lombardi trophy. Winners of five in a row as they enter their Week 15 contest withthe Buffalo Bills, the team is looking to prove their worth with a road win over another championship contender. It would be great if they could somehow hold onto the NFC East No. 1 spot over the next month, and even better if they could somehow take over the pole position in the conference.

But the first step in all of that is making the playoffs, and now they’ve officially done that. Thanks to the results from the games before their kickoff, Dallas has done so. The combination of the Atlanta Falcons losing to the Carolina Panthers, the Green Bay Packers losing to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit’s Saturday night win over Denver brings Dallas their third consecutive playoff berth.

 

Week 15 Inactives: Cowboys’ Hankins, Hooker out, Gilmore and Cooks to play

The Cowboys are battling through illness, with the pair of Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore active while Malik Hooker is out. | From @cdburnett7

Illness is the Dallas Cowboys’ biggest threat as of late, and it’s lingered into Week 15 against the Buffalo Bills. Cornerback Stephon Gilmore and wide receiver Brandin Cooks were listed as questionable as the flu raged through the team, but both are active for a chilly matchup in Highmark Stadium.

The biggest loss for Dallas is defensive tackle Jonathan Hankins, who suffered an ankle sprain against the Eagles. Rookie first-round pick Mazi Smith will be tasked with an increased role in his absence. Safety Malik Hooker is out as the illness got around to him.

For the Bills, star safety Micah Hyde is out with a neck stinger. He’s an anchor for the Buffalo defense and backup defensive end AJ Epenesa is also out.

Both teams are battling through injuries on defense, and this game holds heavy playoff implications. Take a look at the full list of inactives ahead of Cowboys-Bills at 3:25 p.m., televised on FOX.

Turf Monsters: Cowboys unnatural surface dominance among streaks, milestones, record watch

The Cowboys’ are built for speed and have the second-longest turf winning streak in NFL history on the line on Sunday. | From @KDDrummondNFL

Last week, the Cowboys earned their 10th win if the season and for the first time since the mid-90s, they’ve won double-digit games in three straight years.

Mike McCarthy has accomplished what Jason Garrett, Wade Phillips nor even the great Bill Parcells could not. And he’s done it by assembling a team that is lean, athletic and built for speed. So much so they Dallas has now won an amazing 21 straight games on artificial turf.

It’s the second-longest streak in NFL history, according to Stathead (they list 20, but haven’t reclassified Carolina’s Bank of America Stadium since it changed in 2021). Dallas will get a chance to extend that streak on Sunday as their Week 15 opponent, the Buffalo Bills, play on turf as well. This is among a myriad of streaks, milestones and records in play this weekend.

Cowboys 55-man roster for Week 15: Elevations reveal needs in run game, defense

The Cowboys have added both a running back and a DT in preparation for the rain-soaked field in Buffalo. Here’s a look at the full roster.

The Cowboys are looking within their own ranks to fill the hole left by last week’s injury to Johnathan Hankins.

The team has elevated Carl Davis to the game-day roster for Sunday’s showdown with the Buffalo Bills. The 31-year old veteran defensive tackle was signed to the practice squad in mid-November.

The 335-pounder, a former third-round draft pick, has been with seven teams over five years; he is now poised to make his Cowboys debut in Orchard Park.

Running back Malik Davis has also been called up from the Dallas practice squad, given Rico Dowdle’s seemingly ongoing ankle issue. The 2022 undrafted free agent out of Florida saw action in 12 games last season; he’s played just 15 special teams this season, all in Week 6’s win over the Chargers.

Davis will help provide depth behind starter Tony Pollard on a day when game-time conditions in Buffalo are expected to be wet.

Quarterbacks (3)
Running Backs (4)
Wideouts (6)
Tight Ends (4)
Offensive Tackles (3)
Offensive Guards (4)
Centers (2)

Defensive Ends (4)
Defensive Tackles (5)
Linebacker (4)
Cornerbacks (6)
Safeties (6)

Special Teams (3)

 

 

Scouting the Bills: A Cowboys peek at personnel, tendencies and strengths

What offensive personnel Buffalo prefers, what their tendencies and effectiveness is in each group and what it means for the Cowboys. From @ReidDHanson

In Week 15 the Cowboys will test their hot streak against one of the best teams in the AFC. For only the second time in the Dak Prescott era, the Cowboys face the Bills. This game will mark the first time Prescott has played in Buffalo and offer Dallas a chance to stay in the hunt for homefield advantage in the playoffs.

While the Cowboys are well versed with many of their top NFC opponents like Philadelphia and San Francisco, AFC teams like the Bills are somewhat foreign. They boast the second-best offensive success rate in the NFL with the fourth-best EPA/play. They have one of the league’s premier WRs in Stephon Diggs and they have a perennial MVP candidate at QB with Josh Allen.

But how do the Bills win? What personnel do they like to use and what are their tendencies in those given personnel groups?

We dive into all of that today, scouting the Bills for the Cowboys’ Week 15 showdown.

 

Here’s how the Cowboys extend their winning streak to 6 games in Week 15

The Cowboys take their win streak on the road. Here is how they come out of Buffalo with another victory. | From @cdpiglet

The Dallas Cowboys beat a team with a winning record for the third time in 2023, and for the first time the losing squad was still . In actuality, they blew out the team with the best record in the league, the Philadelphia Eagles. Since their bye week, Dallas has the best record in the NFL at 6-1 and this was their most complete victory. The offense scored on their first four possessions. The defense only allowed two field goals to the sixth-ranked offense in the league, and the special teams have Brandon Aubrey, who broke another kicking record by hitting from 60 and 59 yards in the same contest.

Dallas has had a ton of blowouts this year. They have won close games against the Los Angeles Chargers and at home against the Seattle Seahawks, and now they beat a championship contender. The next test to pass will be to  win a road game against a top team. Buffalo fits that bill, pun intended. The Bills bring a tough challenge with a top-tier quarterback, receiver combo, and top-half-of-the-league rushing attack and defense.

The Cowboys can open many eyes if they go into a bad-weather road venue against a team fighting for their playoff lives and pull the upset. For Dallas to pull this off, it will require them to control the clock, limit a new playmaker, overcome their injuries, and capitalize on mistakes by the Bills.

Week 15 Final Injury Report: Cowboys rule out Hankins, Bills Hyde while illness threatens others

A look at the final roll call of the walking wounded ahead of Sunday’s tilt between two of the best from their respective conferences. | From @KDDrummondNFL

The Dallas Cowboys knew they were going to be without their key run stopper when they travel in Week 15. Friday’s game designations just made it official. The Cowboys will be without defensive tackle Johnathan Hankins, who suffered a high ankle sprain in Sunday’s win over the Philadelphia Eagles. That leaves them a bit shorthanded in trying to stop the Bills ground attack, from an offense that appears to be really healthy.

Despite having three key members on this week’s injury report, none of them received a game designation and that includes quarterback Josh Allen who is nursing a right shoulder injury. Meanwhile the Bills will be without two of their own key defenders while also having a third questionable. Dallas has two members of their starting secondary questionable as both Stephon Gilmore (illness) and safety Malik Hooker (ankle) received the designation.

Gilmore is one of four Cowboys dealing with a sickness that started going through the team last week and led to Micah Parsons receiving a late-week designation before koickoff against Philly. He played through that and carries no designation itno this game. For a full accounting of all of the players listed with nicks, bruises, coughs or sniffles throughout the week, check out the countdown below.

Cowboys’ CeeDee Lamb aiming for wins over best receiving stats of career

From @ToddBrock24f7: Despite nearing personal bests in most categories, Lamb says getting wins- this week in Buffalo and then beyond- is most important to him.

CeeDee Lamb is closing in on a career year. The Cowboys receiver currently ranks third in the league in receiving yards (1,253) and third in total receptions (96). He’s tied for seventh in targets (131) and tied for fourth in touchdowns (8). And he’s on the cusp of setting new personal-best marks in all four of those categories.

But ask the fifth-year vet which stat is most satisfying to him, and his answer is none of the above.

Despite doing enough so far this season to easily earn a third Pro Bowl nod, the former first-round draft pick is exponentially more focused on playing in the game after all-star weekend.

But in order for Lamb and the Cowboys to reach Super Bowl LVII, they’ll more than likely to have to pull off a series of difficult road wins in the postseason. So they’re treating this Sunday’s trip to Buffalo as a preparatory mission.

“I feel like we’ve got to bring our own music,” Lamb said this week of taking the team’s 9-3 record to Highmark Stadium in Orchard Park to face the Bills. “Obviously, we’re going to be in a hostile environment, so we’re not going to get as much praise for making big plays. But we kind of have got to make that the new norm, just being in an away format.”

Some away games, though, are about more than the plane ride and the hotel and the unfamiliar surroundings at the stadium. This Sunday, the Cowboys will also have to deal with Old Man Winter. And while the forecast isn’t calling for the heavy snows or sub-arctic temperatures that have beset many a team’s mid-December visit to “B-Lo,” the Cowboys are gearing up nonetheless for a very damp and wet afternoon.

“Obviously, the ball is going to be wet,” Lamb explained. “But just taking care of the ball is the main thing.”

To that end, some members of the Dallas offense were spotted doing wet ball drills at practice this week, dunking their hands in buckets of ice water and catching drippy, slippy passes.

“Mentally, it’s all about preparation,” said Lamb. “And physically, obviously, it’s just going out, doing it and executing the right way and not really being lackadaisical with our focus. Look the ball in, hold the ball high and tight, things of that nature.”

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Those are all things Lamb has done better this season than ever before. Having passed Miles Austin a couple weeks ago to take over the No. 8 spot on the franchise’s all-time receiving yardage list, Lamb is about to set a new slew of single-season highs for himself. He needs 26 more targets, 12 more catches, two more touchdowns, and 107 more receiving yards to establish new career marks in each of those categories, and he has four more games to get there.

But back to asking him to pick the stat that means the most to him.

“A win,” Lamb says simply. “That’s the most important to me, to be honest.”

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Bills to be without 2 key defensive stars Sunday vs Cowboys

From @ToddBrock24f7: Safety Micah Hyde and defensive end A.J. Epenesa have been ruled out of Week 15 after suffering injures in their win over Kansas City.

Buffalo has one of the top defenses in the league this season, ranking near the top in several key statistical categories. But with the high-flying Cowboys offense coming to town this weekend, the Bills will find themselves having to make up for the absence of two of their biggest defensive playmakers.

Safety Micah Hyde and defensive end A.J. Epenesa have both been ruled out of Sunday’s Week 15 date with the Cowboys. The news was confirmed by Bills head coach Sean McDermott Friday morning.

Both players were hurt during last Sunday’s win over Kansas City and had been considered “week-to-week” by the club.

Hyde left the Bills’ Week 14 game with a neck stinger. The team has indicated that this latest injury is related to a hit he took in early November. The 11-year veteran had been trying to play through that issue ever since, though he missed Week 10 because of the injury. Hyde also missed all but two games in 2022 with a neck injury.

Epenesa suffered a rib injury in the same game versus the Chiefs, on a first-quarter play in which he tipped a Patrick Mahomes pass and then came down with the interception.

The Bills defense currently stands tied for second in the league with 23 takeaways. Hyde and Epenesa each have accounted for two picks; Epenesa has also forced and recovered a fumble. They have been in on a combined 68 tackes and 13 passes defensed, with Epenesa adding 6.5 sacks and 10 quarterback hits.

Their unavailability for Sunday’s game is of considerable consequence in a game both clubs are treating as a must-win.

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Taylor Rapp figures to be the replacement for Hyde, with Damar Hamlin likely getting a few extra reps, too. Epenesa’s absence could mean more work for Von Miller. The eight-time pro Bowler hasn’t played more than 27 snaps in a game since coming back from an ACL injury suffered last November.

Beside ranking second in the NFL in takeaways, Buffalo is tied for third leaguewide in sacks and is top-10 in total touchdowns allowed, fewest passing yards allowed per game, and fewest points allowed per game.

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